Suburban insurer to hire 100

21st Century Insurance Group is hiring 100 call-center and information-technology workers for its auto insurance center on Beaver Valley Road, just west of US 202 between Chadds Ford, PA and Wilmington, Del., the company said today.

21st Century is a unit of Farmers Group Inc., which is owned by global giant Zurich Financial Services Group, which has offices in Philadelphia and other U.S. cities. Farmers paid American International Group $1.9 billion for the business in July. It had been slated to be spun off by AIG in a public offering along with Wilmington-based Alico. AIG officials didn't return calls seeking comment on the status of that deal.

After a year of uncertainty, "it's a very exciting opportunity for 21st Century to offer these positions within the community that we serve," said Terri Clark, human resources director at the suburban office comlpex. She said the company has 748 fulltime workers already on the site. 21st Century employs 5,000 nationwide, said spokesman Jerry Davies.

The company will hold a job fair Tuesday, Sept. 29, 4 to 7 pm, at 21st Century Plaza, 3 Beaver Valley Road, Wilmington, just south of the Pennsylvania state line.