Applied Underwriters to buy Florida-based insurer

Applied Underwriters Inc. has agreed to buy Sarasota, Florida-based insurer Centauri Insurance Co., the Omaha, Nebraska-based insurer announced Friday.

Centauri, which was previously known as Universal Specialty Insurance Co., is a unit of Centauri Specialty Holdings Inc. that offers commercial and personal lines property/casualty coverage.

Terms of deal were not disclosed.

Centauri has operations in several southern states and Hawaii, and reports annual premium of $185 million, with about one-third derived from Florida, Applied Underwriters said in a statement.

Applied Underwriters will immediately buy Centauri’s agency facilities, inject capital into the insurer and purchase the insurance operations, pending regulatory approval, the statement said.