Intercontinental Warranty Services Inc., a provider ofafter-market vehicle protection services to credit unions, said itwill sell certain assets to Kingsway Financial Services Inc.

The Boca Raton, Fla.-based IWS provides vehicle serviceagreements, mechanical breakdown insurance and guaranteed assetprotection to their members in conjunction with their autoloans.

Located in Chicago, Kingsway is a holding company functioning asa merchant bank and owns or controls stakes in several insuranceindustry assets, according to IWS. The company utilizes itssubsidiaries, 1347 Advisors LLC and 1347 Capital LLC, to pursueopportunities acting as an adviser, investor and a financier, IWSsaid.

IWS President/CEO James Hawk said thechange of ownership will be essentially transparent to clientcredit unions, but noticeable enhancements will include a broaderproduct line and greater staff resources, along with improvedtechnology.

Current management, led by Hawk, will remain in place, accordingto IWS.

Although the official acquisition will take place this month,IWS said the two companies have already been working on technologyupgrades, such as new servers, database and telephone system.

Additional improvements will include a redesigned corporatewebsite and the ability to reach clients through social networkingsystems. The company said it also expects to add to the headcountin areas such as sales, training and information technology.

Assurant Solutions will continue to underwrite the IWS VSAprogram, according to Keith Meier, senior vice president andgeneral manager of extended protection solutions at AssurantSolutions.

Both IWS and Kingsway have been in the insurance business morethan 20 years, the companies said.