Insurer Consolidates in Warner Center By Brad Smith Staff Reporter One of the top ten insurance brokerage firms in the nation will be centralizing its Los Angeles County operations in Woodland Hills this month, officials said. U.S.I. Holdings Corp., based in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., will move 200 employees from three separate offices in Los Angeles to a new location in Warner Center. U.S.I. will be leasing 51,655 square feet on three floors of Tower I at 21600 Oxnard Street in a 72-month-long deal valued at $6.5 million over the life of the lease, representatives of the company said. The space in the 21600 Oxnard property, owned by Douglas Emmett, was previously leased by Health Net Inc. “The Warner Center towers provide excellent amenities and a central location,” said David Kluth, with the Los Angeles office of Julien J. Studley, Inc., who represented U.S.I. along with Justin Hodgdon. “It is a very central location for their existing workforce and the labor pool out there is attractive.” Part of the attraction of Warner Center is its position as a hub for the insurance industry in Los Angeles, officials said. Among the insurance firms clustered in the area are Blue Cross of California and Blue Cross Life & Health, 21st Century Insurance Group, Zenith Insurance Co. and Health Net. Previously, U.S.I. had offices in downtown Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, and Woodland Hills. Overall, by consolidating the offices and achieving more efficient use of space, the move should allow the company to reduce its current square footage commitment by 16,000 square feet and its parking rates by 25 percent, officials said. The company’s new spaces will include two full floors and one half of a third floor in the building. The move will begin in mid-August and should be completed by Sept. 1.
