News Details

Company to Host Quarterly Conference Call at 10:00 A.M. on February 28, 2013

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- United Insurance Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: UIHC)(UPC Insurance or the Company), a property and casualty insurance holding company, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2012.

Financial and Operational Highlights

• Fourth quarter 2012 net income was $1.0 million, or $0.09 per diluted share
• Full year 2012 net income was $9.7 million, or $0.91 per diluted share
• Fourth quarter 2012 gross premiums written increased 37% to $59.5 million
• Full year gross premiums written increased 25% to $255 million
• Cash and investment holdings were $223.4 million at December 31, 2012
• Book value per share was $5.70 at December 31, 2012
• Full year return on average equity was 16.1% and combined ratio was 94.8%

2012 Fourth Quarter

UPC Insurance reported total revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, of $37.9 million, a 43% increase from the $26.5 million reported in the prior year period. The strong growth was primarily due to an increase in net premiums earned to $34.2 million, from $24.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. The growth in net premiums earned for the quarter was driven by continued growth in new business in Florida and other states as well as exceptional retention of renewal business. Net investment income, realized gains and other revenues increased to $3.7 million for the quarter, compared to $1.6 million in the prior year quarter.

The Company realized gains from its investment portfolio of $2.0 million during the quarter as part of a repositioning of the portfolio towards shorter overall duration. UPC Insurance’s overarching investment philosophy is focused on a fixed income portfolio that minimizes risk with low average durations, high credit quality and prudent asset allocation across highly liquid sectors.

Losses and loss adjustment expenses (LAE) increased to $19.0 million for the quarter, from $9.5 million during the same period of last year. The increase during the fourth quarter was largely due to catastrophe losses incurred from Superstorm Sandy and re-estimation of reserves and development related to prior accident years, as shown below:

^* Underlying Loss and LAE is a non-GAAP measure and is reconciled above to Net Loss and LAE, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures presented in this press release is in the “Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures” section of this document.

During the fourth quarter, the Company implemented new loss reserving practices designed to strengthen UPC Insurance’s approach to claim estimation and adjudication. An extensive review of all open and pending claim inventories by the Company’s new V.P. of Claims included various upward and downward changes in estimates, but resulted in net case reserve strengthening of approximately $1.3 million during the quarter. The balance of the adverse development experienced for the quarter relates primarily to new and reopened claims in the 2010 and 2011 accident years.

Policy acquisition costs increased to $10.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, from $7.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. These costs vary directly with premiums earned and as a percentage of gross premiums earned, were up slightly from 15.8% in the prior year to 16.5% in the current quarter due to higher commissions paid on new and renewal business outside of Florida.

Operating expenses increased to $3.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, from $1.1 million during the same period of last year due primarily to the assessment levied by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) of approximately $1.7 million and company growth. Rate filings have been approved and implemented that will allow UPC Insurance to fully recoup the FIGA assessment amount during 2013 and 2014.

General and administrative expenses increased to $3.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, from $2.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 as a result of the Company’s efforts to strengthen its management team and expansion into new states. Overall, the Company’s net expense ratio decreased for both the quarter and the year after backing out the effects of the FIGA assessment.

2012 Fiscal Year

Revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, increased 36%, to $131.2 million, compared to $96.4 million for the prior year period. The increase in revenues was primarily driven by a 35% increase in net premiums earned to $122.0 million, from $90.1 million during the same period of last year. Net investment income and other revenues increased to $9.3 million for the year-to-date period, from $6.3 million during the same period of last year driven primarily by $2.1 million in realized gains and increased policy fee income.

Losses and loss adjustment expenses increased to $58.4 million for the full year 2012, from $38.9 million for the same period last year. While prior year development had a significant impact on the fourth quarter, the unfavorable reserve development for the entire year ending December 31, 2012, was $0.7 million. UPC Insurance’s net loss and loss adjustment expense ratio history along with the impact of reserve development and catastrophe losses is as follows:

^* Underlying Loss Ratio is a non-GAAP financial measure and is reconciled above to the Consolidated Net Loss Ratio, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Additional information regarding non-GAAP measures presented in this press release is in the “Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures” section of this document.

Overall the Company’s attritional loss experience by accident year excluding catastrophes has been stable or trending downwards for the past several years, as shown in the following table:

¹ Defined as the total sum we expect to pay for fully developed losses and loss adjusting expenses (i.e. paid losses, incurred losses and incurred but not reported losses) divided by earned house years.

Policy acquisition costs increased $7.8 million, or 27%, to $36.9 million for the year, compared to $29.1 million for the same period last year. These costs vary directly with premiums earned and as a percentage of gross premiums earned, were up slightly from 16.1% in 2011 to 16.3% in the current year due to higher commissions paid on new and renewal business outside of Florida.

Operating expenses increased to $8.6 million for the year-to-date period, from $5.1 million during the same period of last year. Excluding the non-recurring FIGA assessment expensed in the fourth quarter of 2012, operating expenses were unchanged from 2011 at 5.7% of net premiums earned.

General and administrative expenses increased $2.0 million to $11.7 million compared to $9.7 million a year ago due primarily to an increase in salaries and related expenses to support the Company’s growth.

Reinsurance Costs

Excluding the Company’s flood business, which it cedes 100% of the risk of loss, reinsurance costs in the fourth quarter of 2012 were 42% of gross premiums earned compared to 47% of gross premiums earned for the fourth quarter of 2011. Reinsurance costs for the year were 43% of gross premiums earned compared to 47% of gross premiums earned for the same period in 2011.

Balance Sheet Highlights

UPC Insurance’s cash and investment holdings totaled $223.4 million at December 31, 2012, compared to $165.9 million at December 31, 2011. UPC Insurance’s cash and investment holdings consist primarily of investments in high-quality money market instruments, U.S. Government and agency securities and high-quality corporate debt. Fixed maturities represented approximately 98% and 97% of the Company’s total investments at December 31, 2012, and December 31, 2011, respectively.

Management Comments

John Forney, Chief Executive Officer of UPC Insurance, stated, “2012 was a momentous year for UPC Insurance. We grew policies in force and revenues by over 30%, increased net income 20%, delivered return on equity over 16% despite several cat events during the year, brought on board four new executives to round out a world-class management team, and completed a successful public offering that launched us onto the NASDAQ. That record speaks for itself. We are gratified at the strong support we have received from investors, the independent agent community, policyholders, regulators, and reinsurers during 2012, and we are singularly focused on executing our growth strategy and delivering results for each of these constituencies in 2013.”

Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures

We believe that investors’ understanding of UPC Insurance’s performance is enhanced by our disclosure of the following non-GAAP measures. Our methods for calculating these measures may differ from those used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited.

Combined ratio excluding the effects of current year catastrophe losses, reserve development and the FIGA assessment (underlying combined ratio) is a non-GAAP ratio, which is computed as the difference between four GAAP operating ratios: the combined ratio, the effect of current year catastrophe losses on the combined ratio, the effect of prior year development on the combined ratio and the effect of FIGA assessment on the combined ratio. We believe that this ratio is useful to investors and it is used by management to reveal the trends in our business that may be obscured by current year catastrophe losses, prior year development and assessments. Current year catastrophe losses cause our loss trends to vary significantly between periods as a result of their incidence of occurrence and magnitude, and can have a significant impact on the combined ratio. Prior year development is caused by unexpected loss development on historical reserves. FIGA assessments primarily relate to amounts paid to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association to cover claims paid by the association to policyholders from insolvent insurance companies. We believe it is useful for investors to evaluate these components separately and in the aggregate when reviewing our performance. The most direct comparable GAAP measure is the combined ratio. The underlying combined ratio should not be considered as a substitute for the combined ratio and does not reflect the overall profitability of our business.

Net Loss and LAE excluding the effects of current year catastrophe losses and reserve development (underlying Loss and LAE) is a non-GAAP measure which is computed as the difference between loss and LAE, current year catastrophe losses and prior year reserve development. We use underlying loss and LAE figures to analyze our loss trends that may be impacted by current year catastrophe losses and prior year development on our reserves. As discussed previously, these two items can have a significant impact on our loss trend in a given period. The most direct comparable GAAP measure is loss and LAE. The underlying loss and LAE figure should not be considered a substitute for losses and LAE and does not reflect the overall profitability of our business.

Consolidated net loss ratio excluding the effects of current year catastrophe losses, reserve development (underlying loss ratio) is a non-GAAP ratio, which is computed as the difference between three GAAP operating ratios: the consolidated net loss ratio, the effect of current year catastrophe losses on the loss ratio, and the effect of prior year development on the loss ratio. We believe that this ratio is useful to investors and it is used by management to reveal the trends in our consolidated net loss ratio that may be obscured by current year catastrophe losses and prior year development. As discussed previously, these two items can have a significant impact on our consolidated net loss ratio in a given period. The most direct comparable GAAP ratio is our net consolidated Loss and LAE ratio. The underlying loss ratio should not be considered as a substitute for net consolidated loss ratio and does not reflect the overall profitability of our business.

About UPC Insurance

Founded in 1999, UPC Insurance is an insurance holding company that sources, writes and services residential property and casualty insurance policies using a network of independent agents and a group of wholly owned insurance subsidiaries. United Property & Casualty Insurance Company, the primary operating subsidiary of UPC Insurance, writes and services property and casualty insurance in Florida, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and was recently licensed to write in North Carolina. From its headquarters in St. Petersburg, UPC Insurance's team of dedicated professionals manages a completely integrated insurance company, including sales, underwriting, customer service and claims.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those discussed herein. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “estimate,” “or “continue” or the other negative variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding: the impact of our continued growth, and the expansion into other states. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ from those expressed or implied herein include, without limitation, the success of the Company's marketing initiatives, inflation and other changes in economic conditions (including changes in interest rates and financial markets); the impact of new Federal and State regulations that affect the property and casualty insurance market; the costs of reinsurance and the collectability of reinsurance, assessments charged by various governmental agencies; pricing competition and other initiatives by competitors; our ability to obtain regulatory approval for requested rate changes, and the timing thereof; legislative and regulatory developments; the outcome of litigation pending against us, including the terms of any settlements; risks related to the nature of our business; dependence on investment income and the composition of our investment portfolio; the adequacy of our liability for losses and loss adjustment expense; insurance agents; claims experience; ratings by industry services; catastrophe losses; reliance on key personnel; weather conditions (including the severity and frequency of storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and hail); changes in loss trends; acts of war and terrorist activities; court decisions and trends in litigation, and health care; and other matters described from time to time by us in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on January 31, 2013. In addition, investors should be aware that generally accepted accounting principles prescribe when a company may reserve for particular risks, including litigation exposures. Accordingly, results for a given reporting period could be significantly affected if and when a reserve is established for a major contingency. Reported results may therefore, appear to be volatile in certain accounting periods. The Company undertakes no obligations to update, change or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, additional or subsequent developments or otherwise.

United Insurance Holdings Corp.
John Rohloff, 727-895-7737
SEC Reporting Manager
jrohloff@upcinsurance.com
or
Investor Relations:
The Equity Group
Adam Prior, 212-836-9606
Senior Vice President
aprior@equityny.com
or
Terry Downs, 212-836-9615
Associate
tdowns@equityny.com

Source: United Insurance Holdings Corp.