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Article: 20th Century's comeback: insurer returns to solid footing after 1994 quake. (20th Century Industries)
- Article from:
- Los Angeles Business Journal
- Article date:
- October 14, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 CBJ, L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Bill Mellick still remembers the worst day, the day that began with the beams in his bedroom shaking him awake at 4:31 a.m. on Jan. 17, 1994.
"I knew we were having a major earthquake," recalls Mellick, president and CEO of Woodland Hills-based 20th Century Industries. "I came into the company and there were 150 windows blown out of this building. I got up on the 11th floor and computers were thrown across the room, file cabinets were thrown across the room."
But the damage to 20th Century's headquarters was nothing compared to the devastation to its balance sheet. The insurer, a major writer of homeowners and earthquake policies in the San Fernando Valley, ...