UIHC 2017 Annual Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Keep the Promise ® UNITED INSURANCE HOLDINGS CORP. 2017 ANNUAL REPORT FIVE FOUNDATIONS OF UPC INSURANCE FINANCIAL STABILITY SUPERIOR CLAIMS SERVICE Our financial strength assures our ability to pay claims Timely, fair resolution of claims Financial stability is the first and most We process claims using professional in-house important of our Five Foundations. We UPC associates who share our commitment to have over $530 million of equity capital in excellence. No matter the situation, we strive our company, and purchase an additional to provide all policyholders a timely response $3 billion of reinsurance – making us one of and fair resolution of their claims. The results the ten largest purchasers of U.S. property are prompt restoration or replacement of the catastrophe reinsurance in the world. No property and high customer satisfaction. historical event or storm season would use much more than half of our reinsurance, tower, and that means you can rest easy EASE OF DOING BUSINESS knowing that UPC Insurance is here today, here tomorrow to meet all of your needs no We’re easy to work with! matter the circumstances. Financial Stability. We know you’re busy, so for both agents and Count on it from UPC. policyholders, we want your experience of doing business with UPC to be easy and efficient. That means the ability to report claims and PRODUCTS THAT WORK access policy information online, easy access to a UPC representative by phone to answer your AK Flexible product options meet unique needs questions, and much more. We offer a selection of customizable products, designed to provide affordable options with superior protection. For both residential and FAIR PRICING commercial lines, we listen to our agents to understand the needs of policyholders and Our sensible pricing supports everyone’s best interests develop products that meet these needs. We pledge always to provide a price that accurately reflects the risk we are assuming in writing a policy. That is fair pricing, and in the long run it works to the benefit of agents and policyholders. We want to be competitive with other carriers, but we won’t cut prices to win business if it jeopardizes our financial stability and ability to pay claims in all circumstances. A LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER JOHN FORNEY Recently, I have heard several insurance industry CEO’s use the same Charles Dickens quote to describe the state of our industry: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I like a good quote as much as (probably more than) the next guy, but this one has gotten a little tired from overuse, and besides, at least for our company, it’s not true. No, at UPC Insurance, it’s all good. Consider: The inside front cover of this report lists the Five Foundations of UPC Insurance. In combination, these foundations comprise our value proposition – to our associates, to our agents, to our reinsurers, to our regulators, and to our investors. We need every one of them. In the six years since we set out to leverage our long, successful history as a Florida personal lines property underwriter to other cat-exposed states and lines of business, we have focused on building value the hard way – one state at a time, one agent at a time, one policy at a time. Since we have not focused on take-outs or acquisitions as our primary means of growth, it has been imperative that we present a compelling value proposition that enables us to grow profitably and create a win-win relationship with our core partners. That’s what the Five Foundations are all about, and while we have not executed perfectly, our strategy and execution have created demonstrable value. Here are two charts that illustrate the point: INCRESE IN P EUITY CR IN OO VUE PER SHRE FRO FRO $ in thousands 600,000 $13.00 $12.56 537,125 $12.00 500,000 $11.00 400,000 $10.00 $9.00 300,000 $8.00 200,000 $7.00 $6.00 87,986 100,000 $5.70 $5.00 – $4.00 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Q4 ‘12 Q4 Q1 ‘13 Q1 Q2 ‘13 Q2 Q3 ‘13 Q3 Q4 ‘13 Q4 Q1 ‘14 Q1 Q2 ‘14 Q2 Q3 ‘14 Q3 Q1 ‘17 Q1 Q1 ‘15 Q1 Q4 ‘14 Q4 Q2 ‘17 Q2 Q2 ‘15 Q2 Q3 ‘17 Q3 Q3 ‘15 Q3 Q4 ‘17 Q4 Q1 ‘16 Q1 Q4 ‘15 Q4 Q2 ‘16 Q2 Q3 ‘16 Q3 P Et STAT Et ‘16 Q4 It has been gratifying and humbling to be a part of a team that has created that much value over an extended period while venturing into new territory, operating in a competitive market, andUS facing INSURED challenges CTSTROPHE from cat OSSES activity and other complications.Actual/Best Estimate WhenHigh I Estimaterecently suggestedLow Estimate to a company advisor that the past six years have demonstrated that our team knows what it’s $125 B Notable Events (Swiss Re/Aon figures) LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS$1 15– B1 tlant Hrranes $105 B Harvey, Irma and Maria 04 - California Wildfires ($7 B/$11 B) Tubbs, Atlas and Mendocino Lake $76.8 B doing, she challenged me to say instead that ”it appears we have made some good decisions over the past six years,” the point being that we all make most decisions with imperfect information, and the fact that the results are good does not necessarily mean we made consistently good decisions. Trust the process, in other words, and don’t focus on the results. If you follow a good decision-making process over time, your long-run results should be good, although Lady Luck (and in our case, Mother Nature) always gets a vote. One decision process we have always followed is to prioritize our Five Foundations. Of the five, four are INCRESEfixable in INthe P short-term. EUITY Products, claims service,CR IN ease OO of VUEuse, and PER pricing SHRE can all be adjusted as weFRO course correct and seek continuous improvement.FRO In fact, we have made $ in thousands many600,000 mistakes in these areas, but have always taken$13.00 corrective action and improved over$ 1time.2.56 537,125 Sub-optimal in the short-term, at times, yes, but $never12.00 fatal. The one unforgiving foundation is 500,000 Financial Stability, so we don’t take chances with $this11.00 one. That’s why we have a lot of capital in400,000 our business, use low operating and financial $leverage,10.00 and augment our capital with a lot $9.00 of300,000 reinsurance. The events of 2017 allowed UPC Insurance both to demonstrate its Financial Stability and to bolster it. $8.00 200,000 $7.00 $6.00 Demonstrating87,986 Financial Stability 100,000 $5.70 In 2017, our company retained over $116 million$5.00 of catastrophe losses, 11.8% of our gross premiums– earned. That’s a lot of pre-tax margin to$ 4.00give up, yet we were still able to report a 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 profit for the year. It was an unprecedented year, with two CAT 4 hurricanes making landfall in Q4 ‘12 Q4 Q1 ‘13 Q1 Q2 ‘13 Q2 Q3 ‘13 Q3 Q4 ‘13 Q4 Q1 ‘14 Q1 Q2 ‘14 Q2 Q3 ‘14 Q3 Q1 ‘17 Q1 Q1 ‘15 Q1 Q4 ‘14 Q4 Q2 ‘17 Q2 Q2 ‘15 Q2 Q3 ‘17 Q3 Q3 ‘15 Q3 Q4 ‘17 Q4 Q1 ‘16 Q1 Q4 ‘15 Q4 Q2 ‘16 Q2 Q3 ‘16 Q3 P Et STAT Et ‘16 Q4 the United States for the first time in recorded history, and U.S insured cat losses exceeding $100 billion, also for the first time, as shown by this table from a recent industry report from Kroll Bond Rating Agency: US INSURED CTSTROPHE OSSES Actual/Best Estimate High Estimate Low Estimate $125 B Notable Events (Swiss Re/Aon figures) $115 B tlant Hrranes $105 B Harvey, Irma and Maria 04 - California Wildfires ($7 B/$11 B) Tubbs, Atlas and Mendocino Lake $76.8 B Colorado Tnderstorms Hail & Wind Event $36.3 B $35.2 B $36.2 B $37 B $30.3 B $21 B $17.0 B $15.7 B $15.8 B $15.4 B $10.8 B $11.8 B $13.4 B $6.4 B $7.9 B $7.7 B $0.0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Sources: Property Claims Service/ISO; Insurance Information Institute; Swiss Re Institute; Aon Benfield; KBRA analysis. Figures stated are expressed in 2016 dollars, except for 2017 estimates. A big reason for our profitability in 2017 is that we ceded over $400 million of losses to our reinsurance partners, but only about $350 million of premium. In 2017, our reinsurance CUUTIVE VUE OF INVESTENT FRO TO partners in total lost money on their relationship with UPC. In the long run, though, it’s a $400.00 different story. $350.00 We buy reinsurance$300.00 differently than most companies, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitatively,$250.00 we buy more first event limit than any regional company operating in Florida – over $2.8 billion$200.00 in 2017. I saw some statistics recently that suggest that makes us one of the ten largest purchasers$150.00 of U.S. property cat reinsurance in the world, alongside the likes $100.00 LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS – 2 $50.00 $- 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 UIHC $100.00 $236.27 $371.02 $292.42 $262.84 $303.64 of AIG, Chubb, Travelers, Allstate, etc.