PICO Holdings has sold its two insurance company subsidiaries,Ohio-based Physicians Insurance Company and Citation Insurance Company to White Mountains Solutions Holding Company(White Mountains Solutions).

The transaction resulted in proceeds of approximately$44.4m to PICO consisting of pre-closing dividends of approximately$28.9m from the two subsidiaries,in aggregate and sales proceeds of approximately$15.5m.

A loss from discontinued operations has been reported from operations of the two insurance companies as approximately$2.7m for the nine months which ended on 30 September 2012.

White Mountains Insurance Group is a financial services firm,offering property and casualty insurance and reinsurance products through its subsidiaries.