INSURANCE

Fremont to Buy Continental’s Workers Comp Unit: Santa Monica-based Fremont General Corp. announced a definitive agreement to purchase Casualty Insurance Co., the Illinois-based workers compensation insurance unit of Continental Corp., for $250 million. The acquisition of Casualty--with assets of $1 billion and annual revenue of $400 million--will double the size of Fremont’s workers comp business and expand it into Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to Wayne R. Bailey, Fremont’s chief financial officer. Fremont currently writes workers compensation only in California and Arizona. Casualty has a 15% market share in Illinois, Bailey said. The 350-employee company will continue to operate with its existing management and will report to Fremont’s workers comp unit, Glendale-based Fremont Compensation Insurance Co. The proposed transaction is subject to regulatory approval and certain other conditions.