Zenith National Agrees to Buy PAULA Financial

Zenith National Insurance Corp., a Woodland Hills-based insurer, said it has agreed to acquire PAULA Financial of Pasadena for $16.5 million.

Zenith, which has assets of about $1.5 billion, said its purchase of PAULA would help expand Zenith’s agricultural insurance market in California and Arizona. PAULA, a private company begun in 1946, has about 230 employees in 17 offices in those two states, and specializes in providing insurance products to agricultural firms. Zenith said PAULA had assets of $95 million as of Dec. 31.