Colonial Penn Insurance Co

The power-suited insurance company lawyer knew he would have to handle the witness delicately--even though she was suing his client for about $200,000. After all, he conceded, he had never before cross-examined a woman on the eve of her 100th birthday. "We're in a no-win situation," sighed Terry Rowland as the television cameras focused on Anne Campbell Smith. Looking pert in her handsome red dress, open-toed heels and jewelry, she was the darling of the courtroom Thursday.

GE Capital said it agreed to acquire Colonial Penn P&C Group from Leucadia National Corp. for $950 million in cash, a move that would put it on the road to direct marketing of personal auto insurance. GE Capital, known for its large reinsurance and life insurance holdings, said Norristown, Pa.-based Colonial Penn would become a subsidiary of its Richmond, Va.-based Consumer Savings & Insurance Group. However, GE Capital, a subsidiary of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co.

GE Capital said it agreed to acquire Colonial Penn P&C Group from Leucadia National Corp. for $950 million in cash, a move that would put it on the road to direct marketing of personal auto insurance. GE Capital, known for its large reinsurance and life insurance holdings, said Norristown, Pa.-based Colonial Penn would become a subsidiary of its Richmond, Va.-based Consumer Savings & Insurance Group. However, GE Capital, a subsidiary of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co.

The power-suited insurance company lawyer knew he would have to handle the witness delicately--even though she was suing his client for about $200,000. After all, he conceded, he had never before cross-examined a woman on the eve of her 100th birthday. "We're in a no-win situation," sighed Terry Rowland as the television cameras focused on Anne Campbell Smith. Looking pert in her handsome red dress, open-toed heels and jewelry, she was the darling of the courtroom Thursday.

First Capital Holding Corp.'s creditors committee announced Wednesday that it had teamed up with Leucadia National Corp., the parent of Colonial Penn Life Insurance Co., to submit a buyout bid for troubled First Capital Life Insurance of San Diego. Details of the bid were not disclosed. But the group said its bid will provide more value to First Capital Life policyholders than a competing offer previously made by Shearson Lehman Bros.

A Culver City telemarketing firm has agreed to pay $40,000 in civil penalties and make restitution to settle a fraud suit brought by the state. Colonial Corp.'s sales staff sold items such as key chains and bumper stickers by telling buyers they had won an expensive prize but had to make a purchase to get the gift, Deputy Atty. Gen. Jerry Smilowitz said. Requiring such a purchase is illegal in California.

Conseco Inc., a financial-services holding company, said it agreed to buy Leucadia National Corp.'s Colonial Penn Life Insurance Co. for $460 million in cash and notes, continuing its shopping spree for insurance companies. Colonial Penn uses direct marketing to sell level-premium whole life insurance to seniors with little or no insurance. Carmel, Ind.-based Conseco, which has bought at least 16 life insurance companies since 1982, also reported $111.

The 100-year-old woman who said she was shortchanged by her insurance company after her home burned down has settled her lawsuit out of court, both sides announced Tuesday. The terms of the settlement between Anne Campbell Smith and Colonial Penn Insurance Co. were not disclosed. Colonial Penn attorney Terry Rowland said the company agreed to the settlement rather than face the negative publicity of defending itself against the centenarian.

American International Group Inc. on Monday said it will pay $2.2 billion in stock and cash for American Bankers Insurance Group Inc. to enter the credit insurance business and build its U.S. sales to individuals. The payment will consist of AIG stock equal to $47 a share, a 6.2% premium over the closing price of American Bankers shares Friday. AIG also said it will pay cash "in certain circumstances" to shareholders who request it.

Three new groups submitted offers to buy failed First Capital Life Insurance Co. of San Diego, insurance regulators said Friday. Pacific Mutual Insurance, Transamerica Occidental Life and a group led by Leucadia National Corp. filed formal buyout offers moments before the final bidding deadline set by California officials two months ago. These offers are added to the initial $50-million bid for First Capital submitted by Shearson Lehman Bros. in February.

First Capital Holding Corp.'s creditors committee announced Wednesday that it had teamed up with Leucadia National Corp., the parent of Colonial Penn Life Insurance Co., to submit a buyout bid for troubled First Capital Life Insurance of San Diego. Details of the bid were not disclosed. But the group said its bid will provide more value to First Capital Life policyholders than a competing offer previously made by Shearson Lehman Bros.

In what is believed to be the first jury verdict of its kind in the country, an elderly Riverside County man won a $4.1-million judgment Friday against a Philadelphia-based insurance company that cut off his hospital benefits after a near-fatal auto accident in 1983. Crippled and now confined to a wheelchair, 70-year-old Julius Warren bought three policies beginning in the early 1970s from Colonial Penn Franklin Insurance Co.

There is little in the boom-and-bust cycle of business that has escaped Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. during its 124 years of operation. Steeped in history and tradition, the Newport Beach firm has become the state's largest life insurance company and one of the industry's more influential leaders. But along the way, it hit rock bottom. It was seized by the state during the Great Depression and reorganized over a 23-year period.