News Details

Company to Host Quarterly Conference Call at 9:00 A.M. on August 4, 2015

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 second quarter ended June 30, 2015.

“We saw very strong and accelerating organic growth throughout the quarter," said John Forney, President & CEO of UPC Insurance. "While cat losses and elevated expenses caused by the investments we are making in people and infrastructure weighed on our bottom line results, our plan to build a geographically diversified insurer focusing on coastal states from Texas to Maine is on track. During the quarter, we experienced a 76% increase in new policy production compared to the same quarter last year, and almost 80% of the new policies we sold during the quarter came from outside Florida. Over 40% of our 285,000 policies in force are now outside Florida, and our noncat loss ratio in each of those states has been below our modeled targets. We look forward to continuing this robust growth as we add new states and deepen our penetration in existing states."

Quarterly Financial Results

Net income for the quarter was $5.3 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, compared to $9.6 million, or $0.46 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2014. The decrease in net income was primarily due to increases in losses and loss adjustment expenses (LAE) resulting from multiple catastrophe events totaling $6.5 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, and higher operating expenses which were partially offset by strong revenue growth of 26.0% and favorable reserve development of $1.3 million, or $0.04 per diluted share.

The Company's total gross written premium increased by $33.7 million, or 26.1%, primarily due to the strong organic growth in new and renewal business generated in all states other than Florida and the acquisition of Family Security, which positively impacted the premium growth in Louisiana. The breakdown of quarter-over-quarter changes in both written and assumed premiums by state is shown in the table below.

Loss and LAE increased $15.8 million, or 55.0%, to $44.6 million for the second quarter of 2015 from $28.8 million for the second quarter of 2014. Loss and LAE expense as a percentage of net earned premiums increased 10.7 points resulting in a net loss ratio of 55.5% for the quarter, compared to a net loss ratio of 44.8% for the same period last year. Excluding catastrophe losses and reserve development, the Company's gross underlying loss and LAE ratio for the quarter was 32.5%, an increase of 2.1 points from 30.4% during the second quarter of 2014.

UPC Insurance experienced $6.5 million of net catastrophe losses during the quarter, which included $5.5 million of new losses from multiple hail and windstorm events in the Southeastern U.S. that were fully retained by the Company as well as $1.0 million of development, net of all reinsurance recoveries, on Northeast winter storm catastrophe losses previously reported for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Policy acquisition costs increased $5.0 million, or 30.9%, to $21.2 million for the second quarter of 2015 from $16.2 million for the second quarter of 2014. These costs vary directly with changes in gross premiums earned and were generally consistent with the Company's growth in premium production and higher average commission rates outside of Florida.

Operating expenses increased to $4.8 million for the second quarter of 2015, from $2.9 million during the same period of last year due to higher underwriting report costs, licensing costs and systems costs resulting from the Company's continued growth of policies in-force and expansion into new states.

General and administrative expenses increased to $6.5 million for the second quarter of 2015, from $4.3 million for the second quarter of 2014 primarily due to increases in personnel costs, information technology investments and professional services related to the Company's continued growth. Approximately $1.0 million of general and administrative expense for the second quarter of 2015 was driven by non-recurring charges for legal and professional services.

Combined Ratio Analysis

The Company's GAAP net combined ratio increased 14.7 points to 95.9% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 81.2% for the same period in 2014. The majority of the net combined ratio increase was caused by 8.1 points, or $6.5 million of non-recurring catastrophe losses. The Company’s underlying net combined ratio, which excludes losses from catastrophes and all effects of reserve development, increased 7.0 points to 89.4% for the second quarter of 2015 compared to 82.4% for the same period in 2014. Operating expenses contributed 4.0 points of the increase and higher underlying loss and LAE was responsible for the remaining 3.0 points. Approximately 55% of the operating expense increase was driven by policy acquisition costs that mostly vary directly with premiums which also grew proportionally from the same period in 2014.

The calculation of the Company's underlying loss and combined ratios is shown below.

The Company’s gross underlying loss ratio for the second quarter of 2015 increased to 32.5% compared to 30.4% in the second quarter of 2014. This increase was driven primarily by our changing exposure mix outside of Florida where we expect higher non-catastrophe loss ratios as well as a minor increase in frequency of loss compared to the same period in 2014. The Company's net underlying loss ratio also increased from 46.0% for 2014 to 49.0% for 2015.

Reinsurance Costs Decreased as a % of Earned Premium for the Quarter and Year-to-Date

Excluding the Company's flood business, for which it cedes 100% of the risk of loss, reinsurance costs in the second quarter of 2015 were 30.4% of gross premiums earned compared to 30.7% of gross premiums earned for the second quarter of 2014. Reinsurance costs for the six months ended June 30, 2015 were 29.7% of gross premiums earned compared to 30.1% for the same period last year.

Investment Portfolio Highlights

UPC Insurance's cash and investment holdings totaled $505.0 million at June 30, 2015 compared to $443.0 million at December 31, 2014. UPC Insurance's cash and investment holdings consist of investments in 100% investment grade money market instruments, U.S. Government and agency securities and corporate debt. Fixed maturities represented approximately 92.2% of total investments at June 30, 2015 with a modified duration of 4.1 years compared to 92.4% at December 31, 2014 and a modified duration of 3.8 years.

Book Value Analysis

Book value per share increased 4.6% from $9.75 at December 31, 2014, to $10.19 at June 30, 2015 and underlying book value per share increased 5.3% from $9.56 at December 31, 2014 to $10.07 at June 30, 2015. The increase in the Company's book value per share and underlying book value per share was driven by the increase in equity from the acquisition of Family Security Holdings and retained earnings during 2015. The Company's underlying book value per share growth was impacted by the increase in accumulated other comprehensive income as shown in the table below.

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 and reserve development (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 and prior year development 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, losses from lines in run-off and prior year development. 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. 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 three items can have a significant impact on our loss trend in a given period. The most direct comparable GAAP measure is net loss and LAE. The underlying loss and LAE measure should not be considered a substitute for net 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.

Book value per common share, excluding the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income, is a ratio that uses a non-GAAP measure. It is calculated by dividing common shareholders' equity after excluding accumulated other comprehensive income by total common shares outstanding plus dilutive potential common shares outstanding. We use the trend in book value per common share, excluding the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income, in conjunction with book value per common share to identify and analyze the change in net worth attributable to management efforts between periods. We believe the non-GAAP ratio is useful to investors because it eliminates the effect of interest rates that can fluctuate significantly from period to period and are generally driven by economic developments, primarily capital market conditions, the magnitude and timing of which are generally not influenced by management, and we believe it enhances understanding and comparability of performance by highlighting underlying business activity and profitability drivers. Book value per common share is the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Book value per common share, excluding the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income, should not be considered a substitute for book value per common share, and does not reflect the recorded net worth of our business.

About UPC Insurance

Founded in 1999, UPC Insurance is an insurance holding company that sources, writes and services residential and commercial property and casualty insurance policies using a network of independent agents and a group of wholly owned insurance subsidiaries. Our insurance affiliates write and service property and casualty insurance in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas and are licensed to write in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York and Virginia. 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, conference call identified above, and otherwise, that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that anticipate results based on our estimates, assumptions and plans that are subject to uncertainty.These statements are made subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). These forward-looking statements do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and may be identified by their use of words like“may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “estimate,” “or “continue” and other words with similar meanings. We believe these statements are based on reasonable estimates, assumptions and plans. However, if the estimates, assumptions or plans underlying the forward-looking statements prove inaccurate or if other risks or uncertainties arise, actual results could differ materially from those communicated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements may be found in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the “Risk Factors” section in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

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United Insurance Holdings Corp.
John Rohloff, 727-895-7737
Director of Financial Reporting
jrohloff@upcinsurance.com
or
INVESTOR RELATIONS:
The Equity Group
Adam Prior, 212-836-9606
Senior Vice-President
aprior@equityny.com

Source: United Insurance Holdings Corp.