Kingsway shareholder asks co to sell non-core unit Feb 2 (Reuters) - A major shareholder group of property andcasualty insurer Kingsway Financial Services (KFS.TO)(KFS.N)urged the company to sell or run-off non-core businesses andfocus on its core business of non-standard auto insurance.
In a filing with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,shareholders Joseph Stilwell and affiliates, who own 9 percentof Kingsway, also urged the company to lower expense levels"quickly and materially".
The shareholder group also urged the company to repurchasedebt trading at a discount and buyback shares.
Kingsway, which sells insurance to risky auto drivers aswell as truck and taxi fleets, had said in December that itwill cut jobs and freeze salaries as part of its plan to saveabout $20 million in 2009.
On Jan. 29, New York-based Stilwell asked for a specialelection to put an end to certain payments made to the boardmembers and remove two of them from the board.
"Since our nominees joined the board three weeks ago, wehave been shocked at the deep passivity of many directors,"Stilwell said.
Earlier, the investor group forced Kingsway's ChiefExecutive Shaun Jackson to resign from the company's board tomake room for two Stilwell nominees.(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing byAmitha Rajan)