Lumbermen’s Underwriting Alliance, a property and casualty carrier specializing in forest products, assisted living, and professional employer organizations, has dismissed “several” employees from their Boca Raton headquarters.
“It came as a complete surprise,” an unidentified employee told The Boca Raton Tribune. “There was no warning.”
The layoffs follow a tumultuous year for LUA, as the company reported a $22.5 million deficit in 2014 and its most prominent subscriber, TS Employment Services, Inc., filed for bankruptcy in February. LUA covered workers compensation for the professional employer organization, which currently faces “material, unpaid federal payroll tax liability” and about $95 million in debt.
As a result of TS employment’s decline, A.M. Best had recently downgraded LUA’s financial outlook from B+ (good) to E (under regulatory supervision).
A spokesperson for the company reported that it “entered into a voluntary period of order of administrative supervision with the Missouri Department of Insurance for 60-day period to develop a plan for the company going forward.”
The departing employees will receive four months of severance pay.
