US specialty health and life insurance holding company, Universal American Financial Corp, has launched a public offering of common stock on the US market.

Universal American Financial Corp. has announced that it has launched an underwritten public offering of seven million shares of its common stock.

Of the shares being offered, two million are being offered by Universal American, five million of the shares are being offered by Capital Z Financial Services Fund II, LP, Universal American’s largest shareholder.

The insurance group provides Medicare supplements, senior life insurance, long term care insurance and fixed annuities offered to the senior market and fixed benefit accident and sickness disability insurance to the self-employed market, throughout Canada and the US.

The shares of common stock are being offered under Universal American’s effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Universal American intends to use the net proceeds of this offering to provide capital for its senior healthcare initiatives and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Universal American expects to grant the underwriters in the offering an option to purchase up to an additional 1,050,000 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. will serve as joint book-running managers for the common stock offering.