KKR Buys Stake in Auto Insurer Bristol

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said it agreed to invest in a management buyout of Bristol West Group, an auto insurer that covers drivers viewed as above-average risks. Bristol West is a regional insurer, with California and Florida operations, whose gross 1997 premiums totaled $190 million. Terms of the purchase weren’t disclosed. The company is part of the so-called non-standard auto insurance business, one of the most profitable parts of the personal property and casualty business because it allows insurers to charge higher premiums based on a driver’s age, record or vehicle type. For KKR, the purchase is only the latest venture into the insurance industry. The New York- and Menlo Park-based investment firm invested in the reinsurance company American Re, which it sold to Munich Reinsurance Co. in November 1996. KKR also bought Canadian General Insurance in 1995.