James River Group Holdings, Inc. (JRVR)
SIC breadcrumb: Finance, Insurance, And Real Estate > Insurance Carriers > SIC 6331 Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1620459. Latest filing source: 0001620459-26-000009.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read JRVR's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read JRVR's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 687,614,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-03 |
| Net income | 47,427,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-03 |
| Assets | 4,859,930,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-03 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-03-03. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001620459.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 586,227,000 | 817,625,000 | 885,599,000 | 907,125,000 | 668,689,000 | 609,035,000 | 661,514,000 | 812,009,000 | 707,626,000 | 687,614,000 |
| Net income | 74,471,000 | 43,566,000 | 63,830,000 | 38,339,000 | 4,824,000 | -172,799,000 | 30,973,000 | -107,684,000 | -81,120,000 | 47,427,000 |
| Diluted EPS | 2.49 | 1.44 | 2.11 | 1.25 | 0.16 | -4.94 | 0.59 | -3.13 | -3.06 | 0.79 |
| Operating cash flow | 154,349,000 | 207,816,000 | 290,028,000 | 1,489,022,000 | -273,830,000 | -913,546,000 | 222,734,000 | 87,953,000 | -247,085,000 | -18,786,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 519,000 | 549,000 | 6,303,000 | 8,219,000 | 6,434,000 | 4,890,000 | 4,801,000 | |||
| Dividends paid | 37,051,000 | 43,236,000 | 7,798,000 | 7,746,000 | 6,231,000 | 1,998,000 | ||||
| Assets | 2,346,533,000 | 2,756,695,000 | 3,136,776,000 | 5,024,405,000 | 5,063,072,000 | 4,948,550,000 | 5,137,075,000 | 5,317,250,000 | 5,007,076,000 | 4,859,930,000 |
| Liabilities | 1,653,312,000 | 2,061,996,000 | 2,427,535,000 | 4,245,824,000 | 4,267,464,000 | 4,223,188,000 | 4,438,411,000 | 4,637,731,000 | 4,413,046,000 | 4,188,662,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | 693,221,000 | 694,699,000 | 709,241,000 | 778,581,000 | 795,608,000 | 725,362,000 | 553,766,000 | 534,621,000 | 460,915,000 | 538,153,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 109,784,000 | 163,495,000 | 172,457,000 | 206,912,000 | 162,260,000 | 190,123,000 | 159,200,000 | 274,298,000 | 362,345,000 | 260,941,000 |
| Free cash flow | 1,488,503,000 | -274,379,000 | -919,849,000 | 214,515,000 | 81,519,000 | -251,975,000 | -23,587,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 12.70% | 5.33% | 7.21% | 4.23% | 0.72% | -28.37% | 4.68% | -13.26% | -11.46% | 6.90% |
| Return on equity | 10.74% | 6.27% | 9.00% | 4.92% | 0.61% | -23.82% | 5.59% | -20.14% | -17.60% | 8.81% |
| Return on assets | 3.17% | 1.58% | 2.03% | 0.76% | 0.10% | -3.49% | 0.60% | -2.03% | -1.62% | 0.98% |
| Liabilities / equity | 2.38 | 2.97 | 3.42 | 5.45 | 5.36 | 5.82 | 8.01 | 8.67 | 9.57 | 7.78 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001620459-26-000009; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001620459-26-000009; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001620459-26-000009; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: Revenues. Source concepts: us-gaap:Revenues.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001620459-26-000009; filed 2026-03-03. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-05. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001620459.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | 0.13 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | -0.19 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | 0.18 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 229,051,000 | 15,914,000 | 0.35 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 233,427,000 | 19,551,000 | 0.45 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 116,860,000 | -150,155,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 201,127,000 | 15,403,000 | 0.35 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 188,289,000 | 7,625,000 | 0.13 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 191,497,000 | -39,381,000 | -1.10 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 126,713,000 | -64,767,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 172,289,000 | 9,574,000 | 0.16 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 174,843,000 | 4,759,000 | 0.06 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 172,735,000 | 1,021,000 | -0.02 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 167,747,000 | 32,073,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 151,384,000 | -8,923,000 | -0.23 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001620459-26-000028; filed 2026-05-05. Concept: Revenues. Source concepts: us-gaap:Revenues.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001620459-26-000028; filed 2026-05-05. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001620459-26-000028; filed 2026-05-05. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001620459-26-000028.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. Factors that could cause such differences are discussed in the sections entitled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2026 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2026, or for any other future period. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes have been prepared in accordance with United States (“U.S.”) generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and include the accounts of James River Group Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Unless the context indicates or suggests otherwise, references to “the Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to James River Group Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Our Business
James River Group Holdings, Inc. owns and operates a group of specialty property and casualty insurance companies focused on underwriting small and middle market casualty risks within the U.S. excess and surplus (“E&S”) lines market. Our objective is to generate compelling returns on tangible common equity while limiting underwriting and investment volatility. We seek to accomplish this by earning profits from insurance underwriting and generating meaningful risk-adjusted investment returns, while managing our capital.
We report our continuing operations in three reportable segments:
•The Excess & Surplus Lines segment offers commercial excess and surplus lines liability and property insurance in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through James River Insurance Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, James River Casualty Company;
•The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment focuses on niche classes within the standard insurance markets through its fronting business, where we retain a minority share of the risk and seek to earn fee income by allowing other carriers and producers to use our licensure, ratings, expertise and infrastructure. Through Falls Lake National and its subsidiaries, this segment has admitted licenses and the authority to write excess and surplus lines insurance in 50 states and the District of Columbia and distributes through a variety of sources, including program administrators and managing general agents;
•The Corporate and Other segment consists of the management, technology, and treasury activities of our holding companies, interest expense associated with our debt, and expenses of our holding companies, including public company expenses and long-term incentive compensation (including share-based compensation) for the group.
Our discontinued operations include losses recognized on the disposal of JRG Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“JRG Re”). The sale of JRG Re, which previously comprised the remaining operations of the former Casualty Reinsurance segment, closed on April 16, 2024, and resulted in the disposition of the Company's casualty reinsurance business and related assets. The Company has no continued involvement with JRG Re following the sale.
All of the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries are party to an intercompany pooling agreement that distributes the net underwriting results among the group companies based on their approximate pro-rata level of statutory capital and surplus to the total Company statutory capital and surplus. We report all segment information in this ‘‘Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ prior to the effects of intercompany reinsurance, consistent with the manner in which we evaluate the operating performance of our reportable segments.
The A.M. Best Company financial strength rating for our group’s insurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a negative outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s evaluation of our insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our operating insurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our insurance subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our insurance subsidiaries allow our Excess & Surplus Lines segment to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in its marketing plans. If we remain on negative outlook for an extended
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period of time, A.M. Best may downgrade our rating, which would have a materially adverse effect on our ability to continue to write new business.
Key Metrics
We discuss certain key metrics, described below, which we believe provide useful information about our business and the operational factors underlying our financial performance.
Underwriting profit is a non-GAAP measure commonly used in the property and casualty insurance industry to evaluate underwriting performance. We believe that the disclosure of underwriting profit by individual segment and of the Company as a whole is useful to investors, analysts, rating agencies and other users of our financial information in evaluating our performance because our objective is to consistently earn underwriting profits. We evaluate the performance of our segments and allocate resources based primarily on the potential for underwriting profit. We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of underwriting profit to income from continuing operations before taxes and for additional information.
Loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting to net earned premiums. Our definition of loss ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Accident year loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses for the current accident year (excluding development on prior accident year reserves) to net earned premiums for the current year (excluding ceded earned premium associated with adverse development covers covering prior accident years and net earned premium adjustments on certain reinsurance treaties with reinstatement premiums associated with prior years).
Expense ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of other operating expenses net of gross fee income included in other income to net earned premiums.
Combined ratio is a measure of underwriting performance calculated as the sum of the loss ratio and the expense ratio. A combined ratio of less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit, while a combined ratio greater than 100% reflects an underwriting loss. Our definition of combined ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Adjusted net operating income is an internal performance measure used in the management of our operations. We believe it gives our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) income (loss) from discontinued operations, b) the impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting, c) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, d) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to certain lawsuits, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, e) severance costs associated with terminated employees, f) deemed dividends recorded with the amendment of the Series A Preferred Shares, and g) the one-time tax benefit from the Domestication for business interest expenses. Adjusted net operating income is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of income available to common shareholders to adjusted net operating income.
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares (as defined below) and the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. Tangible equity is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of tangible equity may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of shareholders' equity to tangible equity.
Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total common shares outstanding plus the common shares resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the conversion price effective as of the last day of the applicable period).
Tangible common equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. We believe tangible common equity is a good measure to evaluate the strength of our balance sheet and to compare returns relative to this measure. Key financial measures that we use to assess our longer term financial performance include the percentage growth in our tangible common equity per share and our return on tangible common equity. Tangible common equity is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for
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shareholders’ equity calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of tangible common equity may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of shareholders' equity to tangible common equity.
Tangible common equity per share represents tangible common equity divided by the total shares of common stock outstanding.
Adjusted net operating return on tangible common equi
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements and involves numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should read this discussion and analysis together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
James River Group Holdings, Inc. owns and operates a group of specialty property and casualty insurance companies focused on underwriting small and middle market casualty risks within the U.S. excess and surplus (“E&S”) lines market. Our objective is to generate compelling returns on tangible common equity while limiting underwriting and investment volatility. We seek to accomplish this by earning profits from insurance underwriting and generating meaningful risk-adjusted investment returns, while managing our capital.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, approximately 84.5% of our gross written premiums and 95.9% of our net written premiums originated from the U.S. E&S lines market, which we believe puts us among the top publicly traded insurers as ranked by highest concentrations of E&S risk. We also have a specialty admitted insurance business in the United States. We intend to concentrate substantially all of our underwriting in casualty insurance, and for the year ended December 31, 2025, 96.7% of our gross written premiums were derived from casualty insurance. We focus on writing business in specialty markets where our underwriters have particular expertise and where we have long-standing distribution relationships, maintaining a strong balance sheet with appropriate reserves, monitoring reinsurance recoverables carefully, managing our investment portfolio actively without taking undue risk, using technology to monitor trends in our business, responding rapidly to market opportunities and challenges, and actively managing our capital.
We report our continuing operations in three segments: Excess and Surplus Lines, Specialty Admitted Insurance, and Corporate and Other.
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment offers E&S commercial lines liability and property insurance in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through James River Insurance and its wholly-owned subsidiary, James River Casualty. James River Insurance and James River Casualty are both non-admitted carriers. Non-admitted carriers writing in the E&S market are not bound by most of the rate and form regulations imposed on standard market companies, allowing them flexibility to change the coverage terms offered and the rate charged without the time constraints and financial costs associated with the rate and form filing process. In 2025, the average account in this segment (excluding commercial auto policies) generated annual gross written premiums of approximately $26,500. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment distributes its products primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. Members of our management team have participated in this market for over twenty years and have long-standing relationships with the wholesale agents who place E&S lines accounts. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced 82.1% of our gross written premiums and 95.7% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment focuses on niche classes within the standard insurance markets through its fronting business, where we retain a minority share of the risk and seek to earn fee income by allowing other carriers and producers to use our licensure, ratings, expertise and infrastructure. Through Falls Lake National and its subsidiaries, this segment has admitted licenses and the authority to write excess and surplus lines insurance in 50 states and the District of Columbia and distributes through a variety of sources, including program administrators and MGAs. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment produced 17.9% of our gross written premiums and 4.3% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The Corporate and Other segment consists of the management and treasury activities of our holding companies, equity compensation for the group, and interest expense associated with our debt.
Our discontinued operations include JRG Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“JRG Re”), which comprised the remaining operations of the former Casualty Reinsurance segment, and which, prior to the suspension of its underwriting activities in 2023, provided proportional and working layer casualty reinsurance to third parties. On November 8, 2023, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to sell JRG Re. The sale of JRG Re, which closed on April 16, 2024, resulted in the Company’s disposition of its casualty reinsurance business and related assets.
All of the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries are party to an intercompany pooling agreement that distributes the net underwriting results among the group companies based on their approximate pro-rata level of statutory capital and surplus to the total Company statutory capital and surplus. We report all segment information in this ‘‘Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ prior to the effects of intercompany reinsurance, consistent with the manner in which we evaluate the operating performance of our reportable segments.
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The A.M. Best Company financial strength rating for our group’s insurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a negative outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s evaluation of our insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our operating insurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our insurance subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our insurance subsidiaries allow our Excess and Surplus Lines segment to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in its marketing plans.
Key Metrics
We discuss certain key metrics, described below, which we believe provide useful information about our business and the operational factors underlying our financial performance.
Underwriting profit is a non-GAAP measure commonly used in the property and casualty insurance industry to evaluate underwriting performance. We believe that the disclosure of underwriting profit by individual segment and of the Company as a whole is useful to investors, analysts, rating agencies and other users of our financial information in evaluating our performance because our objective is to consistently earn underwriting profits. We evaluate the performance of our segments and allocate resources based primarily on the potential for underwriting profit. We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of underwriting profit to income from continuing operations before taxes and for additional information.
Loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting to net earned premiums. Our definition of loss ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Accident year loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses for the current accident year (excluding development on prior accident year reserves) to net earned premiums for the current year (excluding ceded earned premium associated with adverse development covers covering prior accident years and net earned premium adjustments on certain reinsurance treaties with reinstatement premiums associated with prior years).
Expense ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of other operating expenses net of gross fee income included in other income to net earned premiums.
Combined ratio is a measure of underwriting performance calculated as the sum of the loss ratio and the expense ratio. A combined ratio of less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit, while a combined ratio greater than 100% reflects an underwriting loss. Our definition of combined ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Adjusted net operating income is an internal performance measure used in the management of our operations. We believe it gives our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) income (loss) from discontinued operations, b) the impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting, c) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, d) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to certain lawsuits, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, e) severance costs associated with terminated employees, f) deemed dividends recorded with the amendment of the Series A Preferred Shares, and g) the one-time tax benefit from the Domestication for business interest expenses. Adjusted net operating income is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of income available to common shareholders to adjusted net operating income.
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares (as defined below) and the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. Tangible equity is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of tangible equity may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of shareholders' equity to tangible equity.
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Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total common shares outstanding plus the common shares resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the conversion price effective as of the last day of the applicable period).
Tangible common equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. We believe tangible common equity is a good measure to evaluate the strength of our balance sheet and to compare returns relative to this measure. Key financial measures that we use to assess our longer term financial performance include the percentage growth in our tangible common equity per share and our return on tangible common equity. Tangible common equity is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of tangible common equity may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of shareholders' equity to tangible common equity.
Tangible common equity per share represents tangible common equity divided by the total shares of common stock outstanding.
Adjusted net operating return on tangible common equity is defined as annualized adjusted net operating income expressed as a percentage of the average quarterly tangible common equity balances in the respective period.
Net retention is defined as the ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums.
Gross investment yield is annualized investment income before any deductions for fees and expenses, expressed as a percentage of the average beginning and ending carrying values of those investments during the period.
Unless specified otherwise, all references to our defined metrics above in this “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” are for our business from continuing operations that is not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting. Management believes that the lack of economic impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting makes the presentation of our key metrics on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting helpful to the users of our financial information. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” and “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We identified the accounting estimates below as critical to the understanding of our financial position and results of operations. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those estimates that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and which require us to exercise significant judgment. We use significant judgment concerning future results and developments in applying these critical accounting estimates and in preparing our consolidated financial statements. These judgments and estimates affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of material contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ materially from the estimates and assumptions used in preparing the consolidated financial statements. We evaluate our estimates regularly using information that we believe to be relevant. For a detailed discussion of our accounting policies, see “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” included in this Form 10-K.
Reserve for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represents our estimated ultimate cost of all reported and unreported losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred and unpaid at the balance sheet date. We do not discount this reserve. We estimate the reserve using individual case-basis valuations of reported claims and statistical analysis. We believe that the use of judgment is necessary to arrive at a best estimate for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses given the long-tailed nature of the business generally written by the Company and the limited operating experience of the fronting and program business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. In applying this judgment, we may establish reserves that differ from our internal actuaries’ estimate. We seek to establish reserves that will ultimately prove to be adequate. If we have indications that claims frequency or severity exceeds our initial expectations, we generally increase our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses. Conversely, when claims frequency and severity trends are more favorable than initially anticipated, we generally reduce our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses once we have sufficient data to confirm the validity of the favorable trends.
Our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments generally are notified of losses by our insureds or their brokers. Based on the information provided, we establish case reserves by estimating the ultimate losses from the claim, including administrative costs associated with the ultimate settlement of the claim. Our claims department personnel use their knowledge of the specific claim along with internal and external experts, including underwriters and legal counsel, to estimate the expected ultimate losses.
We also use statistical analysis to estimate the cost of losses and loss adjustment expenses that have been incurred but not reported to us. Those estimates are based on our historical information, industry information and estimates of future trends that may affect the frequency of claims and changes in the average cost of claims (severity) that may arise in the future.
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The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at December 31, 2025 was $3,099.4 million. Of this amount, 75.9% relates to IBNR. The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Gross Reserves at December 31, 2025 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 421,201 | $ | 1,927,625 | $ | 2,348,826 | 82.1 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 326,409 | 424,183 | 750,592 | 56.5 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 747,610 | $ | 2,351,808 | $ | 3,099,418 | 75.9 | % |
The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses prior to the $1.6 million allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables at December 31, 2025 was $1,071.7 million. Of this amount, 73.5% relates to IBNR. The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Net Reserves at December 31, 2025 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 232,609 | $ | 715,873 | $ | 948,482 | 75.5 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 51,240 | 71,977 | 123,217 | 58.4 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 283,849 | $ | 787,850 | $ | 1,071,699 | 73.5 | % |
Our Reserve Committee consists of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Chief Actuary. Additionally, the presidents, chief financial officers, Chief Claims Officer, and segment actuaries of each of our insurance segments participate in the Reserve Committee meetings for their respective segments. The Reserve Committee meets quarterly to review the actuarial recommendations made by each segment actuary and use their best judgment to determine the best estimate to be recorded for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses on our balance sheet.
We engage an independent internationally recognized actuarial consulting firm to review our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in the third and fourth quarters of each year. This independent actuarial consulting firm prepares its own estimate of our reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, and we compare their estimate to the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses reviewed and approved by the Reserve Committee in order to corroborate the adequacy of our reserves.
The process of estimating the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses requires a high degree of judgment and is subject to a number of variables. In establishing the quarterly actuarial recommendation for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries estimate an initial expected ultimate loss ratio for each of our product lines by accident year. Input from our underwriting and claims departments, including premium pricing assumptions and historical experience, are considered by our internal actuaries in estimating the initial expected loss ratios. Our actuaries generally utilize five primary actuarial methods in their estimation process for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses. These primary methods are supplemented by additional actuarial methods as the Chief Actuary considers appropriate. For example, these supplemental methods can include frequency and severity methods that use claim count data to estimate ultimate losses and loss adjustment expenses. These claims frequency and severity methods may be appropriate for some lines of business and inappropriate for others. The Chief Actuary uses professional judgment to determine when additional methods should be used to supplement the five primary methods. The five primary methods utilize, to varying degrees, the initial expected loss ratio, detailed statistical analysis of past claims reporting and payment patterns, claims frequency and severity, paid loss experience, industry loss experience, and changes in market conditions, policy forms, exclusions, and exposures. The five primary actuarial methods that we use in our reserve estimation process are:
Expected Loss Method
The Expected Loss method multiplies earned premiums by an initial expected loss ratio. In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, the initial expected loss ratio is estimated based on adjusting book of business prior year experience to current cost and rate level. In our programs business within the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, the expected loss ratio is based on the actuarial pricing of the individual account. Alternatively, when company experience lacks historical depth, initial expected loss ratios can be determined using loss ratios implied by industry loss costs for the class or reported industry loss ratios.
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Incurred Loss Development Method
The Incurred Loss Development method uses historical loss reporting patterns by accident year to estimate future loss reporting patterns. In this method, our actuaries review historical loss reporting patterns to develop incurred loss development factors that are applied to current reported losses to calculate expected ultimate losses.
Paid Loss Development Method
The Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Incurred Loss Development method, but it uses historical loss payment patterns to estimate future loss payment patterns. In this method, our actuaries apply historical loss payment patterns to develop paid loss development factors that are applied to current paid losses to calculate expected ultimate losses.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been reported and the portion that has yet to be reported. The portion that has yet to be reported is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unreported at the valuation date. This technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and reported losses lack historical depth.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method, except this method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been paid and the portion that has yet to be paid. The portion that has yet to be paid is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unpaid at the valuation date. This approach assumes that the paid experience has no effect on the subsequent paid loss emergence of the business. Again, this technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and paid losses lack historical depth.
Different reserving methods are appropriate in different situations, and our actuaries use their judgment and experience to determine the weighting of the methods detailed above to use for each accident year and each line of business. For example, the current accident year has very little incurred and paid loss development data on which to base reserve projections. As a result, we rely heavily on the Expected Loss Method in estimating reserves for the current accident year. The Company generally sets the initial expected loss ratio for the current accident year consistent with the internal actuaries’ pricing assumptions adjusted upward where warranted based on management's judgment of parameter risk in order to produce the best estimate. We believe that this is a reasonable and appropriate reserving assumption for the current accident year since our pricing assumptions are actuarially driven and since we expect to make an acceptable return on the new business that we write. If actual loss emergence is better than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience favorable development, and if it is worse than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience adverse development. Conversely, sufficient incurred and paid loss development is available for our oldest accident years, so more weight is given to the Incurred Loss Development method and the Paid Loss Development method than the Expected Loss Method. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development and Paid Loss Development methods blend features of the Expected Loss Method and the Incurred and Paid Loss Development methods. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods are typically used for the more recent prior accident years.
In applying these methods to develop an estimate of the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries use judgment to determine three key parameters for each accident year and line of business: the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the actuarial methods to be used for each accident year and line of business. Judgment is also required to make actuarial adjustments, if needed, for changes in claims processing and case reserving that could cause current reported loss and paid loss development patterns to deviate from historical patterns. For the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, the segment actuary performs a study on each of these parameters at least annually as part of the Detailed Valuation Review ("DVR") and makes recommendations for the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the actuarial methods by accident year and line of business. Members of the Reserve Committee review and approve the actuarial recommendations, and absent any developments requiring an earlier review, these approved parameters are generally used in the reserve estimation process for the next four quarters at which time a new study is performed. For the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, expected loss ratios, loss development factors, and loss cost trends are reviewed and updated at least annually.
The table below quantifies the impact of extreme reserve deviations from our expected value at December 31, 2025. The total carried net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses for our continuing operations is displayed alongside 5th and 95th percentiles of likely ultimate net reserve outcomes. The carried reserve represents the Company's best estimate and approximates the 50th percentile. The estimates of these percentiles are a result of a reserve variability analysis which is part of our internal capital modeling efforts using a simulation approach.
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| Sensitivity | 5th Pct. | Carried | 95th Pct. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 1,011,034 | $ | 1,071,699 | $ | 1,169,226 | |||||||
| Changes in reserves | (60,665) | — | 97,527 |
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the highest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to increase losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $97.5 million, reduce after-tax net income by $77.0 million, reduce shareholders’ equity by $77.0 million and reduce tangible equity by $77.0 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the lowest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to reduce losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $60.7 million, increase after-tax net income by $47.9 million, increase shareholders’ equity by $47.9 million, and increase tangible equity by $47.9 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2025. Such changes in the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses would not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, but would affect cash flow and investment income in future periods as the incremental or reduced amount of losses are paid and investment assets adjusted to reflect the level of paid claims.
Loss reserve estimates are subject to a high degree of variability due to the inherent uncertainty of ultimate claims settlement values. In recording our best estimate of our reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our Reserve Committee may select an amount that is different from the actuarial recommendation submitted after considering other qualitative factors and our knowledge and expectations of trends and other business developments that impact our best estimate. There is inherent variation associated with our reserve estimates and the possibility that there are unforeseen or incorrectly valued liabilities in the actuarial recommendations exists. We believe that the insurance that we write is subject to above-average variation in reserve estimates. The Excess and Surplus Lines market is subject to high policyholder turnover and changes in underlying mix of exposures. This turnover and change in underlying mix of exposures can cause actuarial estimates based on prior experience to be less reliable than estimates for more stable, admitted books of business. As a casualty insurer, losses on our policies often take a number of years to develop, making it difficult to estimate the ultimate losses associated with this business. Judicial and regulatory bodies have frequently interpreted insurance contracts in a manner that expands coverage beyond that which was contemplated at the time that the policy was issued. In addition, insureds suffering a loss frequently seek coverage beyond the policies’ original intent.
Our reserves are driven by a number of important assumptions, including litigation and regulatory trends, legislative activity, climate change, social and economic patterns and claims inflation assumptions. Our reserve estimates reflect current inflation in legal claims’ settlements and assume we will not be subject to losses from significant new legal liability theories. Our reserve estimates also assume that we will not experience significant losses from mass torts and that we will not incur losses from future mass torts not known to us today. While it is not possible to predict the impact of changes in the litigation environment, if new mass torts or expanded legal theories of liability emerge, our cost of claims may differ substantially from our reserves. Our reserve estimates assume that there will not be significant changes in the regulatory and legislative environment. The impact of potential changes in the regulatory or legislative environment is difficult to quantify in the absence of specific, significant new regulation or legislation. In the event of significant new regulation or legislation, we will attempt to quantify its impact on our business but no assurance can be given that our attempt to quantify such inputs will be accurate or successful.
IBNR reserve estimates are dependent on many assumptions and are inherently subjective. A 5% change in net IBNR reserves at December 31, 2025 would equate to a $39.5 million change in the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at such date, a $31.2 million change in after-tax net income, a 5.8% change in shareholders’ equity and a 5.7% change in tangible equity, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2025.
Although we believe that our reserve estimates are reasonable, it is possible that our actual loss experience may not conform to our assumptions. Specifically, our actual ultimate loss ratio could differ from our initial expected loss ratio or our actual reporting and payment patterns could differ from our expected reporting and payment patterns, which are based on our own data and industry data. Accordingly, the ultimate settlement of losses and the related loss adjustment expenses may vary significantly from the estimates included in our financial statements. We regularly review our estimates and adjust them as necessary as experience develops or as new information becomes known to us. Such adjustments are included in current operations.
In determining the amount of prior accident year development to recognize each year, we consider actual loss emergence (reported and paid) versus expected loss emergence, as well as our internal actuaries’ indications and the prior year development indicated in the actuarial analysis prepared by our independent third-party actuary. We look at these different data points with the goal of disclosing prior accident year development that is representative of loss emergence on prior accident years during the year, while also recording the Company’s best estimate of the aggregate reserve for losses and loss adjustment
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expenses on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet. At a high level, actual loss emergence on prior accident years in excess of actuarial expectations implies adverse development, while actual loss emergence less than expected emergence implies favorable development.
We experienced $1.5 million of net favorable development in 2025 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2024 (excluding adverse prior year development subject to deferral under retroactive reinsurance accounting - see “Retroactive Reinsurance Accounting” below). This reserve development included $5.0 million of net favorable development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $3.5 million of net adverse development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. The $5.0 million of net favorable development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment is net of $51.4 million ceded to the E&S Top Up ADC. The E&S Top Up ADC is not in a gain position, thus it is not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting and there are no deferrals related to the E&S Top Up ADC in 2025. Accordingly, all cessions to the E&S Top Up ADC in 2025 reduce net incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses. Additionally, the net favorable development excludes $27.2 million of adverse development ceded to the Commercial Auto LPT and E&S ADC that was deferred under retroactive reinsurance accounting. The $27.2 million is included in net incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) and Comprehensive Income (Loss).
We experienced $76.1 million of net adverse development in 2024 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2023 (excluding adverse prior year development subject to deferral under retroactive reinsurance accounting - see “Retroactive Reinsurance Accounting” below). This reserve development included $76.7 million of net adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $607,000 of net favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment.
Investment Valuation and Impairment
We carry fixed maturity securities classified as “available-for-sale” at fair value, and unrealized gains and losses on such securities, net of any deferred taxes, are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Equity securities (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Certain restricted cash equivalents invested in funds with floating net asset values are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. At December 31, 2025, we do not have any securities classified as “held-to-maturity” or “trading.”
The Company periodically reviews its available-for-sale fixed maturities to determine whether any unrealized losses exist that are due to credit-related factors. An allowance for credit losses is established for any credit-related impairments, limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost. Changes in the allowance for credit losses are recognized in earnings and included in net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Unrealized losses that are not credit-related continue to be recognized in other comprehensive income.
The Company considers the extent to which fair value is below amortized cost in determining whether a credit-related loss exists. The Company also considers the credit quality rating of the security, with a special emphasis on securities downgraded below investment grade. A comparison is made between the present value of expected future cash flows for a security and its amortized cost. If the present value of future expected cash flows is less than amortized cost, a credit loss is presumed to exist and an allowance for credit losses is established. Management may conclude that a qualitative analysis is sufficient to support its conclusion that the present value of the expected cash flows equals or exceeds a security’s amortized cost. As a result of this review, management concluded that there were no credit-related impairments of fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2025, 2024, or 2023. During the year ended December 31, 2024, management recognized an impairment loss of $207,000 for one fixed maturity security due to the Company's inability to hold the security until a recovery in its value to the amortized cost basis. For the remainder of securities in an unrealized loss position, management does not intend to sell the securities and it is not "more likely than not" that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
The Company elected the fair value option to account for bank loan participations. Under the fair value option, bank loan participations are measured at fair value, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income and Comprehensive Loss as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Losses due to credit-related impairments on bank loan participations are determined based upon consultations and advice from the Company's specialized investment manager and consideration of any adverse situations that could affect the borrower's ability to repay, the estimated value of underlying collateral, and other relevant factors. For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, management concluded that $203,000, $3.3 million, and $397,000 of the net realized and unrealized gains (losses) were due to credit-related impairments, respectively.
Fair values are measured in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, Fair Value Measurements. The guidance establishes a framework for measuring fair value and a three-level hierarchy based upon the quality of inputs used to measure fair value. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are: (1) Level 1: quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets, (2) Level 2: inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for
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similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the instrument and (3) Level 3: inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable for the asset or liability.
The fair values of fixed maturity securities and equity securities have been determined using fair value prices provided by our investment accounting services provider or investment managers, who utilize internationally recognized independent pricing services. The prices provided by the independent pricing services are generally based on observable market data in active markets (e.g. broker quotes and prices observed for comparable securities). Values for U.S. Treasury and publicly-traded equity securities are generally based on Level 1 inputs which use the market approach valuation technique. The values for all other fixed maturity securities (including state and municipal securities and obligations of U.S. government corporations and agencies) generally incorporate significant Level 2 inputs, and in some cases, Level 3 inputs, using the market approach and income approach valuation techniques.
The fair values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents (excluding those invested in funds with floating net asset values), and short-term investments approximate their carrying values due to their short-term maturity.
In the determination of the fair value for bank loan participations and certain high yield bonds, the Company endeavors to obtain data from multiple external pricing sources. External pricing sources may include brokers, dealers, and price data vendors that provide a composite price based on prices from multiple dealers. Such external pricing sources typically provide valuations for normal institutional size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities, and various relationships between securities, as generally recognized by institutional dealers. For investments in which the Company determines that only one external pricing source is appropriate or if only one external price is available, the investment is generally recorded based on such price.
Investments for which external sources are not available or are determined by an investment manager not to be representative of fair value are recorded at fair value as determined by the investment manager. In determining the fair value of such investments, the investment manager considers one or more of the following factors: type of security held, convertibility or exchangeability of the security, redeemability of the security (including the timing of redemptions), application of industry accepted valuation models, recent trading activity, liquidity, estimates of liquidation value, purchase cost and prices received for securities with similar terms of the same issuer or similar issuers. There were no bank loan participations for which external sources were unavailable to determine fair value at December 31, 2025 or 2024.
We review fair value prices provided by our outside investment accounting service provider or our investment managers for reasonableness by comparing the fair values provided to those provided by our investment custodian. We conduct corroborative price testing comparing prices utilized for each security to those from an alternate reputable pricing service. We also review and monitor changes in fair values and unrealized gains and losses. We obtain an understanding of the methods, models, and inputs used by our investment managers and independent pricing services, and controls are in place to validate that prices provided represent fair values. Our control process includes, but is not limited to, initial and ongoing evaluation of the methodologies used, a review of specific securities and an assessment for proper classification within the fair value hierarchy, and obtaining and reviewing internal control reports for our investment accounting services provider and investment managers that obtain fair values from independent pricing services.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Adopted Accounting Standards
The guidance in ASU 2023-09—Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures was designed to increase transparency about income tax information through improvements to the rate reconciliation and disclosure of income taxes paid. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company adopted the new standard effective with this Form 10-K by providing additional disclosures in Note 15. The new standard did not have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.
No accounting standards were adopted during the year ended December 31, 2025 that had a material impact on our financial statements.
Prospective Accounting Standards
The guidance in ASU 2024-03, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses requires additional, disaggregated disclosure around certain income statement expense line items. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027, although early adoption is permitted. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance on the disclosures in its financial statements.
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The guidance in ASU 2025-06, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other – Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Internal -Use Software removes the concept of project stages and requires the capitalization of software costs when management has committed to funding the software project and it is probable that the project will be completed. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027, but early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual reporting period. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this new guidance, but does not expect that the standard will have a material impact on our financial statements.
There are no other prospective accounting standards which are expected to have a material impact on our financial statements subsequent to December 31, 2025.
Recent Strategic Actions
Domestication of James River Group Holdings, Inc. (“JRG Holdings”)
On November 7, 2025, we changed our jurisdiction of incorporation from Bermuda to Delaware, and we refer to this change as the “Domestication”. On the effective date, our common shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Domestication automatically converted by operation of law into an equivalent number of shares of common stock of James River Group Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation. The Company recognized a one-time tax benefit of $14.1 million related to business interest expense effective with the Domestication. The Domestication is expected to lower the Company’s effective tax rate, as holding company expenses and interest expense (previously incurred in Bermuda and ineligible for U.S. tax deduction) will receive a U.S. tax deduction in future periods, as well as bring additional operating efficiencies. In connection with the Domestication, the Company dissolved James River Group Holdings UK Limited, its prior UK intermediate holding company, effective December 23, 2025.
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Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2024
The following table summarizes our results for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 1,172,319 | $ | 1,431,772 | (18.1) | % | ||||
| Net retention | 48.5 | % | 40.6 | % | ||||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 568,815 | $ | 580,854 | (2.1) | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 600,288 | $ | 600,196 | — | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses excluding retroactive reinsurance | (398,454) | (517,137) | (23.0) | % | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | (181,548) | (188,613) | (3.7) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss) (1), (2) | 20,286 | (105,554) | — | |||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | (28,750) | (37,237) | (22.8) | % | ||||||
| Net investment income | 83,440 | 93,089 | (10.4) | % | ||||||
| Net realized and unrealized (losses) gains on investments | (2,195) | 3,625 | — | |||||||
| Other income and expense | 1,663 | (14) | — | |||||||
| Interest expense | (23,538) | (24,666) | (4.6) | % | ||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (363) | — | |||||||
| Income (loss) from continuing operations before taxes | 50,543 | (71,120) | — | |||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) on continuing operations | 723 | (7,634) | — | |||||||
| Net income (loss) from continuing operations | 49,820 | (63,486) | — | |||||||
| Net loss from discontinued operations | (2,393) | (17,634) | (86.4) | % | ||||||
| Net income (loss) | 47,427 | (81,120) | — | |||||||
| Dividends on Series A Preferred Shares | (7,876) | (37,149) | (78.8) | % | ||||||
| Net income (loss) available to common shareholders | $ | 39,551 | $ | (118,269) | — | |||||
| Adjusted net operating income (loss) (1) | $ | 54,140 | $ | (41,503) | — | |||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 66.4 | % | 86.2 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 30.2 | % | 31.4 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 96.6 | % | 117.6 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 65.3 | % | 66.2 | % |
(1) Underwriting profit (loss) and adjusted net operating income (loss) are non-GAAP measures. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Underwriting results include gross fee income of $13.4 million and $21.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
The Company produced net income from continuing operations of $49.8 million and adjusted net operating income of $54.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $63.5 million and an adjusted net operating loss of $41.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The year-over-year improvement was largely driven by reserve development on prior accident years in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment which was $5.0 million favorable for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $76.7 million adverse for the year ended December 31, 2024 (including a $52.2 million reserve charge upon execution of the E&S ADC), and $52.8 million of ceded premium recorded upon execution of the E&S Top Up ADC in 2024. Net income from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2025 also includes a one-time tax benefit of $14.1 million from the Domestication (discussed above in Strategic Actions and below in Income Tax Expense section).
Underwriting results were a profit of $20.3 million (combined ratio of 96.6%) for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to a loss of $105.6 million (combined ratio of 117.6%) for the year ended December 31, 2024. The improvement in underwriting results reflects the same factors mentioned above including reserve development on prior accident years (see loss ratio discussion below) and the $52.8 million of ceded premium associated with the E&S Top Up ADC in the prior year which
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increased our prior year combined ratio by 9.5 points. Underwriting results for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 also include $12.3 million and $13.7 million, respectively, of premium adjustments associated with prior years including reinstatement premium in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment which reduced net written and net earned premiums, and underwriting profit. The impact of the premium adjustments was a 1.9 and 2.6 percentage point increase in our combined ratios in the respective years.
Our loss ratio improved from 86.2% in the prior year to 66.4% in the current year primarily driven by reserve development on prior accident years and the impact of the ceded premium associated with the E&S Top Up ADC in the prior year (a 7.0 point addition to the prior year loss ratio). Reserve development on prior accident years (excluding adverse prior year development from continuing operations that is subject to deferral under retroactive reinsurance accounting - see discussion below) was $1.5 million or 0.3 percentage points favorable for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $76.1 million or 12.7 percentage points adverse for the year ended December 31, 2024. The favorable reserve development for the year ended December 31, 2025 included $5.0 million of net favorable development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $3.5 million of net adverse development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. The adverse reserve development for the year ended December 31, 2024 included $76.7 million of net adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, including the $52.2 million reserve charge upon execution of the E&S ADC (consideration paid in excess of initial reserves), and $607,000 of net favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. Premium adjustments associated with prior years including reinstatement premium in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment increased the respective loss ratios by 1.4 and 2.0 points. The loss ratio for the current year also benefited from a lower current accident year loss ratio and segment mix with the Excess and Surplus Lines segment representing 93.2% of consolidated net earned premiums in the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to 85.3% in the year ended December 31, 2024.
Our expense ratio improved from 31.4% in the prior year to 30.2% in the current year reflecting general and administrative expense reductions across all segments and favorable commission adjustments related to run-off programs in our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. The prior year expense ratio was impacted by the $52.8 million of ceded premium on the E&S Top Up ADC (a 2.5 point addition to the prior year consolidated expense ratio). Premium adjustments associated with prior years including reinstatement premium in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment increased the respective consolidated expense ratios by 0.6 and 0.7 points in the respective years. Refer to the Segment Results section below for further discussion of the segment expense ratios.
Investment income decreased by $9.6 million or 10.4% from the prior year principally due to a lower interest rate environment in 2025 which impacted yields across several areas of the portfolio. Net realized and unrealized losses on investments of $2.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 include $5.3 million of net realized losses from repositioning the bank loan portfolio away from tariff impacted issuers and sales of equity securities, partially offset by $3.2 million of favorable mark-to-market adjustments on our equity securities and bank loan participations reflecting increases in their fair values in the period. Net realized and unrealized gains on investments of $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 include $5.1 million of net realized gains largely due to gains on sales of equity securities from a reduction in the portfolio's common equity allocation in the fourth quarter of 2024 that exceeded losses on our sales of bank loans and equity securities and $1.5 million of unfavorable mark-to-market adjustments on our equity securities and bank loan participations (see “Investing Results” below for more discussion).
In 2025, the Company recognized a one-time tax benefit of $14.1 million related to business interest expense effective with the Domestication (discussed above in Strategic Actions).
The Company closed on the sale of JRG Re on April 16, 2024. Discontinued operations include the operating results of JRG Re through the closing as well as losses recognized on the disposal. JRG Re's operating results through the closing in 2024 were a loss of $13.6 million primarily reflecting net adverse development of $7.1 million on treaties not subject to the loss portfolio transfer agreement previously entered into by JRG Re and $9.5 million of realized and unrealized losses on fixed maturity securities. The loss on disposal for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $4.1 million and included a $2.1 million gain for the change in the estimated loss on sale and selling costs incurred of $6.2 million. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the loss on disposal was $2.4 million including a $523,000 downward adjustment to the closing date purchase price plus interest and $1.9 million of additional selling costs incurred by the Company related to the sale of JRG Re.
The Company amended the Series A Preferred Shares on November 11, 2024. The amendment was considered an extinguishment of the pre-amendment Series A Preferred Shares for accounting purposes due to the significance of qualitative and quantitative changes to the shares. The Company recorded deemed dividends of $27.0 million within retained deficit for the difference between the $144.9 million carrying value of the extinguished pre-amendment Series A preferred shares and the combined $133.1 million estimated fair value of the new Series A Preferred Shares and the $38.8 million fair value of the new common shares issued through conversion of Series A Preferred Shares in the amendment. Also included in the dividends on Series A Preferred Shares were declared dividends of $7.9 million and $10.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
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Adjusted net operating results improved $95.6 million from the prior year due to profitable underwriting results, partially offset by lower investment income. Growth in tangible common equity of 34.9% for the year ended December 31, 2025 was largely driven by net income and unrealized gains on fixed maturities in other comprehensive income due to a decline in interest rates. Our 15.3% adjusted net operating return on tangible common equity for the year ended December 31, 2025 compares to a 12.4% loss for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Loss Portfolio Transfers and Adverse Development Covers
Loss portfolio transfers and adverse development covers are forms of retroactive reinsurance utilized by the Company to transfer losses and loss adjustment expenses and associated risk of adverse development on covered subject business, as defined in the respective agreements, to an assuming reinsurer in exchange for a reinsurance premium. This reinsurance can bring economic finality (up to the limit of such agreements, if applicable) on the subject risks when they no longer meet the Company's risk appetite or are no longer aligned with the Company's risk management guidelines.
Commercial Auto Loss Portfolio Transfer
On September 27, 2021, James River Insurance and James River Casualty Company (together, “James River”) entered into a loss portfolio transfer transaction (the “Commercial Auto LPT”) with Aleka Insurance, Inc. (“Aleka”), a captive insurance company affiliate of Rasier LLC, to reinsure substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment's legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier LLC and its affiliates (collectively, “Rasier”) for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier. The reinsurance coverage is structured to be fully collateralized, is not subject to an aggregate limit, and is subject to certain exclusions. The cumulative amounts ceded under the loss portfolio transfer were $451.4 million, $459.3 million and $456.2 million as of December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
Combined Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development Cover
On July 2, 2024, James River entered into a Combined Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development Cover Reinsurance Contract (the “E&S ADC”) with State National Insurance Company, Inc. (“State National”). The transaction closed upon signing.
The E&S ADC was effective January 1, 2024 (the “Effective Date”) and applies to James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment casualty portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive), excluding, among others, losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates (the “Subject Business”). Pursuant to the E&S ADC, (a) State National reinsures 85% of losses paid on and after the Effective Date in respect of the Subject Business in excess of $716.6 million up to an aggregate limit of $467.1 million (with State National’s share of the aggregate limit being $397.0 million) in exchange for a reinsurance premium paid by James River equal to $313.2 million, and (b) James River continues to manage claims and to manage and collect the benefit of other existing third-party reinsurance on the Subject Business, which third-party reinsurance inures to the benefit of the E&S ADC. Additional adverse development of $35.0 million (net of the Company's 15% retention) recognized on the subject business of the E&S ADC in the year ended December 31, 2025 exhausted the remaining limit of the E&S ADC.
Adverse Development Cover
On November 11, 2024, Enstar Group Limited (“Enstar”), through its subsidiary Cavello Bay Reinsurance Limited (“Cavello Bay”), entered into an adverse development cover agreement with James River (“E&S Top Up ADC”), pursuant to which, in exchange for a premium of $52.8 million (less an amount equal to the federal excise tax payable on the premium), Cavello Bay reinsures, effective January 1, 2024, 100% of the losses associated with James River’s Excess and Surplus Lines segment casualty portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive). The E&S Top Up ADC excludes losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates and is subject to a retention by James River of $1,183.7 million (the limit of the E&S ADC executed on July 2, 2024) and up to an aggregate limit of $75.0 million. The E&S Top Up ADC closed on December 23, 2024. The Company recognized a $52.8 million reduction in pre-tax income in connection with the adverse development cover upon closing. In 2025, $51.4 million of adverse development was ceded to the E&S Top Up ADC, reducing the aggregate limit remaining on the E&S Top Up ADC to $23.6 million at December 31, 2025.
Retroactive Reinsurance Accounting
The Company periodically reevaluates the remaining reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT, the E&S ADC, and the E&S Top Up ADC, and when recognized adverse prior year development on the subject business causes the cumulative amounts ceded under the agreements to exceed the consideration paid, the agreements move into a gain position subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting under GAAP. Gains are deferred under retroactive reinsurance accounting and recognized in earnings in proportion to actual paid recoveries under the agreements using the recovery method. While the deferral of gains can introduce volatility in the Company's operating results in the short-term, over the life of the contract, we would expect no
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economic impact to the Company as long as the counterparty performs under the contract. The impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting is not indicative of the Company's current and ongoing operations.
The following tables summarize the retroactive reinsurance accounting for the Commercial Auto LPT and the E&S ADC for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. The E&S Top Up ADC was not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting as it was not in a gain position as of December 31, 2025.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Commercial Auto LPT | ||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at beginning of period | $ | 9,222 | $ | 20,733 | ||
| (Favorable) adverse prior year development on subject business | (7,848) | 3,051 | ||||
| Retroactive reinsurance benefits under the recovery method | 1,553 | (14,562) | ||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at end of period | $ | 2,927 | $ | 9,222 | ||
| E&S ADC | ||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at beginning of period | $ | 48,748 | $ | — | ||
| Adverse prior year development ceded on subject business | 35,045 | 48,748 | ||||
| Retroactive reinsurance benefits under the recovery method | — | — | ||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at end of period | $ | 83,793 | $ | 48,748 | ||
| Total | ||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at beginning of period | $ | 57,970 | $ | 20,733 | ||
| Adverse prior year development on subject business | 27,197 | 51,799 | ||||
| Retroactive reinsurance benefits under the recovery method | 1,553 | (14,562) | ||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at end of period | $ | 86,720 | $ | 57,970 |
Premiums
Insurance premiums are earned ratably over the terms of our insurance policies, generally twelve months. The following table summarizes the change in premium volume by component and business segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 963,035 | $ | 1,017,029 | (5.3) | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 209,284 | 414,743 | (49.5) | % | ||||||
| $ | 1,172,319 | $ | 1,431,772 | (18.1) | % | |||||
| Net written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 544,124 | $ | 508,445 | 7.0 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 24,691 | 72,409 | (65.9) | % | ||||||
| $ | 568,815 | $ | 580,854 | (2.1) | % | |||||
| Net earned premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 559,490 | $ | 512,237 | 9.2 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 40,798 | 87,959 | (53.6) | % | ||||||
| $ | 600,288 | $ | 600,196 | — | % |
Gross written premiums for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment (which represents 82.1% of our consolidated gross written premiums in 2025) decreased 5.3% from the prior year due to increasingly competitive markets and the Company's
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focus on gaining smaller accounts while pulling away from certain larger accounts that no longer fall within our underwriting appetite. Total policy submissions in 2025 increased 4.2% over 2024, but the percentage of binders to quotes declined modestly and the average premium per policy was down 8.4% from the prior year. Renewal rates for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment were up 8.9% compared to 2024. The change in gross written premiums by primary underwriting division is shown below:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % Change | ||||||||
| Excess Casualty | $ | 324,507 | $ | 325,017 | (0.2) | % | ||||
| Primary Casualty | 312,176 | 327,589 | (4.7) | % | ||||||
| Manufacturers & Contractors | 157,082 | 176,494 | (11.0) | % | ||||||
| Specialty | 130,333 | 134,675 | (3.2) | % | ||||||
| Excess Property | 38,937 | 53,254 | (26.9) | % | ||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines gross written premium | $ | 963,035 | $ | 1,017,029 | (5.3) | % |
Gross written premiums for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment (which represents 17.9% of our 2025 consolidated gross written premiums) declined 49.5% from the prior year reflecting non-renewals of programs and the continued run-off of the workers's compensation book. We are being selective with fronting opportunities, focusing on low net retentions and placing strong, rated, reinsurance support. The fronting and reinsurance markets are currently very competitive, and we have refined our underwriting appetite meaningfully over the last few years. The segment currently has four active programs.
Net Retention
The ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums is referred to as our net premium retention. Our net premium retention by segment is as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 56.5 | % | 50.0 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 11.8 | % | 17.5 | % | |
| Total | 48.5 | % | 40.6 | % |
The lower net premium retention for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment in 2024 reflects the $52.8 million of ceded premium recorded upon execution of the E&S Top Up ADC in the fourth quarter of 2024. Premium adjustments associated with prior years including reinstatement premium which reduced net written premiums in both years also impacted the net retention ratios. The premium adjustments totaled $12.3 million and $13.7 million in the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
The net premium retention for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment decreased in 2025 due to a focus on low net retentions, the impact of certain non-renewals in our fronting business, and changes in reinsurance as coverages renew.
Segment Results
The following table presents our combined ratios by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 89.4 | % | 115.1 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 114.0 | % | 92.2 | % | |
| Total | 96.6 | % | 117.6 | % |
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Excess and Surplus Lines Segment
Results for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 963,035 | $ | 1,017,029 | (5.3) | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 544,124 | $ | 508,445 | 7.0 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 559,490 | $ | 512,237 | 9.2 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (358,074) | (448,714) | (20.2) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (141,944) | (140,978) | 0.7 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss) (1) | $ | 59,472 | $ | (77,455) | — | |||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 64.0 | % | 87.6 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 25.4 | % | 27.5 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 89.4 | % | 115.1 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 63.5 | % | 64.3 | % |
(1) Underwriting Profit (Loss) is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced an underwriting profit of $59.5 million (combined ratio of 89.4%) in 2025 compared to an underwriting loss of $77.5 million (combined ratio of 115.1%) in 2024. The year-over-year improvement was largely driven by reserve development on prior accident years which was $5.0 million or 0.9 points favorable for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $76.7 million or 15.0 points adverse for the year ended December 31, 2024 (including a $52.2 million reserve charge upon execution of the E&S ADC in 2024), and $52.8 million of ceded premium recorded upon execution of the E&S Top Up ADC in 2024 which increased the 2024 segment combined ratio by 10.7 points. The $5.0 million of net favorable development is net of $51.4 million ceded to the E&S Top Up ADC. The E&S Top Up ADC is not in a gain position, thus it is not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting and there are no deferrals related to the E&S Top Up ADC in 2025. Accordingly, all cessions to the E&S Top Up ADC in 2025 reduce net incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses. Additionally, the net favorable development excludes $27.2 million of adverse development ceded to the Commercial Auto LPT and E&S ADC that was deferred under retroactive reinsurance accounting. The $27.2 million is included in net incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) and Comprehensive Income (Loss).
Underwriting results for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 also include $12.3 million and $13.7 million, respectively, of premium adjustments associated with prior years including reinstatement premium which reduced net written premiums, net earned premiums, and underwriting profit. The impact of the premium adjustments was a 1.9 and 3.0 percentage point increase in the segment combined ratios in the respective years.
The segment loss ratio of 64.0% for the year ended December 31, 2025 improved from 87.6% for the year ended December 31, 2024 reflecting reserve development on prior accident years (0.9 points favorable compared to 15.0 points adverse, respectively) and the impact of the ceded premium associated with the E&S Top Up ADC in the prior year (an 8.2 point impact on the 2024 loss ratio). The impact of the premium adjustments was a 1.4 and 2.3 percentage point increase in the segment loss ratios in the respective years.
The expense ratio improved from 27.5% in 2024 to 25.4% in 2025 reflecting lower general and administrative expenses, including lower compensation and bad debt expenses, and the impact of lower net earned premiums in 2024 including a 2.5 point increase in the 2024 expense ratio due to the E&S Top Up ADC ceded premium of $52.8 million.
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Specialty Admitted Insurance Segment
Results for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 209,284 | $ | 414,743 | (49.5) | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 24,691 | $ | 72,409 | (65.9) | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 40,798 | $ | 87,959 | (53.6) | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (40,380) | (68,423) | (41.0) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (6,111) | (12,663) | (51.7) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting (loss) profit(1), (2) | $ | (5,693) | $ | 6,873 | — |
(1) Underwriting (loss) profit is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Underwriting (loss) profit includes fee income of $13.4 million and $21.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment had an underwriting loss of $5.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to an underwriting profit of $6.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Lower written and earned premium volumes in 2025 reflect several non-renewals of programs and the continued run-off of the workers' compensation book of business. We are being selective with fronting opportunities, focusing on low net retentions and placing strong, rated, reinsurance support. The fronting and reinsurance markets are currently very competitive, and we have refined our underwriting appetite meaningfully over the last few years. The segment currently has four active programs.
Net reserve development in our loss estimates for prior accident years was $3.5 million adverse for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $607,000 favorable for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Underwriting expenses for the segment decreased 51.7%, from $12.7 million in the prior year to $6.1 million in 2025. We are closely managing expenses for the segment as was evident in lower compensation and other general and administrative expenses in 2025. The lower premium volume in the current year resulted in lower taxes, licenses, and fees expense and the segment also benefited from certain sliding scale and other adjustments on certain programs which lowered commission expense.
Corporate and Other Segment
Other operating expenses for the Corporate and Other segment include personnel costs associated with our holding companies, professional fees, public company expenses, fees for our Board of Directors, long term incentive compensation for the full Company, and various other corporate expenses that were not reimbursed by our subsidiaries, including costs associated with our rating agency and strategic initiatives. The expenses are included in our calculation of consolidated underwriting profit, and in our consolidated expense ratio and combined ratio.
Total operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment were $33.5 million and $35.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The reduction in operating expenses from the prior year was primarily attributable to reduced compensation expenses and lower professional fees.
Investing Results
Net investment income was $83.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $93.1 million in the prior year. The Company's private investments generated income of $3.2 million and $4.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Excluding private investments, our net investment income for the year ended December 31, 2025 decreased 9.1% from the prior year principally due to a lower interest rate environment which impacted yields across several areas of the portfolio, and a reduction in the portfolio's common equity allocation in the fourth quarter of 2024.
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Major categories of the Company’s net investment income are summarized as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Fixed maturity securities | $ | 53,181 | $ | 48,262 | ||
| Bank loan participations | 12,830 | 16,992 | ||||
| Equity securities | 5,447 | 7,424 | ||||
| Other invested assets: | ||||||
| Renewable energy investments | (369) | 1,878 | ||||
| Other private investments | 3,598 | 2,977 | ||||
| 3,229 | 4,855 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents, and short-term investments | 12,418 | 19,249 | ||||
| Gross investment income | 87,105 | 96,782 | ||||
| Investment expense | (3,665) | (3,693) | ||||
| Net investment income | $ | 83,440 | $ | 93,089 |
The following table summarizes our investment returns:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||
| Annualized gross investment yield on: | |||||
| Average cash and invested assets | 4.5 | % | 4.8 | % | |
| Average fixed maturity securities | 4.5 | % | 4.5 | % |
Of our total cash and invested assets of $1,958.1 million at December 31, 2025 (excluding restricted cash equivalents), $260.9 million represents the cash and cash equivalents portion of the portfolio. The majority of the portfolio, or $1,404.8 million, is comprised of fixed maturity securities that are classified as available-for-sale and carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses on these securities reported, net of applicable taxes, as a separate component of accumulated comprehensive income or loss. Also included in our investments are $155.1 million of bank loan participations, $73.1 million of equity securities, and $64.2 million of other invested assets.
Bank loan participations generally provide a higher yield than our portfolio of fixed maturity securities and are primarily senior, secured floating-rate debt rated “BB”, “B”, or “CCC” by Standard & Poor’s or an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, and are therefore below investment grade. Bank loans include assignments of and participations in performing and non-performing senior corporate debt generally acquired through primary bank syndications and in secondary markets. They consist of, but are not limited to, term loans, the funded and unfunded portions of revolving credit facilities, and similar loans and investments. Bank loan participations are measured at fair value pursuant to the Company's election of the fair value option, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our income statement as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. At December 31, 2025 and 2024, the fair value of these securities was $155.1 million (aggregate unpaid principal balance of $161.2 million) and $142.4 million (aggregate unpaid principal balance of $149.4 million), respectively.
The Company invests selectively in private debt and equity opportunities. These investments comprise the Company’s other invested assets and are primarily focused in renewable energy limited liability companies ("LLCs"), limited partnerships, and notes receivable for structured private credit. Income from the Company’s investments in renewable energy LLCs and limited partnerships is recognized under the equity method of accounting. Equity interests in various renewable energy LLCs generated investment losses of $369,000 and income of $1.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The Company’s former Non-Executive Chairman invested in certain of these LLCs. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the underlying projects in two of our LLCs were sold at the manager's discretion. We received additional proceeds of $2.0 million from these sales during the year ended December 31, 2024. The remaining investments had a carrying value of $7.3 million at December 31, 2025.
Previously, the Company held investments in loans for renewable energy projects at a fixed interest rate of 12%. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we received the final principal repayments of $1.4 million. Investments in loans for renewable energy projects had investment income of $138,000 for the year ended December 31, 2024.
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The Company owns investments in limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios including publicly-traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, private equity general partnership interests, commercial mortgage-backed securities, specialty private credit, and tranches of distressed home loans. Investment income from these partnerships was $1.8 million and $2.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company redeemed its investment in one of the limited partnerships for $5.9 million in proceeds. The limited partnerships had a carrying value of $13.5 million at December 31, 2025.
At December 31, 2025 the Company held $43.4 million in ten collateralized notes receivable for structured private credit. Interest income from the notes was $1.8 million and $584,000 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment losses of $2.2 million, including $74,000 of net realized investment gains on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $3.5 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans securities, $2.0 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of equity securities, $777,000 of gains for the change in fair value of bank loans, and $2.4 million of gains for the change in fair value of equity securities.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment gains of $3.6 million, including $1.1 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $3.2 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans, $9.6 million of net realized investment gains on the sale of equity securities, $620,000 of losses for the change in fair value of bank loans, $873,000 of losses for the change in fair value of equity securities, and an impairment loss of $207,000 for one fixed maturity security due to the Company's inability to hold the security until a recovery in its value to the amortized cost basis.
In conjunction with its outside investment managers, the Company performs quarterly reviews of all securities within its investment portfolio to determine whether any impairment has occurred. Management concluded that none of the fixed maturity securities with an unrealized loss at December 31, 2025 or 2024 experienced an other-than-temporary credit related impairment. During the year ended December 31, 2024, management recognized an impairment loss of $207,000 for one fixed maturity security due to the Company's inability to hold the security until a recovery in its value to the amortized cost basis. For the remainder of securities in an unrealized loss position, management does not intend to sell the securities and it is not "more likely than not" that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
At December 31, 2025, our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities had net unrealized losses of $44.0 million representing 3.0% of the amortized cost of the portfolio. Additionally, at December 31, 2025, 100.0% of our fixed maturity security portfolio was rated “BBB-” or better (“investment grade”) by Standard & Poor’s or had an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The average duration of our invested assets and cash, excluding restricted cash, was 3.5 years at December 31, 2025.
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities were as follows:
| December 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| State and municipal | $ | 237,366 | $ | 219,477 | 15.6 | % | $ | 223,009 | $ | 196,564 | 16.5 | % | |||||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 483,074 | 472,718 | 33.7 | % | 352,064 | 326,227 | 27.4 | % | |||||||||||||
| Corporate | 589,477 | 577,754 | 41.1 | % | 503,610 | 475,485 | 40.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 124,507 | 120,535 | 8.6 | % | 178,238 | 170,458 | 14.3 | % | |||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury securities and obligations guaranteed by the U.S. government | 14,326 | 14,290 | 1.0 | % | 21,416 | 20,999 | 1.8 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale | $ | 1,448,750 | $ | 1,404,774 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,278,337 | $ | 1,189,733 | 100.0 | % |
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The following table sets forth the composition of the Company’s portfolio of fixed maturity securities by rating as of December 31, 2025:
| Standard & Poor’s or Equivalent Designation | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| AAA | $ | 217,858 | 15.5 | % | |||
| AA | 581,781 | 41.4 | % | ||||
| A | 460,546 | 32.8 | % | ||||
| BBB | 144,589 | 10.3 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 1,404,774 | 100.0 | % |
At December 31, 2025, our portfolio of available-for-sale fixed maturity securities contained corporate fixed maturity securities with a fair value of $577.8 million. A summary of these securities by industry segment is shown below as of December 31, 2025:
| Industry | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Industrials and other | $ | 85,646 | 14.8 | % | |||
| Consumer Discretionary | 48,219 | 8.3 | % | ||||
| Financial | 259,095 | 44.8 | % | ||||
| Health Care | 38,496 | 6.7 | % | ||||
| Consumer Staples | 48,910 | 8.5 | % | ||||
| Utilities | 97,388 | 16.9 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 577,754 | 100.0 | % |
Corporate available-for-sale fixed maturity securities include publicly traded securities and privately placed bonds as shown below as of December 31, 2025:
| Public/Private | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Publicly traded | $ | 525,906 | 91.0 | % | |||
| Privately placed | 51,848 | 9.0 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 577,754 | 100.0 | % |
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale investments in fixed maturity securities summarized by contractual maturity are as follows:
| December 31, 2025 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Due in: | ||||||||||
| One year or less | $ | 34,093 | $ | 33,910 | 2.4 | % | ||||
| After one year through five years | 418,689 | 413,159 | 29.4 | % | ||||||
| After five years through ten years | 235,889 | 228,537 | 16.2 | % | ||||||
| After ten years | 152,498 | 135,915 | 9.7 | % | ||||||
| 841,169 | 811,521 | 57.7 | % | |||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 483,074 | 472,718 | 33.7 | % | ||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 124,507 | 120,535 | 8.6 | % | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,448,750 | $ | 1,404,774 | 100.0 | % |
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Other Income and Expense
Other income and expense items netted to income of $1.7 million and expense of $14,000 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Included in 2025 are $3.3 million of income related to broker incentive rebates in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $311,000 of income related to interest income from trust preferred securities, partially offset by non-operating expenses of $2.0 million primarily consisting of legal and other professional fees and other expenses related to various strategic initiatives. Included in 2024 are non-operating expenses of $6.1 million primarily consisting of legal and other professional fees and other expenses related to various strategic initiatives, partially offset by $5.4 million of broker incentive rebates in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $660,000 of income related to interest income from trust preferred securities and distributions from a joint venture interest.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $23.5 million and $24.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Sources and Uses of Funds” below for information regarding our senior debt facilities and trust preferred securities. Declining interest rates in 2025 led to lower interest expense as compared to 2024.
Amortization of Intangibles
The Company recorded $363,000 of amortization of intangibles in each of the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.
Goodwill and Impairment
We test goodwill and other intangible assets in each operating segment for impairment at least annually. The fair value of the reporting units is determined by weighting the results of a discounted cash flow analysis and a valuation derived from a market-based approach. Intangible assets are valued using various methodologies. The projection of future cash flows is dependent upon assumptions on the future levels of income as well as business trends, prospects and market and economic conditions.
We perform this assessment to determine whether there has been any impairment in the value of goodwill or intangible assets by comparing its fair value to the net carrying value of the reporting units. If the carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value, an impairment loss is recognized and the asset is written down accordingly.
On September 29, 2023, the Company completed the sale of the renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. Upon closing of the transaction, the Company recognized an impairment charge of $2.5 million related to the trademark intangible asset in 2023 associated with the IRWC business.
The Company completed its impairment tests and fair value analysis for goodwill and other intangible assets during the fourth quarter of 2025 and 2024. No impairment was present for the years ended December 31, 2025 or 2024.
Income Tax Expense
Our effective tax rate fluctuates from period to period based on the relative mix of income reported by country and the respective tax rates imposed by each tax jurisdiction. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, our effective tax rate was 1.4% and 10.7%, respectively. Income tax expense in 2025 reflects a one-time benefit of $14.1 million for the effects of domestication on the business interest expense deduction. Absent the one-time item, the effective tax rate for 2025 is 29.3% reflecting the impact of Bermuda expenses that were not deductible for tax prior to the domestication in November 2025. For U.S.-sourced income, the Company’s U.S. federal income tax expense differs from the amounts computed by applying the federal statutory income tax rate to income before taxes due primarily to interest income on tax-advantaged state and municipal securities, dividends received income, and excess tax benefits and expenses on share based compensation.
The Company has a deferred tax asset of $9.2 million at December 31, 2025 associated with unrealized losses in the Company’s available-for-sale fixed maturity securities portfolio. The unrealized losses are attributable to changes in market interest rates and other economic factors rather than credit-related factors of the issuers. The Company does not intend to sell available-for-sale debt securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their fair value to their amortized cost basis occurs. The Company’s hold to recovery assertion related to investments in an unrealized loss position is considered a tax planning strategy. Both the cash generated by the Company from operating activities and the unused capacity on the Company’s unsecured revolving credit facilities reduce the likelihood of having to sell debt securities in an unrealized loss position. As a result, the Company has concluded that no valuation allowance is required for the deferred tax asset associated with unrealized losses on its investments at December 31, 2025.
The Company also has a deferred tax asset of $14.1 million at December 31, 2025 associated with the effects of domestication on the business interest expense deduction. The carryforward period for this tax benefit is unlimited and does not expire but the annual utilization on the consolidated U.S. federal income tax return is limited to the separate company (in this case our ultimate holding company) that generated the benefit. The Company has developed tax planning strategies that we
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believe are prudent and feasible to increase the utilization of the carryforward in future tax years. These strategies include reducing interest expense and increasing investment income and overall pre-tax income - both at that specific entity (the ultimate holding company). As a result, the Company has concluded that no valuation allowance is required for the deferred tax asset at December 31, 2025.
Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023
For a discussion of our results for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to year ended December 31, 2023, please refer to our 2024 Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 4, 2025.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Funds
Our sources of funds consist primarily of premiums written, investment income, reinsurance recoveries, proceeds from sales and redemptions of investments, borrowings on our credit facilities, and the issuance of shares of common stock and Series A Preferred Shares. We use operating cash flows primarily to pay operating expenses, losses and loss adjustment expenses, reinsurance premiums, and income taxes. Cash flow from operations may differ substantially from net income. The potential for a large claim under an insurance contract means that substantial and unpredictable payments may need to be made within relatively short periods of time.
The following table summarizes our total cash flows including both continuing and discontinued operations, consistent with the presentation in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents provided by (used in): | ||||||||||
| Operating activities (excluding restricted cash equivalents) | $ | 1,438 | $ | (203,341) | $ | 118,719 | ||||
| Investing activities | (116,044) | 307,032 | 16,732 | |||||||
| Financing activities | 13,202 | (28,846) | (21,115) | |||||||
| Change in cash and cash equivalents | (101,404) | 74,845 | 114,336 | |||||||
| Change in restricted cash equivalents (operating activities) | (20,224) | (43,744) | (30,766) | |||||||
| Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | (121,628) | $ | 31,101 | $ | 83,570 |
Cash provided by operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 was negatively impacted by timing of reinsurance settlements and lower premium collections in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment due to the non-renewal of several programs. Cash used in operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $203.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 principally reflects $313.2 million and $52.8 million of reinsurance premium paid in 2024 related to the E&S ADC and E&S Top Up ADC, respectively. Cash provided by operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $118.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 was driven by the growth in our U.S. segments and the collection of premiums receivable at a quicker rate than payments of loss and loss adjustment expenses.
Cash used in investing activities of $116.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 reflects efforts to enhance the yield in our investment portfolio by investing available cash and cash equivalents into higher yielding investments. Cash provided by investing activities of $307.0 million in 2024 reflects the $96.4 million of proceeds from the sale of JRG Re and the sale of investments to fund the reinsurance premiums for the E&S ADC and E&S Top Up ADC. In 2023, cash provided by investing activities of $16.7 million was driven by the suspension of underwriting activities of JRG Re and the withdrawal of invested assets in that company to fund claims and operating expenses. Cash and cash equivalents (excluding restricted cash equivalents) comprised 13.3%, 18.9%, and 13.9% of total cash and invested assets at December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
Cash provided by financing activities of $13.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 includes a $25.0 million borrowing under the Previous Credit Agreement (as defined below), $1.2 million of issuance costs paid upon the Company's entry into the Credit Agreement (as defined below), $7.9 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares, $2.0 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, and $745,000 of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net settlement of restricted share units (“RSUs”). Cash used in financing activities of $28.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 includes a $21.5 million repayment of an unsecured loan under our prior revolving credit facility with BMO Bank N.A., $12.5 million received for the common stock investment by Enstar, $12.8 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares, $6.2 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, and $847,000 of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net
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settlement of restricted share units (“RSUs”). Cash used in financing activities of $21.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes $7.7 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, $10.5 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares, $1.1 million of paid issuance costs related to the amendment of the Company’s previous Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of July 7, 2023 (the “Previous Credit Agreement”), and $1.7 million of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net settlement of RSUs.
As permitted under the agreements establishing the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust, we have withdrawn collateral from the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust to fund the Loss Fund Trust as required under the Administrative Services Agreement. Amounts on deposit in the Loss Fund Trust are included in restricted cash equivalents on the Company's consolidated balance sheet. See “Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book” below.
Dividends
Our operations are conducted by our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Accordingly, our holding companies may receive cash through loans from banks, issuance of equity and debt securities, corporate service fees, dividends received from our subsidiaries, or through payments from our subsidiaries pursuant to our consolidated tax allocation agreement.
The payment of dividends by our subsidiaries to us is limited by statute. In general, the laws and regulations applicable to our insurance subsidiaries limit the aggregate amount of dividends or other distributions that they may declare or pay within any 12-month period without advance regulatory approval. Generally, the limitations are based on the greater of statutory net income for the preceding year or 10.0% of statutory surplus at the end of the preceding year. In addition, insurance regulators have broad powers to prevent reduction of statutory surplus to inadequate levels and could refuse to permit the payment of dividends calculated under any applicable formula. See Item 1. Business—U.S. Insurance Regulation—State Regulation” for additional information. The maximum amount of dividends available to our holding companies from our insurance subsidiaries during 2026 without regulatory approval is $96.1 million.
Holders of the Series A Preferred Shares are entitled to a dividend at the rate of 7% of the $1,000 liquidation preference per share (the “Liquidation Preference”) per annum, paid in cash, in-kind in common stock or in Series A Preferred Shares, at our election. On October 1, 2029, and each five-year anniversary thereafter, the dividend rate will reset to a rate equal to the five-year U.S. treasury rate plus 5.2%, provided, that the dividend rate shall not exceed 8.0%. Dividends accrue and are payable quarterly. For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, cash dividends of $7.9 million, $10.1 million, and $10.5 million were declared, respectively. Cash dividends paid were $7.9 million, $12.8 million, and $10.5 million in the respective years.
At December 31, 2025, our holding companies had $40.2 million of cash and invested assets, comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $39.8 million and other invested assets of $369,000, which are not subject to regulatory restrictions.
Credit Agreements
On June 12, 2025, JRG Holdings entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”). The Credit Agreement replaced the Previous Credit Agreement, which provided for a $212.5 million unsecured revolving credit facility and a $45.0 million secured revolving credit facility.
The Credit Agreement provides for a $212.5 million unsecured revolving credit facility available for general corporate purposes and matures on June 12, 2028. Following the sale of JRG Re, the Company no longer has a need for the secured revolving credit facility provided by the Previous Credit Agreement. The interest rates applicable to the loans under the Credit Agreement are generally based on SOFR plus a specified margin based on the Company’s Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement). In addition, JRG Holdings will pay an unused facility fee on each lender’s commitment.
At December 31, 2025, JRG Holdings had a drawn balance of $210.8 million outstanding on the unsecured revolver of the Credit Agreement, including $25.0 million previously borrowed on January 27, 2025 under the Previous Credit Agreement which was contributed to our regulated insurance entities.
The Credit Agreement provides for an accordion feature that permits JRG Holdings to request that one or more lenders (without the consent of the other lenders) or new financial institutions (with the consent of the Administrative Agent) provide it with increases in the credit facility of up to an aggregate of $30.0 million, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions.
The Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants and events of default. The Credit Agreement also includes financial covenants, including a maximum leverage ratio and minimum consolidated net worth, RBC ratio and financial strength rating requirements with which the Company was in compliance at December 31, 2025.
In connection with the Credit Agreement, James River Group, Inc. (“James River Group”), a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of JRG Holdings, entered into a Continuing Guaranty of Payment dated June 12, 2025 (a “Payment
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Guaranty”). Pursuant to its Payment Guaranty, James River Group guarantees the payment and performance of the obligations of JRG Holdings under the Credit Agreement and other loan documents.
Senior Debt and Trust Preferred Securities
On May 26, 2004, we issued $15.0 million of senior debt due April 29, 2034. The senior debt is not redeemable by the holder or subject to sinking fund requirements. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears at a floating rate per annum equal to the 3-month SOFR plus 4.11%. This senior debt is redeemable at par prior to its stated maturity at our option in whole or in part. The terms of the senior debt contain certain covenants, with which we are in compliance at December 31, 2025, and which, among other things, restrict our ability to issue senior indebtedness secured by James River Group’s common stock or its subsidiaries’ capital stock or to issue shares of its subsidiaries’ capital stock.
From May 2004 through January 2008, we sold trust preferred securities through five Delaware statutory trusts sponsored and wholly-owned by the Company or its subsidiaries. Each trust used the net proceeds from the sale of its trust preferred securities to purchase our floating-rate junior subordinated debt.
The following table summarizes the nature and terms of the junior subordinated debt and trust preferred securities outstanding at December 31, 2025 (including the Company’s repurchase of a portion of these trust preferred securities):
| James River Capital Trust I | James River Capital Trust II | James River Capital Trust III | James River Capital Trust IV | Franklin Holdings II (Bermuda) Capital Trust I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||
| Issue date | May 26, 2004 | December 15, 2004 | June 15, 2006 | December 11, 2007 | January 10, 2008 | ||||
| Principal amount of trust preferred securities | $7,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 | $54,000 | $30,000 | ||||
| Principal amount of junior subordinated debt | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $55,670 | $30,928 | ||||
| Carrying amount of junior subordinated debt net of repurchases | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $44,827 | $15,928 | ||||
| Maturity date of junior subordinated debt, unless accelerated earlier | May 24, 2034 | December 15, 2034 | June 15, 2036 | December 15, 2037 | March 15, 2038 | ||||
| Trust common stock | $217 | $464 | $619 | $1,670 | $928 | ||||
| Interest rate, per annum | Three-Month SOFR plus 4.3% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.7% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.3% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.4% | Three-Month SOFR plus 4.3% |
All of the junior subordinated debt is currently redeemable at 100.0% of the unpaid principal amount at our option.
The junior subordinated debt contains certain covenants with which we are in compliance as of December 31, 2025.
At December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company's leverage ratio was 27.5% and 26.6%, respectively. The leverage ratio is defined in our Credit Agreement as the ratio of adjusted consolidated debt to total capital. Adjusted consolidated debt treats trust preferred securities as equity capital up to 15% of total capital. Total capital is defined as total debt plus tangible equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive income. The maximum leverage ratio permitted by the agreements is 35.0%.
James River Insurance has access to certain credit products including advances through its membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank. Any advances would be in the form of collateralized short-term borrowings not to exceed 30% of the Company's total assets.
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Ceded Reinsurance
Our insurance segments enter into reinsurance contracts to limit our exposure to potential losses arising from large risks, to protect against the aggregation of several risks in a common loss occurrence, and to provide additional capacity for growth. Our reinsurance is contracted under excess of loss and proportional quota share reinsurance contracts. In excess of loss reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume all or a portion of the ceding company’s losses in excess of a specified amount. The premiums payable to the reinsurer are negotiated by the parties based on their assessment of the amount of risk being ceded to the reinsurer because the reinsurer does not share proportionately in the ceding company’s losses. In proportional quota share reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume a specified percentage of the ceding company’s losses arising out of a defined class of business in exchange for a corresponding percentage of premiums. These proportional quota share reinsurance agreements generally include a ceding commission paid by the reinsurer to the Company to cover acquisition costs associated with the insurance ceded. The Company also utilizes facultative reinsurance to reduce the amount of exposure it retains on individual accounts according to its guidelines for accepting risk across various industry segments, locations and types of exposure. For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 our net premium retention was 48.5%, 40.6% and 46.0%, respectively.
The following is a summary of our Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2025:
| Line of Business | Company Retention | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Specialty Casualty | Up to $3.6 million per occurrence.(1) | |
| Primary Casualty | Up to $1.46 million per occurrence.(2) | |
| Excess Casualty | Up to $2.38 million per occurrence. | |
| Property | ||
| Excess Property | Up to $5.0 million per risk.(3) |
(1) Excluding Excess Casualty.
(2) Total exposure to any one claim is generally $730,000.
(3) The property catastrophe reinsurance treaty has a limit of $22.0 million per event with one reinstatement.
We use catastrophe modeling software to analyze the risk of severe losses from hurricanes and earthquakes on our exposure. We utilize the model in our risk selection, pricing, and to manage our overall portfolio probable maximum loss (“PML”) accumulations. A PML is an estimate of the amount we would expect to pay in any one catastrophe event within a given annual probability of occurrence (i.e. a return period or loss exceedance probability).
In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, we write a small book of excess property insurance, but we do not write primary property insurance. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment has a specific proportional quota share treaty in effect to cover property risks. The proportional quota share treaty along with facultative reinsurance helps ensure that our net retained limit per risk will be $5.0 million or less.
Also in our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, a specialty casualty treaty providing $9.0 million in excess of $2.0 million coverage is subject to reinstatement premiums for treaty years spanning July 1, 2017 through July 1, 2022.
Based upon the property catastrophe modeling of our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments, it would take an event greater than the 1 in 1,000 year PML to exhaust our $22.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance. In the event of a catastrophe loss exhausting our $22.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance, we estimate our pre-tax cost would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, including reinstatement premiums and net retentions. In addition to this retention, we would retain any losses in excess of our reinsurance coverage limits.
The Commercial Auto LPT with Aleka reinsures substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier. See “Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book” below for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
The E&S ADC with State National reinsures James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment casualty portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive), excluding, among others, losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates. See “Combined Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development Cover” above for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
The E&S Top Up ADC with Enstar, through its subsidiary Cavello Bay Reinsurance Limited, reinsures 100% of the losses associated with James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive). This agreement excludes losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its
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affiliates. It is subject to a retention by James River of $1,183.7 million (the limit of the E&S ADC) and up to an aggregate limit of $75.0 million. See “Enstar Strategic Partnership” above for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
The following is a summary of our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2025:
| Line of Business | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Auto Programs | All programs are quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $1.0 million liability and $1.0 million physical damage per occurrence; except for one program with a primary limit of $750,000 liability. | |
| General Liability & Professional Liability – Programs | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $1.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Umbrella and Excess Casualty - Programs | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $25.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Property | ||
| Property within Package - Programs | Uncapped quota share coverage for 100% of limits. | |
| Excess Property | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $45.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Aviation Programs | Quota share coverage for 90.0% of limits up to $25.0 million liability, $10.0 million hull, and $10.0 million spares per occurrence, each aircraft; and excess of loss coverage for up to $4.3 million excess of $150,000 of our 10.0% share of the quota share each occurrence. |
Our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment purchases reinsurance for at least 90.0% of the exposed limits on specialty admitted property-casualty business. While the segment focuses on casualty business, incidental property risk is incurred in the fronting and program business. The segment is covered for $22.0 million in excess of $3.0 million per occurrence to manage its property exposure to an approximate 1 in 1,000 year PML.
In the aggregate, we believe our pre-tax group-wide PML from a 1 in 1,000 year property catastrophe event would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, inclusive of reinstatement premiums payable.
The Company’s insurance segments remain liable to policyholders if its reinsurers are unable to meet their contractual obligations under applicable reinsurance agreements. We establish an allowance for credit losses for our current estimate of uncollectible reinsurance recoverables. At December 31, 2025, the allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables was $1.6 million. To minimize exposure to significant losses from reinsurance insolvencies, the Company evaluates the financial condition of its reinsurers and monitors concentrations of credit risk. The Company generally seeks to purchase reinsurance from reinsurers with A.M. Best financial strength ratings of “A-” (Excellent) or better. The Company’s reinsurance contracts generally require reinsurers that are not authorized as reinsurers under U.S. state insurance regulations or that experience rating downgrades from rating agencies below specified levels to fund their share of the Company’s ceded outstanding losses and loss adjustment expense reserves, typically through the use of irrevocable and unconditional letters of credit. In fronting arrangements, which the Company conducts through its Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, we are subject to credit risk with regard to insurance companies who act as reinsurers for us in such arrangements. We require collateral, in the form of a trust arrangement or letter of credit, to secure the obligations of the insurance entity for whom we are fronting.
At December 31, 2025, we had reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses of $2,026.1 million (net of a $1.6 million allowance for credit losses) and reinsurance recoverables on paid losses of $118.2 million, and all material recoverable amounts were from companies with A.M. Best ratings of “A-" (Excellent) or better, or are collateralized by the reinsurer for our benefit through letters of credit or funds on deposit in trust accounts.
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The following table sets forth our most significant reinsurers by amount of reinsurance recoverables and the amount of reinsurance recoverables pertaining to each such reinsurer as well as its A.M. Best rating as of December 31, 2025:
| Reinsurer | Reinsurance Recoverable as of December 31, 2025 | A.M. Best Rating December 31, 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| State National Insurance Company (including E&S ADC of $397.0 million) | $ | 401,148 | A | |||
| Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation | 341,526 | A+ | ||||
| Berkley Insurance Company | 194,180 | A+ | ||||
| Hannover Ruck SE | 101,629 | A+ | ||||
| Peak Reinsurance Company | 97,222 | A- | ||||
| Motors Insurance Corporation | 77,644 | A | ||||
| Cavello Bay Reinsurance Limited (E&S Top Up ADC) | 51,394 | A | ||||
| American European Insurance Company | 43,039 | B-(1) | ||||
| SiriusPoint America Insurance Company | 37,084 | A- | ||||
| North Carolina Reinsurance Facility | 35,300 | Unrated(2) | ||||
| Top 10 Total | 1,380,166 | |||||
| Other | 645,944 | |||||
| Total | $ | 2,026,110 |
(1) This reinsurer is below A-. All material reinsurance recoverable amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
(2) The North Carolina Reinsurance Facility is a residual market mechanism for automobile insurance in North Carolina.
Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book
James River previously issued a set of commercial auto insurance contracts (the “Rasier Commercial Auto Policies”) to Rasier under which James River pays losses and loss adjustment expenses on the contracts. James River has indemnity agreements with Rasier (non-insurance entities) (collectively, the “Indemnity Agreements”) and is contractually entitled to reimbursement for the portion of the losses and loss adjustment expenses paid on behalf of Rasier under the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies and other expenses incurred by James River. In addition, on September 27, 2021, James River entered into the Commercial Auto LPT with Aleka to reinsure substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier under the Indemnity Agreements.
Each of Rasier and Aleka are required to post collateral equal to 102% of James River's estimate of the respective party's obligations in trusts pursuant to the terms of the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT, respectively. At December 31, 2025, the total balance of collateral securing Rasier's obligations under the Indemnity Agreements was $41.3 million and Aleka's obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT was $19.9 million. At December 31, 2025, the total reinsurance recoverables under the Commercial Auto LPT was $12.4 million.
While the Commercial Auto LPT brings economic finality to substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies, the Company has credit exposure to Rasier and Aleka under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT if the estimated losses and expenses of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies grow at a faster pace than the growth in the collateral balances. In addition, the Company has credit exposure if its estimates of future losses and loss adjustment expenses and other amounts recoverable under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT, which are the basis for establishing the collateral balances, are lower than actual amounts paid or payable. The amount of the Company's credit exposure in any of these instances could be material. To mitigate these risks, the Company closely and frequently monitors its exposure compared to the collateral held, and requests additional collateral in accordance with the terms of the Commercial Auto LPT and Indemnity Agreements when its analysis indicates that it has uncollateralized exposure.
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Ratings
The A.M. Best Company financial strength rating for our group’s regulated insurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a negative outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s opinion of our insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our U.S. operating insurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our insurance subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our U.S. insurance subsidiaries allow our Excess and Surplus Lines segment to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in its marketing plans.
Series A Preferred Shares
The Company closed on the issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022 for an aggregate purchase price of $150.0 million, or $1,000 per share, in a private placement. The Series A Preferred Shares are convertible into shares of common stock at the option of the holder at any time, or at the Company’s option under certain circumstances. Dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares accrue quarterly at the rate of 7% of the Liquidation Preference per annum, which may be paid in cash, in-kind in common stock or in Series A Preferred Shares, at the Company’s election.
On November 11, 2024, the Company amended the Certificate of Designations setting forth the terms of the Series A Preferred Shares to, among other things, convert 37,500 outstanding Series A Preferred Shares with a liquidation value of $37.5 million to shares of common stock at a per share price of $6.40. Following the conversion, 112,500 Series A Preferred Shares remain outstanding.
Equity
The Company issued 324,266 shares of common stock related to the vesting of restricted share units (“RSUs”) in the year ended December 31, 2025, increasing the total shares of common stock outstanding from 45,644,318 at December 31, 2024 to 45,968,584 at December 31, 2025.
Share Based Compensation Expense
For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company recognized $5.0 million, $6.6 million and $9.1 million, respectively, of share based compensation expense. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had $3.8 million of unrecognized share based compensation expense expected to be charged to earnings over a weighted-average period of 1.8 years.
Equity Incentive Plans
Options
The following table summarizes the option activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | ||||||||||||||
| Outstanding: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning of year | — | $ | — | 74,390 | $ | 42.17 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | ||||||||||
| Granted | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Exercised | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Lapsed | — | $ | — | (74,390) | $ | 42.17 | (164,548) | $ | 32.07 | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | (49,036) | $ | 35.50 | ||||||||||
| End of year | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | 74,390 | $ | 42.17 | ||||||||||
| Exercisable, end of year | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | 74,390 | $ | 42.17 |
The options outstanding at December 31, 2023 lapsed in the year ended December 31, 2024. At December 31, 2025, no options remain outstanding.
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RSUs
The following table summarizes the RSU activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
| Unvested, beginning of year | 885,173 | $ | 15.30 | 751,254 | $ | 23.48 | 665,458 | $ | 25.98 | ||||||||||
| Granted | 1,370,167 | $ | 3.76 | 541,520 | $ | 9.75 | 388,517 | $ | 24.13 | ||||||||||
| Vested | (471,091) | $ | 15.91 | (276,428) | $ | 24.80 | (250,793) | $ | 30.99 | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | (444,943) | $ | 5.29 | (101,494) | $ | 17.55 | (51,928) | $ | 24.08 | ||||||||||
| PRSU performance adjustment | (39,662) | $ | 6.49 | (29,679) | $ | 24.83 | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Unvested, end of year | 1,299,644 | $ | 6.61 | 885,173 | $ | 15.30 | 751,254 | $ | 23.48 |
Outstanding RSUs granted to employees generally vest ratably over a three year vesting period. RSUs granted to non-employee directors have a one year vesting period. The RSUs granted in 2025, 2024, and 2023 include 620,108, 231,492 and 91,818 performance based restricted share units (“PRSUs”) awards, respectively. Initial PRSU awards are granted at the 100% target performance level. The Company projects the level of achievement for each award during the performance period and periodically adjusts the number of outstanding awards to reflect the number of awards expected to vest. In 2025 and 2024, performance adjustments were made to the outstanding PRSUs granted in 2024 and 2023.
Material Cash Requirements
We believe the cash generating capability of our operations, together with our revolving credit facility, and ability to raise capital through future equity offerings, will be adequate to meet our short and long-term cash requirements and provide the financial strength necessary to support our business growth.
The following table illustrates our material cash requirements by due date as of December 31, 2025:
| Payments Due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2026 | 2027-2028 | 2029-2030 | Thereafter | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 3,099,418 | $ | 839,601 | $ | 1,174,121 | $ | 570,536 | $ | 515,160 | ||||||||
| Long-term debt: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior debt | 225,800 | — | 210,800 | — | 15,000 | |||||||||||||
| Junior subordinated debt | 104,055 | — | — | — | 104,055 | |||||||||||||
| Operating lease obligations | 7,791 | 2,010 | 3,443 | 2,250 | 88 | |||||||||||||
| Interest on debt obligations | 127,868 | 22,499 | 37,488 | 17,634 | 50,247 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,564,932 | $ | 864,110 | $ | 1,425,852 | $ | 590,420 | $ | 684,550 |
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represent management’s estimate of the ultimate cost of settling losses. As more fully discussed in “—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Reserve for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses” above, the estimation of losses is based on various complex and subjective judgments. Actual losses paid may differ, perhaps significantly, from the reserve estimates reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Similarly, the timing of payment of our estimated losses is not fixed and there may be significant changes in actual payment activity. The assumptions used in estimating the likely payments due by period are based on our historical claims payment experience and industry payment patterns, but due to the inherent uncertainty in the process of estimating the timing of such payments, there is a risk that the amounts paid in any such period can be significantly different from the amounts disclosed above.
The amounts in the above table represent our gross estimates of known liabilities as of December 31, 2025 and do not include any allowance for claims for future events within the time period specified. Accordingly, it is highly likely that the total amounts paid out in the time periods shown will be greater than those indicated in the table.
Interest on debt obligations was calculated using the SOFR rate as of December 31, 2025 with the assumption that interest rates would remain flat over the remainder of the period that the debt was outstanding.
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At December 31, 2025, the Company’s Excess and Surplus Lines segment has outstanding commitments to invest another $92.4 million in private investment opportunities, principally in structured private credit in the form of capital efficient rated notes.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Underwriting Performance Ratios
The following table provides the underwriting performance ratios of the Company's continuing operations inclusive of the business subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting. There is no economic impact to the Company over the life of a retroactive reinsurance contract so long as any additional losses subject to the contract are within the limit of the contract and the counterparty performs under the contract. Retroactive reinsurance accounting is not indicative of our current and ongoing operations. Management believes that providing loss ratios and combined ratios on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting gives the users of our financial statements useful information in evaluating our current and ongoing operations.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 64.0 | % | 87.6 | % | 68.9 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 5.1 | % | 7.3 | % | 0.8 | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 69.1 | % | 94.9 | % | 69.7 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 89.4 | % | 115.1 | % | 91.1 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 5.1 | % | 7.3 | % | 0.8 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 94.5 | % | 122.4 | % | 91.9 | % | ||
| Consolidated: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 66.4 | % | 86.2 | % | 69.9 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 4.8 | % | 6.2 | % | 0.7 | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 71.2 | % | 92.4 | % | 70.6 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 96.6 | % | 117.6 | % | 96.5 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 4.8 | % | 6.2 | % | 0.7 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 101.4 | % | 123.8 | % | 97.2 | % |
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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
See “Key Metrics” above for description of why management believes the following Non-GAAP measures provide useful information about our financial condition and results of operation.
Reconciliation of Underwriting Profit
We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies.
The following table reconciles the underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments by individual segment to consolidated income (loss) before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 59,472 | $ | (77,455) | $ | 54,347 | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | (5,693) | 6,873 | 4,077 | |||||||
| Total underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments | 53,779 | (70,582) | 58,424 | |||||||
| Other operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment | (33,493) | (34,972) | (33,940) | |||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss) (1) | 20,286 | (105,554) | 24,484 | |||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | (28,750) | (37,237) | (4,991) | |||||||
| Net investment income | 83,440 | 93,089 | 84,046 | |||||||
| Net realized and unrealized (losses) gains on investments | (2,195) | 3,625 | 10,441 | |||||||
| Other income | 3,665 | 6,131 | 4,216 | |||||||
| Other expenses | (2,002) | (6,145) | (3,792) | |||||||
| Interest expense | (23,538) | (24,666) | (24,627) | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (363) | (363) | |||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | — | — | (2,500) | |||||||
| Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes | $ | 50,543 | $ | (71,120) | $ | 86,914 |
(1) Underwriting profit (loss) includes gross fee income of $13.4 million, $21.0 million, and $24.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
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Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Operating Income
Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) income (loss) from discontinued operations, b) the impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting, c) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, d) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to certain lawsuits, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, e) severance costs associated with terminated employees, f) deemed dividends recorded with the amendment of the Series A Preferred Shares, and g) the one-time tax benefit from Domestication for business interest expenses. Adjusted net operating income should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP, and our definition of adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies.
Our income (loss) available to common shareholders for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 reconciles to our adjusted net operating income (loss) as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income Before Taxes | Net Income | Loss Before Taxes | Net Loss | (Loss) Income Before Taxes | Net (Loss) Income | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) available to common shareholders | $ | 40,274 | $ | 39,551 | $ | (125,903) | $ | (118,269) | $ | (92,479) | $ | (118,184) | ||||||||||
| Loss from discontinued operations | 2,393 | 2,390 | 17,634 | 17,634 | 168,893 | 168,893 | ||||||||||||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | 28,750 | 22,713 | 37,237 | 29,418 | 4,991 | 3,943 | ||||||||||||||||
| Net realized and unrealized investment losses (gains) | 2,195 | 1,734 | (3,625) | (2,865) | (10,441) | (8,248) | ||||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | 1,986 | 1,830 | 6,145 | 5,573 | 1,588 | 1,938 | ||||||||||||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | — | — | — | — | 2,500 | 1,975 | ||||||||||||||||
| One-time tax benefit in connection with domestication | — | (14,078) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Series A deemed dividends | — | — | 27,006 | 27,006 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted net operating income (loss) | $ | 75,598 | $ | 54,140 | $ | (41,506) | $ | (41,503) | $ | 75,052 | $ | 50,317 |
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Tangible Equity (per Share) and Tangible Common Equity (per Share)
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares and the deferred retroactive reinsurance gain less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total shares of common stock outstanding plus the shares of common stock resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the conversion price effective as of the last day of the applicable period). Tangible common equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus the deferred retroactive reinsurance gain less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. Tangible common equity per share represents tangible common equity divided by the total shares of common stock outstanding. Our definitions of tangible equity, tangible equity per share, tangible common equity and tangible common equity per share may not be comparable to that of other companies, and they should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity and shareholders’ equity per share calculated in accordance with GAAP.
The following table reconciles shareholders’ equity to tangible common equity as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | $ | 538,153 | $ | 460,915 | $ | 534,621 | ||||
| Plus: Series A redeemable preferred shares | 133,115 | 133,115 | 144,898 | |||||||
| Plus: Deferred reinsurance gain | 86,720 | 57,970 | 20,733 | |||||||
| Less: Goodwill | 181,831 | 181,831 | 181,831 | |||||||
| Less: Intangible assets, net | 32,087 | 32,450 | 32,813 | |||||||
| Tangible equity | 544,070 | 437,719 | 485,608 | |||||||
| Less: Series A redeemable preferred shares | 133,115 | 133,115 | 144,898 | |||||||
| Tangible common equity | $ | 410,955 | $ | 304,604 | $ | 340,710 | ||||
| Common shares outstanding | 45,968,584 | 45,644,318 | 37,641,563 | |||||||
| Common shares from assumed conversion of Series A Preferred Shares | 13,521,634 | 13,521,634 | 5,971,184 | |||||||
| Common shares outstanding after assumed conversion of Series A Preferred Shares | 59,490,218 | 59,165,952 | 43,612,747 | |||||||
| Equity per share: | ||||||||||
| Shareholders' equity | $ | 11.71 | $ | 10.10 | $ | 14.20 | ||||
| Tangible equity | $ | 9.15 | $ | 7.40 | $ | 11.13 | ||||
| Tangible common equity | $ | 8.94 | $ | 6.67 | $ | 9.05 |
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MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001620459-25-000010.
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements and involves numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should read this discussion and analysis together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
James River Group Holdings, Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company. We own and operate a group of specialty insurance companies with the objective of generating compelling returns on tangible equity while limiting underwriting and investment volatility. We seek to accomplish this by earning profits from insurance underwriting and generating meaningful risk-adjusted investment returns, while managing our capital.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, approximately 76.2% of our gross written premiums and 88.7% of our net written premiums from continuing operations originated from the U.S. E&S lines market, which we believe puts us among the top three publicly traded insurers as ranked by highest concentrations of E&S risk. We also have a specialty admitted insurance business in the United States. We intend to concentrate substantially all of our underwriting in casualty insurance, and for the year ended December 31, 2024, 96.3% of our gross written premiums from continuing operations were derived from casualty insurance. We focus on writing business in specialty markets where our underwriters have particular expertise and where we have long-standing distribution relationships; maintaining a strong balance sheet with appropriate reserves; monitoring reinsurance recoverables carefully; managing our investment portfolio actively without taking undue risk; using technology to monitor trends in our business; responding rapidly to market opportunities and challenges; and actively managing our capital.
We report our continuing operations in three segments: Excess and Surplus Lines, Specialty Admitted Insurance, and Corporate and Other.
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment offers E&S commercial lines liability and property insurance in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through James River Insurance and its wholly-owned subsidiary, James River Casualty. James River Insurance and James River Casualty are both non-admitted carriers. Non-admitted carriers writing in the E&S market are not bound by most of the rate and form regulations imposed on standard market companies, allowing them flexibility to change the coverage terms offered and the rate charged without the time constraints and financial costs associated with the rate and form filing process. In 2024, the average account in this segment (excluding commercial auto policies) generated annual gross written premiums of approximately $26,800. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment distributes its products primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. Members of our management team have participated in this market for over three decades and have long-standing relationships with the wholesale agents who place E&S lines accounts. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced 71.0% of our gross written premiums and 87.5% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2024.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment focuses on niche classes within the standard insurance markets through its fronting business, where we retain a minority share of the risk and seek to earn fee income by allowing other carriers and producers to use our licensure, ratings, expertise and infrastructure. Through Falls Lake National and its subsidiaries, this segment has admitted licenses and the authority to write excess and surplus lines insurance in 50 states and the District of Columbia and distributes through a variety of sources, including program administrators and MGAs. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment produced 29.0% of our gross written premiums and 12.5% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2024.
The Corporate and Other segment consists of the management and treasury activities of our holding companies, equity compensation for the group, and interest expense associated with our debt.
Our discontinued operations include JRG Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“JRG Re”), which comprised the remaining operations of the former Casualty Reinsurance segment, and which, prior to the suspension of its underwriting activities in 2023, provided proportional and working layer casualty reinsurance to third parties. On November 8, 2023, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to sell JRG Re. The sale of JRG Re, which closed on April 16, 2024, resulted in the Company’s disposition of its casualty reinsurance business and related assets.
All of the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries are party to an intercompany pooling agreement that distributes the net underwriting results among the group companies based on their approximate pro-rata level of statutory capital and surplus to the total Company statutory capital and surplus. Additionally, the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries were previously parties to intercompany quota share reinsurance agreements that in periods prior to January 1, 2018 ceded 70% of their premiums and losses to JRG Re, and from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2021, ceded 70% of their premiums and losses to Carolina Re Ltd., a former wholly-owned subsidiary of James River Group (“Carolina Re”).
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During 2022, Carolina Re commuted the outstanding obligations ceded under the intercompany quota-share reinsurance agreements back to the Company’s U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries with effect from January 1, 2022. Carolina Re concluded all operations and was dissolved in December 2023. During 2023, JRG Re commuted the outstanding obligations ceded under the intercompany quota share reinsurance agreements back to the Company's U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries with effect from January 1, 2023. We report all segment information in this ‘‘Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ prior to the effects of intercompany reinsurance, consistent with the manner in which we evaluate the operating performance of our reportable segments.
The A.M. Best Company financial strength rating for our group’s regulated insurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a negative outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s evaluation of our insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our operating insurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our insurance subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our insurance subsidiaries allow our subsidiaries to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in their marketing plans.
Key Metrics
We discuss certain key metrics, described below, which we believe provide useful information about our business and the operational factors underlying our financial performance.
Underwriting profit is a non-GAAP measure commonly used in the property and casualty insurance industry to evaluate underwriting performance. We believe that the disclosure of underwriting profit by individual segment and of the Company as a whole is useful to investors, analysts, rating agencies and other users of our financial information in evaluating our performance because our objective is to consistently earn underwriting profits. We evaluate the performance of our segments and allocate resources based primarily on underwriting profit. We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of underwriting profit to income from continuing operations before taxes and for additional information.
Loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting to net earned premiums. Our definition of loss ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Accident year loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses for the current accident year (excluding development on prior accident year reserves) to net earned premiums for the current year (excluding ceded earned premium associated adverse development covers covering prior accident years and net earned premium adjustments on certain reinsurance treaties with reinstatement premiums associated with prior years).
Expense ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of other operating expenses net of gross fee income included in other income to net earned premiums.
Combined ratio is a measure of underwriting performance calculated as the sum of the loss ratio and the expense ratio. A combined ratio of less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit, while a combined ratio greater than 100% reflects an underwriting loss. Our definition of combined ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Adjusted net operating income is an internal performance measure used in the management of our operations. We believe it gives our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) income (loss) from discontinued operations b) the impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting, c) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, d) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to certain lawsuits, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, e) severance costs associated with terminated employees, and f) deemed dividends recorded with the amendment of the Series A Preferred Shares. Adjusted net operating income is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies. See
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“Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of income available to common shareholders to adjusted net operating income.
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares (as defined below) and the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. We believe tangible equity is a good measure to evaluate the strength of our balance sheet and to compare returns relative to this measure. Key financial measures that we use to assess our longer term financial performance include the percentage growth in our tangible equity per share and our return on tangible equity. Tangible equity is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of tangible equity may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of shareholders' equity to tangible equity.
Adjusted net operating return on tangible equity is defined as annualized adjusted net operating income expressed as a percentage of the average quarterly tangible equity balances in the respective period.
Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total common shares outstanding plus the common shares resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the conversion price effective as of the last day of the applicable period).
Net retention is defined as the ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums.
Gross investment yield is annualized investment income before any deductions for fees and expenses, expressed as a percentage of the average beginning and ending carrying values of those investments during the period.
Unless specified otherwise, all references to our defined metrics above in this “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” are for our business from continuing operations that is not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting. Management believes that the lack of economic impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting makes the presentation of our key metrics on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting helpful to the users of our financial information. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” and “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We identified the accounting estimates below as critical to the understanding of our financial position and results of operations. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those estimates that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and which require us to exercise significant judgment. We use significant judgment concerning future results and developments in applying these critical accounting estimates and in preparing our consolidated financial statements. These judgments and estimates affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of material contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ materially from the estimates and assumptions used in preparing the consolidated financial statements. We evaluate our estimates regularly using information that we believe to be relevant. For a detailed discussion of our accounting policies, see “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” included in this Form 10-K.
Reserve for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represents our estimated ultimate cost of all reported and unreported losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred and unpaid at the balance sheet date. We do not discount this reserve. We estimate the reserve using individual case-basis valuations of reported claims and statistical analysis. We believe that the use of judgment is necessary to arrive at a best estimate for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses given the long-tailed nature of the business generally written by the Company and the limited operating experience of the fronting and program business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. In applying this judgment, we may establish reserves that differ from our internal actuaries’ estimate. We seek to establish reserves that will ultimately prove to be adequate. If we have indications that claims frequency or severity exceeds our initial expectations, we generally increase our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses. Conversely, when claims frequency and severity trends are more favorable than initially anticipated, we generally reduce our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses once we have sufficient data to confirm the validity of the favorable trends.
Our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments generally are notified of losses by our insureds or their brokers. Based on the information provided, we establish case reserves by estimating the ultimate losses from the claim, including administrative costs associated with the ultimate settlement of the claim. Our claims department personnel use their knowledge of the specific claim along with internal and external experts, including underwriters and legal counsel, to estimate the expected ultimate losses.
We also use statistical analysis to estimate the cost of losses and loss adjustment expenses that have been incurred but not reported to us. Those estimates are based on our historical information, industry information and estimates of future trends that may affect the frequency of claims and changes in the average cost of claims (severity) that may arise in the future.
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The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at December 31, 2024 was $3,084.4 million. Of this amount, 73.3% relates to IBNR. The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Gross Reserves at December 31, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 449,449 | $ | 1,776,589 | $ | 2,226,038 | 79.8 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 374,992 | 483,376 | 858,368 | 56.3 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 824,441 | $ | 2,259,965 | $ | 3,084,406 | 73.3 | % |
The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses prior to the $1.2 million allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables at December 31, 2024 was $1,086.3 million. Of this amount, 63.5% relates to IBNR. The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Net Reserves at December 31, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 333,642 | $ | 612,823 | $ | 946,465 | 64.7 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 62,578 | 77,235 | 139,813 | 55.2 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 396,220 | $ | 690,058 | $ | 1,086,278 | 63.5 | % |
Our Reserve Committee consists of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Chief Actuary. Additionally, the presidents, chief financial officers and segment actuaries of each of our insurance segments participate in the Reserve Committee meetings for their respective segments. The Reserve Committee meets quarterly to review the actuarial recommendations made by each segment actuary and use their best judgment to determine the best estimate to be recorded for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses on our balance sheet.
We engage an independent internationally recognized actuarial consulting firm to review our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in the third and fourth quarters of each year. This independent actuarial consulting firm prepares its own estimate of our reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, and we compare their estimate to the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses reviewed and approved by the Reserve Committee in order to corroborate the adequacy of our reserves.
The process of estimating the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses requires a high degree of judgment and is subject to a number of variables. In establishing the quarterly actuarial recommendation for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries estimate an initial expected ultimate loss ratio for each of our product lines by accident year. Input from our underwriting and claims departments, including premium pricing assumptions and historical experience, are considered by our internal actuaries in estimating the initial expected loss ratios. Our actuaries generally utilize five primary actuarial methods in their estimation process for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses. These primary methods are supplemented by additional actuarial methods as the Chief Actuary considers appropriate. For example, these supplemental methods can include frequency and severity methods that use claim count data to estimate ultimate losses and loss adjustment expenses. These claims frequency and severity methods may be appropriate for some lines of business and inappropriate for others. The Chief Actuary uses professional judgment to determine when additional methods should be used to supplement the five primary methods. The five primary methods utilize, to varying degrees, the initial expected loss ratio, detailed statistical analysis of past claims reporting and payment patterns, claims frequency and severity, paid loss experience, industry loss experience, and changes in market conditions, policy forms, exclusions, and exposures. The five primary actuarial methods that we use in our reserve estimation process are:
Expected Loss Method
The Expected Loss method multiplies earned premiums by an initial expected loss ratio. In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment and for our Workers’ Compensation book in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, the initial expected loss ratio is estimated based on adjusting book of business prior year experience to current cost and rate level. In our programs business within the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, the expected loss ratio is based on the actuarial pricing of the individual account. Alternatively, when company experience lacks historical depth, initial expected loss ratios can be determined using loss ratios implied by industry loss costs for the class or reported industry loss ratios.
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Incurred Loss Development Method
The Incurred Loss Development method uses historical loss reporting patterns by accident year to estimate future loss reporting patterns. In this method, our actuaries review historical loss reporting patterns to develop incurred loss development factors that are applied to current reported losses to calculate ultimate losses.
Paid Loss Development Method
The Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Incurred Loss Development method, but it uses historical loss payment patterns to estimate future loss payment patterns. In this method, our actuaries apply historical loss payment patterns to develop paid loss development factors that are applied to current paid losses to calculate expected ultimate losses.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been reported and the portion that has yet to be reported. The portion that has yet to be reported is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unreported at the valuation date. This technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and reported losses lack historical depth.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method, except this method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been paid and the portion that has yet to be paid. The portion that has yet to be paid is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unpaid at the valuation date. This approach assumes that the paid experience has no effect on the subsequent paid loss emergence of the business. Again, this technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and paid losses lack historical depth.
Different reserving methods are appropriate in different situations, and our actuaries use their judgment and experience to determine the weighting of the methods detailed above to use for each accident year and each line of business. For example, the current accident year has very little incurred and paid loss development data on which to base reserve projections. As a result, we rely heavily on the Expected Loss Method in estimating reserves for the current accident year. The Company generally sets the initial expected loss ratio for the current accident year consistent with the internal actuaries’ pricing assumptions adjusted upward where warranted based on management's judgment in order to produce the best estimate. We believe that this is a reasonable and appropriate reserving assumption for the current accident year since our pricing assumptions are actuarially driven and since we expect to make an acceptable return on the new business that we write. If actual loss emergence is better than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience favorable development, and if it is worse than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience adverse development. Conversely, sufficient incurred and paid loss development is available for our oldest accident years, so more weight is given to the Incurred Loss Development method and the Paid Loss Development method than the Expected Loss Method. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development and Paid Loss Development methods blend features of the Expected Loss Method and the Incurred and Paid Loss Development methods. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods are typically used for the more recent prior accident years.
In applying these methods to develop an estimate of the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries use judgment to determine three key parameters for each accident year and line of business: the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the actuarial methods to be used for each accident year and line of business. Judgment is also required to make actuarial adjustments, if needed, for changes in claims processing and case reserving that could cause current reported loss and paid loss development patterns to deviate from historical patterns. For the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, the segment actuary performs a study on each of these parameters at least annually and makes recommendations for the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the actuarial methods by accident year and line of business. Members of the Reserve Committee review and approve the parameter review actuarial recommendations, and absent any developments requiring an earlier review, these approved parameters are generally used in the reserve estimation process for the next four quarters at which time a new parameter study is performed. For the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, expected loss ratios, loss development factors, and loss cost trends are reviewed and updated at least annually.
The table below quantifies the impact of extreme reserve deviations from our expected value at December 31, 2024. The total carried net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses for our continuing operations is displayed alongside 5th and 95th percentiles of likely ultimate net reserve outcomes. The carried reserve represents the Company's best estimate and approximates the 50th percentile. The estimates of these percentiles are a result of a reserve variability analysis which is part of our internal capital modeling efforts using a simulation approach.
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| Sensitivity | 5th Pct. | Carried | 95th Pct. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 1,034,470 | $ | 1,086,278 | $ | 1,149,771 | |||||||
| Changes in reserves | (51,808) | — | 63,493 |
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the highest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to increase losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $63.5 million, reduce after-tax net income by $50.2 million, reduce shareholders’ equity by $50.2 million and reduce shareholders’ tangible equity by $50.2 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2024.
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the lowest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to reduce losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $51.8 million, increase after-tax net income by $40.9 million, increase shareholders’ equity by $40.9 million, and increase tangible equity by $40.9 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2024. Such changes in the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses would not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, but would affect cash flow and investment income in future periods as the incremental or reduced amount of losses are paid and investment assets adjusted to reflect the level of paid claims.
Loss reserve estimates are subject to a high degree of variability due to the inherent uncertainty of ultimate claims settlement values. In recording our best estimate of our reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our Reserve Committee may select an amount that is different from the actuarial recommendation submitted after considering other qualitative factors and our knowledge and expectations of trends and other business developments that impact our best estimate. There is inherent variation associated with our reserve estimates and the possibility that there are unforeseen or incorrectly valued liabilities in the actuarial recommendations exists. We believe that the insurance that we write is subject to above-average variation in reserve estimates. The Excess and Surplus Lines market is subject to high policyholder turnover and changes in underlying mix of exposures. This turnover and change in underlying mix of exposures can cause actuarial estimates based on prior experience to be less reliable than estimates for more stable, admitted books of business. As a casualty insurer, losses on our policies often take a number of years to develop, making it difficult to estimate the ultimate losses associated with this business. Judicial and regulatory bodies have frequently interpreted insurance contracts in a manner that expands coverage beyond that which was contemplated at the time that the policy was issued. In addition, many of our policies are issued on an occurrence basis, and insureds suffering a loss frequently seek coverage beyond the policies’ original intent.
Our reserves are driven by a number of important assumptions, including litigation and regulatory trends, legislative activity, climate change, social and economic patterns and claims inflation assumptions. Our reserve estimates reflect current inflation in legal claims’ settlements and assume we will not be subject to losses from significant new legal liability theories. Our reserve estimates also assume that we will not experience significant losses from mass torts and that we will not incur losses from future mass torts not known to us today. While it is not possible to predict the impact of changes in the litigation environment, if new mass torts or expanded legal theories of liability emerge, our cost of claims may differ substantially from our reserves. Our reserve estimates assume that there will not be significant changes in the regulatory and legislative environment. The impact of potential changes in the regulatory or legislative environment is difficult to quantify in the absence of specific, significant new regulation or legislation. In the event of significant new regulation or legislation, we will attempt to quantify its impact on our business but no assurance can be given that our attempt to quantify such inputs will be accurate or successful.
IBNR reserve estimates are inherently less precise than case reserve estimates. A 5% change in net IBNR reserves at December 31, 2024 would equate to a $34.5 million change in the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at such date, a $27.3 million change in after-tax net income, a 5.9% change in shareholders’ equity and a 6.2% change in tangible equity, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Although we believe that our reserve estimates are reasonable, it is possible that our actual loss experience may not conform to our assumptions. Specifically, our actual ultimate loss ratio could differ from our initial expected loss ratio or our actual reporting and payment patterns could differ from our expected reporting and payment patterns, which are based on our own data and industry data. Accordingly, the ultimate settlement of losses and the related loss adjustment expenses may vary significantly from the estimates included in our financial statements. We regularly review our estimates and adjust them as necessary as experience develops or as new information becomes known to us. Such adjustments are included in current operations.
In determining the amount of prior accident year development to recognize each year, we consider actual loss emergence (reported and paid) versus expected loss emergence, as well as our internal actuaries’ indications and the prior year development indicated in the actuarial analysis prepared by our independent third-party actuary. We look at these different data points with the goal of disclosing prior accident year development that is representative of loss emergence on prior accident years during the year, while also recording the Company’s best estimate of the aggregate reserve for losses and loss adjustment
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expenses on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet. At a high level, actual loss emergence on prior accident years in excess of actuarial expectations implies adverse development, while actual loss emergence less than expected emergence implies favorable development.
We experienced $76.1 million of net adverse development in 2024 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2023 (excluding adverse prior year development subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting - see “Retroactive Reinsurance Accounting” below). This reserve development included $76.7 million of net adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $607,000 of net favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment.
We experienced $31.6 million of net adverse development in 2023 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2022 (excluding adverse prior year development subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting - see “Retroactive Reinsurance Accounting” below). This reserve development included $32.6 million of net adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $972,000 of net favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment.
Investment Valuation and Impairment
We carry fixed maturity securities classified as “available-for-sale” at fair value, and unrealized gains and losses on such securities, net of any deferred taxes, are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Equity securities (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Certain restricted cash equivalents invested in funds with floating net asset values are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. At December 31, 2024, we do not have any securities classified as “held-to-maturity” or “trading.”
The Company periodically reviews its available-for-sale fixed maturities to determine whether any unrealized losses exist that are due to credit-related factors. An allowance for credit losses is established for any credit-related impairments, limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost. Changes in the allowance for credit losses are recognized in earnings and included in net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Unrealized losses that are not credit-related continue to be recognized in other comprehensive income.
The Company considers the extent to which fair value is below amortized cost in determining whether a credit-related loss exists. The Company also considers the credit quality rating of the security, with a special emphasis on securities downgraded below investment grade. A comparison is made between the present value of expected future cash flows for a security and its amortized cost. If the present value of future expected cash flows is less than amortized cost, a credit loss is presumed to exist and an allowance for credit losses is established. Management may conclude that a qualitative analysis is sufficient to support its conclusion that the present value of the expected cash flows equals or exceeds a security’s amortized cost. As a result of this review, management concluded that there were no credit-related impairments of fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2024, 2023, or 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2024, management recognized an impairment loss of $207,000 for one fixed maturity security due to the Company's inability to hold the security until a recovery in its value to the amortized cost basis. For the remainder of securities in an unrealized loss position, management does not intend to sell the securities and it is not "more likely than not" that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
The Company elected the fair value option to account for bank loan participations. Under the fair value option, bank loan participations are measured at fair value, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income and Comprehensive Loss as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Losses due to credit-related impairments on bank loan participations are determined based upon consultations and advice from the Company's specialized investment manager and consideration of any adverse situations that could affect the borrower's ability to repay, the estimated value of underlying collateral, and other relevant factors. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, management concluded that $3.3 million, $397,000, and $574,000 of the net realized and unrealized gains (losses) were due to credit-related impairments, respectively.
Fair values are measured in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements. The guidance establishes a framework for measuring fair value and a three-level hierarchy based upon the quality of inputs used to measure fair value. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are: (1) Level 1: quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets, (2) Level 2: inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the instrument and (3) Level 3: inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable for the asset or liability.
The fair values of fixed maturity securities and equity securities have been determined using fair value prices provided by our investment accounting services provider or investment managers, who utilize internationally recognized independent pricing services. The prices provided by the independent pricing services are generally based on observable market data in
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active markets (e.g. broker quotes and prices observed for comparable securities). Values for U.S. Treasury and publicly-traded equity securities are generally based on Level 1 inputs which use the market approach valuation technique. The values for all other fixed maturity securities (including state and municipal securities and obligations of U.S. government corporations and agencies) generally incorporate significant Level 2 inputs, and in some cases, Level 3 inputs, using the market approach and income approach valuation techniques.
The fair values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents (excluding those invested in funds with floating net asset values), and short-term investments approximate their carrying values due to their short-term maturity.
In the determination of the fair value for bank loan participations and certain high yield bonds, the Company endeavors to obtain data from multiple external pricing sources. External pricing sources may include brokers, dealers, and price data vendors that provide a composite price based on prices from multiple dealers. Such external pricing sources typically provide valuations for normal institutional size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities, and various relationships between securities, as generally recognized by institutional dealers. For investments in which the Company determines that only one external pricing source is appropriate or if only one external price is available, the investment is generally recorded based on such price.
Investments for which external sources are not available or are determined by an investment manager not to be representative of fair value are recorded at fair value as determined by the investment manager. In determining the fair value of such investments, the investment manager considers one or more of the following factors: type of security held, convertibility or exchangeability of the security, redeemability of the security (including the timing of redemptions), application of industry accepted valuation models, recent trading activity, liquidity, estimates of liquidation value, purchase cost and prices received for securities with similar terms of the same issuer or similar issuers. There were no bank loan participations for which external sources were unavailable to determine fair value at December 31, 2024 or 2023.
We review fair value prices provided by our outside investment accounting service provider or our investment managers for reasonableness by comparing the fair values provided to those provided by our investment custodian. We conduct corroborative price testing comparing prices utilized for each security to those from an alternate reputable pricing service. We also review and monitor changes in fair values and unrealized gains and losses. We obtain an understanding of the methods, models, and inputs used by our investment managers and independent pricing services, and controls are in place to validate that prices provided represent fair values. Our control process includes, but is not limited to, initial and ongoing evaluation of the methodologies used, a review of specific securities and an assessment for proper classification within the fair value hierarchy, and obtaining and reviewing internal control reports for our investment accounting services provider and investment managers that obtain fair values from independent pricing services.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Adopted Accounting Standards
The guidance in ASU 2023-07—Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures was designed to improve reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company adopted the new standard effective with this Form 10-K by providing additional segment disclosures in Note 20. The new standard did not have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.
No accounting standards were adopted during the year ended December 31, 2024 that had a material impact on our financial statements.
Prospective Accounting Standards
The guidance in ASU 2023-09—Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures was designed to increase transparency about income tax information through improvements to the rate reconciliation and disclosure of income taxes paid. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Although the Company continues to evaluate the impact of adopting this new accounting standard, the amendments are disclosure-related and are not expected to have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.
The guidance in ASU 2024-03, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses requires additional, disaggregated disclosure around certain income statement expense line items. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027, although early adoption is permitted. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance on the disclosures in its financial statements.
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There are no other prospective accounting standards which are expected to have a material impact on our financial statements subsequent to December 31, 2024.
Recent Strategic Actions
James River Group Holdings, Ltd.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Board of Directors concluded the strategic review process announced in November of 2023. While the strategic review process has been completed, in the ordinary course of business the Company and Board of Directors expect to consider opportunities consistent with its fiduciary duty.
Combined Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development Cover
On July 2, 2024, James River Insurance and James River Casualty (together, “James River”), entered into a Combined Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development Cover Reinsurance Contract (the “E&S ADC”) with State National Insurance Company, Inc. (“State National”). The transaction closed upon signing.
The E&S ADC was effective January 1, 2024 (the “Effective Date”) and applies to James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment casualty portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive), excluding, among others, losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates (the “Subject Business”). Pursuant to the E&S ADC, (a) State National reinsures 85% of losses paid on and after the Effective Date in respect of the Subject Business in excess of $716.6 million up to an aggregate limit of $467.1 million (with State National’s share of the aggregate limit being $397.0 million) in exchange for a reinsurance premium paid by James River equal to $313.2 million, (b) James River continues to manage claims and to manage and collect the benefit of other existing third-party reinsurance on the Subject Business, which third-party reinsurance inures to the benefit of the E&S ADC, and (c) James River is entitled to a profit commission of 50% of any favorable development on the business ceded to State National below 104.5% of carried reserves, which profit commission shall not exceed $87.0 million in total. The Company has $41.2 million of aggregate limit remaining on the E&S ADC at December 31, 2024.
Enstar Strategic Partnership
The Company commenced a multi-pronged strategic partnership with Enstar Group Limited (“Enstar”). As part of this, on November 11, 2024, Enstar, through its subsidiary Cavello Bay Reinsurance Limited (“Cavello Bay”), entered into (i) a subscription agreement to purchase $12.5 million of the Company’s common shares at a share price of $6.40, which shares are in addition to 637,640 shares Enstar previously purchased in the open market, and (ii) an adverse development cover agreement with James River (“E&S Top Up ADC”), such transactions together, the “Enstar Transactions”. Pursuant to the E&S Top Up ADC, in exchange for a premium of $52.8 million (less an amount equal to the federal excise tax payable on the premium), Cavello Bay reinsures, effective January 1, 2024, 100% of the losses associated with James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment casualty portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive). This agreement excludes losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates. It is subject to a retention by James River of $1,183.7 million (the limit of the E&S ADC) and up to an aggregate limit of $75.0 million. The Enstar Transactions closed on December 23, 2024. The Company recognized a $52.8 million reduction in pre-tax income in connection with the E&S Top Up ADC upon closing.
Series A Preferred Share Amendment
On November 11, 2024, the Company amended the Certificate of Designations held by GPC Partners to, among other things, (i) convert $37.5 million of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares to common stock at a per share price of $6.40 (the “Minimum Price”), (ii) increase the voluntary conversion price from 127.5% to 130% of the Minimum Price, (iii) increase the mandatory conversion price from 130% to 200% of the voluntary conversion price, (iv) delay the first date on which the dividend rate re-sets from March 1, 2027 to October 1, 2029, (v) cap the dividend rate at 8%, (vi) eliminate the adverse development anti-dilution adjustment provision, and (vii) limit transfers of the Series A Preferred Shares without the Company’s consent if, after the transfer, the transferee would hold 9.9% or more of the voting equity of the Company or, in the event of an A.M. Best downgrade of James River Insurance below A- (Excellent), 19.9% of the voting equity.
Sale of JRG Re
On November 8, 2023, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) with Fleming Intermediate Holdings LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Buyer”). Pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement, and on the terms and subject to the conditions therein, the Buyer agreed to purchase from the Company all of the common shares of JRG Re. JRG Re comprised the remaining operations of the former Casualty Reinsurance segment, and the sale of JRG Re, which closed on April 16, 2024, resulted in the Company’s disposition of its casualty reinsurance business and related assets.
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Pursuant to the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement, the aggregate purchase price received by the Company, after giving effect to estimated adjustments based on changes in JRG Re’s adjusted net worth between March 31, 2023 and the closing, totaled approximately $291.4 million (the “Closing Date Purchase Price”). The aggregate Closing Date Purchase Price was comprised of (i) $152.4 million paid in cash by the Buyer and (ii) an aggregate $139.0 million dividend and distribution from contributed surplus by JRG Re to the Company. In accordance with the Stock Purchase Agreement, the cash portion of the purchase price was calculated based on an estimated balance sheet of JRG Re as of the date of closing. The estimated balance sheet is subject to final post-closing adjustments, which resulted in the downward adjustment to the purchase price discussed below.
The Buyer delivered a closing statement to the Company, and pursuant to the procedures in the Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company has given its notice of disagreement with the Buyer’s closing statement. In its notice of disagreement, the Company (i) agreed with an $11.4 million downward adjustment to the Closing Date Purchase Price due to losses from JRG Re’s operations between the date of the balance sheet used to produce the estimated closing statement and the Closing Date, which downward adjustment was paid to the Buyer on October 18, 2024, and (ii) disputed $54.1 million in aggregate downward adjustments to the Closing Date Purchase Price claimed by the Buyer, which the Company believes are unsupported by the facts known to the Company and the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement. The Stock Purchase Agreement provides procedures for resolving disputes between the parties regarding the closing statement and it is possible that the resolution of these disputes could result in a significant reduction to the amount of the purchase price.
We have determined that the sale of JRG Re met the criteria to be classified as held for sale at December 31, 2023 and that the sale represented a strategic shift that will have a major effect on the Company's operations. Accordingly, the results of JRG Re's operations have been presented as discontinued operations, and the assets and liabilities of JRG Re at December 31, 2023 have been classified as held for sale and segregated for all periods presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The $139.0 million pre-closing dividend was completed in the first quarter of 2024. It included the forgiveness of $133.2 million owed from JRG Holdings to JRG Re and $5.8 million paid in cash to JRG Holdings. In the fourth quarter of 2023, after giving effect to the pre-closing dividend, we recorded an estimated loss on sale of $80.4 million to write down the carrying value of JRG Re to its estimated fair value based upon the estimated sales price of the transaction less costs to sell and other adjustments in accordance with the Stock Purchase Agreement. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the estimated loss on the sale was revised to $78.3 million. The loss on disposal for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $4.1 million includes the $2.1 million gain for the change in the estimated loss on sale and expenses incurred of $6.2 million.
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Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023
The following table summarizes our results for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 1,431,772 | $ | 1,508,660 | (5.1) | % | ||||
| Net retention | 40.6 | % | 46.0 | % | ||||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 580,854 | $ | 693,901 | (16.3) | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 600,196 | $ | 708,005 | (15.2) | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses excluding retroactive reinsurance | (517,137) | (495,166) | 4.4 | % | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | (188,613) | (188,355) | 0.1 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting (loss) profit (1), (2) | (105,554) | 24,484 | — | |||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | (37,237) | (4,991) | 646.1 | % | ||||||
| Net investment income | 93,089 | 84,046 | 10.8 | % | ||||||
| Net realized and unrealized gains on investments | 3,625 | 10,441 | (65.3) | % | ||||||
| Other income and expense | (14) | 424 | — | |||||||
| Interest expense | (24,666) | (24,627) | 0.2 | % | ||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (363) | — | |||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | — | (2,500) | — | |||||||
| (Loss) income from continuing operations before taxes | (71,120) | 86,914 | — | |||||||
| Income tax (benefit) expense on continuing operations | (7,634) | 25,705 | — | |||||||
| Net (loss) income from continuing operations | (63,486) | 61,209 | — | |||||||
| Net loss from discontinued operations | (17,634) | (168,893) | (89.6) | % | ||||||
| Net loss | (81,120) | (107,684) | (24.7) | % | ||||||
| Dividends on Series A Preferred Shares | (37,149) | (10,500) | 253.8 | % | ||||||
| Net loss available to common shareholders | $ | (118,269) | $ | (118,184) | 0.1 | % | ||||
| Adjusted net operating (loss) income (1) | $ | (41,503) | $ | 50,317 | — | |||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 86.2 | % | 69.9 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 31.4 | % | 26.6 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 117.6 | % | 96.5 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 66.2 | % | 64.0 | % |
(1) Underwriting (loss) profit and adjusted net operating (loss) income are non-GAAP measures. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Underwriting results include gross fee income of $21.0 million and $24.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
The Company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $63.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to net income from continuing operations of $61.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The net loss from continuing operations in the current year was largely attributable to the Excess and Surplus Lines segment which was impacted by $76.7 million of net adverse reserve development (including a $52.2 million reserve charge upon execution of the E&S ADC in the third quarter) and $52.8 million of ceded premium recorded upon execution of the E&S Top Up ADC in the fourth quarter. Adjusted net operating loss was $41.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to adjusted net operating income of $50.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Underwriting results were a loss of $105.6 million (combined ratio of 117.6%) for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to profit of $24.5 million (combined ratio of 96.5%) for the year ended December 31, 2023. The underwriting loss in the current year was largely driven by net adverse reserve development (see loss ratio discussion below) and the $52.8 million of ceded premium associated with the E&S Top Up ADC which increased our combined ratio by 9.5 points. Underwriting results for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 also include $13.7 million and $16.4 million, respectively, of premium
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adjustments associated with prior years including reinstatement premium in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment which reduced net written and net earned premiums, and underwriting profit. The impact of the premium adjustments was a 2.6 and 2.1 percentage point increase in our combined ratios in the respective years.
Our loss ratio increased from 69.9% in the prior year to 86.2% in the current year primarily driven by higher net adverse reserve development and the impact of the ceded premium associated with the E&S Top Up ADC (+7.0 points). Net adverse reserve development on prior accident years (excluding adverse prior year development from continuing operations that is subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting - see discussion below) was $76.1 million or 12.7 percentage points adverse for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $31.6 million or 4.5 percentage points adverse for the year ended December 31, 2023. The adverse reserve development for the year ended December 31, 2024 included $76.7 million of net adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, including the $52.2 million reserve charge upon execution of the E&S ADC (consideration paid in excess of initial reserves), and $607,000 of net favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. The adverse reserve development for the year ended December 31, 2023 included $32.6 million of net adverse reserve development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $1.0 million of net favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment.
Our expense ratio increased from 26.6% in the prior year to 31.4% in the current year largely driven by higher compensation and bad debt expenses, and lower net earned premiums in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment which was impacted by the $52.8 million of ceded premium on the E&S Top Up ADC (+2.5 point impact on consolidated expense ratio), partially offset by a lower current year expense ratio for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment driven by lower commissions and lower expenses for compensation and taxes, licenses, and fees.
Investment income grew by $9.0 million or 10.8% over the prior year principally driven by higher yields and higher invested assets in our continuing operations following the commutation of an internal quota share arrangement with JRG Re in the second and third quarters of 2023. Net realized and unrealized gains on investments for the year ended December 31, 2024 include $1.5 million of unfavorable mark-to-market adjustments on our equity securities and bank loan participations reflecting decreases in their fair values in the period compared to $12.8 million of favorable mark-to-market adjustments on equity securities and bank loan participations in the prior year (see “Investing Results” below).
On September 29, 2023, the Company completed the sale of the renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. Upon closing of the transaction, the Company recognized a $2.2 million gain on sale included in other income in the prior year representing the minimum guaranteed consideration to be received in the transaction. The Company also recognized an impairment charge of $2.5 million related to the trademark intangible asset associated with the IRWC business.
The Company entered into a definitive agreement on November 8, 2023 to sell JRG Re. The sale closed on April 16, 2024 and discontinued operations for both periods include the operating results of JRG Re which were a loss of $13.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to a loss of $33.9 million in the prior year. The losses from discontinued operations primarily reflect net adverse development of $7.1 million and $35.5 million in the respective years on treaties not subject to the loss portfolio transfer agreement previously entered into by JRG Re. The current year loss also reflects $9.5 million of realized and unrealized losses on fixed maturity securities. Discontinued operations in the current year also includes $6.2 million of certain transaction-related expenses associated with the sale and a change in the estimate of the loss on sale which together resulted in a $4.1 million loss on disposal in the current year. In the prior year, discontinued operations included $53.2 million of losses recognized on JRG Re's fixed maturity investments (the Company no longer had the intent or ability to hold securities in an unrealized loss position until a recovery of their fair value could occur), $1.4 million of professional services and other costs to sell JRG Re, and an $80.4 million loss on the held-for sale classification of JRG Re's net assets adjusting them down to the anticipated closing price in the transaction.
The Company accounted for the amendment of the Series A Preferred Shares on November 11, 2024 as an extinguishment of the pre-amendment Series A Preferred Shares due to the significance of qualitative and quantitative changes to the shares. The Company estimated the fair value of the new Series A Preferred Shares to be $133.1 million on the date of issuance and classified the new Series A Preferred Shares as mezzanine equity. The Company recorded deemed dividends of $27.0 million within retained deficit for the difference between the $144.9 million carrying value of the extinguished pre-amendment Series A preferred shares and the combined $133.1 million estimated fair value of the new Series A Preferred Shares and the $38.8 million fair value of the new common shares issued through conversion of Series A Preferred Shares in the amendment. Also included in the dividends on Series A Preferred Shares were declared dividends of $10.1 million and $10.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Adjusted net operating results declined from the prior year primarily reflecting lower underwriting results with a partial offset for higher investment income. Tangible equity decreased by 9.9% mainly due to the net loss in 2024. Tangible equity per share decreased 33.6% reflecting the net loss and dilution from the Enstar common share investment and the Series A Preferred Share amendment in the current year.
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Loss Portfolio Transfers and Adverse Development Covers
Loss portfolio transfers and adverse development covers are forms of reinsurance utilized by the Company to transfer losses and loss adjustment expenses and associated risk of adverse development on covered subject business, as defined in the respective agreements, to an assuming reinsurer in exchange for a reinsurance premium. This reinsurance can bring economic finality (up to the limit of such agreements, if applicable) on the subject risks when they no longer meet the Company's risk appetite or are no longer aligned with the Company's risk management guidelines.
Commercial Auto Loss Portfolio Transfer
On September 27, 2021, James River entered into a loss portfolio transfer transaction (the “Commercial Auto LPT”) with Aleka Insurance, Inc. (“Aleka”), a captive insurance company affiliate of Rasier LLC, to reinsure substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment's legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier LLC and its affiliates (collectively, “Rasier”) for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier. The reinsurance coverage is structured to be fully collateralized, is not subject to an aggregate limit, and is subject to certain exclusions. The cumulative amounts ceded under the loss portfolio transfer were $459.3 million, $456.2 million and $391.8 million as of December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.
Combined Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development Cover
On July 2, 2024, James River entered into a Combined Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development Cover Reinsurance Contract (the “E&S ADC”) with State National Insurance Company, Inc. (“State National”). The transaction closed upon signing.
The E&S ADC was effective January 1, 2024 (the “Effective Date”) and applies to James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment casualty portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive), excluding, among others, losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates (the “Subject Business”). Pursuant to the E&S ADC, (a) State National reinsures 85% of losses paid on and after the Effective Date in respect of the Subject Business in excess of $716.6 million up to an aggregate limit of $467.1 million (with State National’s share of the aggregate limit being $397.0 million) in exchange for a reinsurance premium paid by James River equal to $313.2 million, (b) James River continues to manage claims and to manage and collect the benefit of other existing third-party reinsurance on the Subject Business, which third-party reinsurance inures to the benefit of the E&S ADC, and (c) James River is entitled to a profit commission of 50% of any favorable development on the business ceded to State National below 104.5% of carried reserves, which profit commission shall not exceed $87.0 million in total. The Company has $41.2 million of aggregate limit remaining on the E&S ADC at December 31, 2024.
Adverse Development Cover
On November 11, 2024, Enstar, through its subsidiary Cavello Bay Reinsurance Limited, entered into an adverse development cover agreement with James River (the “E&S Top Up ADC”), pursuant to which, in exchange for a premium of $52.8 million (less an amount equal to the federal excise tax payable on the premium), Cavello Bay reinsures, effective January 1, 2024, 100% of the losses associated with James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment casualty portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive). The E&S Top Up ADC excludes losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates and is subject to a retention by James River of $1,183.7 million (the limit of the E&S ADC) and up to an aggregate limit of $75.0 million. The E&S Top Up ADC closed on December 23, 2024. The Company recognized a $52.8 million reduction in pre-tax income in connection with the adverse development cover upon closing. The Company has $75.0 million of aggregate limit remaining on the E&S Top Up ADC at December 31, 2024.
Retroactive Reinsurance Accounting
The Company periodically reevaluates the remaining reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT, the E&S ADC, and the E&S Top Up ADC, and when recognized adverse prior year development on the subject business causes the cumulative amounts ceded under the agreements to exceed the consideration paid, the agreements move into a gain position subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting under GAAP. Gains are deferred under retroactive reinsurance accounting and recognized in earnings in proportion to actual paid recoveries under the agreements using the recovery method. While the deferral of gains can introduce volatility in our results in the short-term, over the life of the contract, we would expect no economic impact to the Company as long as the counterparty performs under the contract and losses are within the limit. The impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting is not indicative of our current and ongoing operations.
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The following tables summarize the retroactive reinsurance accounting for the Commercial Auto LPT and the E&S ADC for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Commercial Auto LPT | ||||||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at beginning of period | $ | 20,733 | $ | 15,742 | $ | — | ||||
| Adverse prior year development on subject business | 3,051 | 64,403 | 46,697 | |||||||
| Retroactive reinsurance benefits under the recovery method | (14,562) | (59,412) | (30,955) | |||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at end of period | $ | 9,222 | $ | 20,733 | $ | 15,742 | ||||
| E&S ADC | ||||||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at beginning of period | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Adverse prior year development on subject business | 48,748 | — | — | |||||||
| Retroactive reinsurance benefits under the recovery method | — | — | — | |||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at end of period | $ | 48,748 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Total | ||||||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at beginning of period | $ | 20,733 | $ | 15,742 | $ | — | ||||
| Adverse prior year development on subject business | 51,799 | 64,403 | 46,697 | |||||||
| Retroactive reinsurance benefits under the recovery method | (14,562) | (59,412) | (30,955) | |||||||
| Deferred retroactive reinsurance gain at end of period | $ | 57,970 | $ | 20,733 | $ | 15,742 |
Premiums
Insurance premiums are earned ratably over the terms of our insurance policies, generally twelve months. The following table summarizes the change in premium volume by component and business segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 1,017,029 | $ | 1,007,351 | 1.0 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 414,743 | 501,309 | (17.3) | % | ||||||
| $ | 1,431,772 | $ | 1,508,660 | (5.1) | % | |||||
| Net written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 508,445 | $ | 589,551 | (13.8) | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 72,409 | 104,350 | (30.6) | % | ||||||
| $ | 580,854 | $ | 693,901 | (16.3) | % | |||||
| Net earned premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 512,237 | $ | 609,566 | (16.0) | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 87,959 | 98,439 | (10.6) | % | ||||||
| $ | 600,196 | $ | 708,005 | (15.2) | % |
Gross written premiums for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment (which represents 71.0% of our consolidated gross written premiums from continuing operations in 2024) increased 1.0% from the prior year reflecting growth in our casualty underwriting divisions, partially offset by a decline in Excess Property. Amid moderating rate increases and increased competition, we are remaining selective in our Excess Property portfolio. Total policy submissions for Core E&S lines (excluding commercial auto) in 2024 increased 7.5% from the prior year largely due to a 7.7% increase in new business submissions as the segment focused on growing new business with smaller account sizes. Renewal rates for the Excess and
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Surplus Lines segment were up 9.0% compared to 2023. The change in gross written premiums was notable in several divisions as shown below:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % Change | ||||||||
| Excess Casualty | $ | 325,017 | $ | 339,870 | (4.4) | % | ||||
| General Casualty | 237,632 | 202,861 | 17.1 | % | ||||||
| Manufacturers & Contractors | 176,494 | 180,074 | (2.0) | % | ||||||
| Excess Property | 53,254 | 64,574 | (17.5) | % | ||||||
| Environmental | 20,096 | 13,832 | 45.3 | % | ||||||
| All other Core E&S divisions | 176,717 | 176,761 | — | % | ||||||
| Total Core E&S divisions | 989,210 | 977,972 | 1.1 | % | ||||||
| Commercial Auto | $ | 27,819 | $ | 29,379 | (5.3) | % | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines gross written premium | $ | 1,017,029 | $ | 1,007,351 | 1.0 | % |
The components of gross written premiums for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment (which represents 29.0% of our 2024 consolidated gross written premiums) are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Fronting and program premium | $ | 410,391 | $ | 455,767 | (10.0) | % | ||||
| Individual risk workers’ compensation premium | 4,352 | 45,542 | (90.4) | % | ||||||
| Specialty Admitted gross written premium | $ | 414,743 | $ | 501,309 | (17.3) | % |
Our fronting written premium decreased from the prior year driven by the June 2023 non-renewal of a large California workers' compensation program which represented $21.3 million and $96.5 million of gross written premiums for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Excluding the non-renewed program, our fronting written premium increased 8.3% over the prior year driven primarily by the continued expansion of existing fronting relationships. Our largest fronting relationship represented $175.7 million or 42.4% of segment gross written premium in 2024 compared to $163.1 million or 32.5% in 2023. The Company has received notifications of non-renewal of the programs with this agent which will decrease future written premiums over time, and result in a run-off of the account beginning July 1, 2025. Individual risk workers' compensation premium declined due to the September 2023 sale of the renewal rights to that business.
Net Retention
The ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums is referred to as our net premium retention. Our net premium retention by segment is as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 50.0 | % | 58.5 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 17.5 | % | 20.8 | % | |
| Total | 40.6 | % | 46.0 | % |
The lower net premium retention for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment in 2024 reflects the $52.8 million of ceded premium recorded upon execution of the E&S Top Up ADC in the fourth quarter of 2024 and premium adjustments associated with prior years including reinstatement premium which reduced net written premiums and the net retention ratios. The premium adjustments totaled $13.7 million and $16.4 million in the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. In addition, the renewal of a quota share treaty, effective July 1, 2023, increased premium cessions across all underwriting divisions other than Excess Casualty and resulted in lower retentions for the segment.
The net premium retention for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment decreased in 2024 as fronting business, where we retain a much smaller percentage, represents a greater portion of the book following the sale of the renewal rights to the individual risk workers' compensation business in the prior year third quarter. The net retention on the fronting business was
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17.0% for the year ended December 31, 2024, up from 15.3% for the year ended December 31, 2023 due to the mix of business and changes in reinsurance as coverages renew.
Segment Results
The following table presents our combined ratios by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 115.1 | % | 91.1 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 92.2 | % | 95.9 | % | |
| Total | 117.6 | % | 96.5 | % |
Excess and Surplus Lines Segment
Results for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 1,017,029 | $ | 1,007,351 | 1.0 | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 508,445 | $ | 589,551 | (13.8) | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 512,237 | $ | 609,566 | (16.0) | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (448,714) | (420,044) | 6.8 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (140,978) | (135,175) | 4.3 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting (loss) profit (1) | $ | (77,455) | $ | 54,347 | — | |||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 87.6 | % | 68.9 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 27.5 | % | 22.2 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 115.1 | % | 91.1 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 64.3 | % | 61.9 | % |
(1) Underwriting (Loss) Profit is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced an underwriting loss of $77.5 million (combined ratio of 115.1%) in 2024 compared to an underwriting profit of $54.3 million (combined ratio of 91.1%) in 2023. Underwriting results for the year ended December 31, 2024 were impacted by $76.7 million or 15.0 percentage points of net adverse reserve development, including a $52.2 million reserve charge upon execution of the E&S ADC (consideration paid in excess of initial reserves). The underwriting loss also reflects $52.8 million of ceded premium recorded upon execution of the E&S Top Up ADC in the fourth quarter of 2024. The E&S Top Up ADC ceded premium increased the segment combined ratio by 10.7 points. Underwriting results for the year ended December 31, 2023 included $32.6 million or 5.3 percentage points of net adverse reserve development in our loss estimates for prior accident years.
Underwriting results for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 also include $13.7 million and $16.4 million, respectively, of premium adjustments associated with prior years including reinstatement premium which reduced net written and net earned premiums, and underwriting profit. The impact of the premium adjustments was a 3.0 and 2.4 percentage point increase in the segment combined ratios in the respective years.
The higher loss ratio of 87.6% for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the 68.9% loss ratio for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily reflects the higher net adverse reserve development (15.0 percentage points in 2024 compared to 5.3 percentage points in 2023), and an 8.2 point increase in 2024's ratio due to the E&S Top Up ADC ceded premium. The impact of the premium adjustments was a 2.3 and 1.8 percentage point increase in the segment loss ratios in the respective years.
The expense ratio increased from 22.2% in 2023 to 27.5% in 2024 reflecting higher compensation and bad debt expenses, and lower net earned premiums including a 2.5 point increase in the 2024 expense ratio due to the E&S Top Up ADC ceded premium of $52.8 million.
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Specialty Admitted Insurance Segment
Results for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 414,743 | $ | 501,309 | (17.3) | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 72,409 | $ | 104,350 | (30.6) | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 87,959 | $ | 98,439 | (10.6) | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (68,423) | (75,122) | (8.9) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (12,663) | (19,240) | (34.2) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit(1), (2) | $ | 6,873 | $ | 4,077 | 68.6 | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 77.8 | % | 76.3 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 14.4 | % | 19.6 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 92.2 | % | 95.9 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 78.5 | % | 77.3 | % |
(1) Underwriting Profit is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Underwriting profit includes fee income of $21.0 million and $24.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment generated underwriting profits of $6.9 million and $4.1 million (combined ratios of 92.2% and 95.9%) for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Lower written and earned premium volumes in 2024 reflect the Company's actions to reduce the workers' compensation book of business in the segment, including the non-renewal of a large California workers' compensation program and the sale of the renewal rights to the individual risk workers’ compensation business in the prior year.
Net favorable development in our loss estimates for prior accident years was $607,000 and $1.0 million (0.7 and 1.0 percentage points) for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The favorable development in both 2024 and 2023 was attributable to lower than expected loss emergence in the workers’ compensation book for prior accident years. The higher current accident year loss ratio in 2024 was primarily driven by changes in the mix of business for the segment.
The segment expense ratio for 2024 benefited from lower commissions driven by sliding scale and other adjustments on certain programs, as well as lower expenses for compensation and taxes, licenses, and fees following the reductions to our workers' compensation book in the prior year. The sale of the renewal rights to the individual risk workers' compensation business included the transfer of employees associated with the business.
Corporate and Other Segment
Other operating expenses for the Corporate and Other segment include personnel costs associated with the Bermuda and U.S. holding companies, professional fees, share based compensation for the full Company, and various other corporate expenses that were not reimbursed by our subsidiaries, including costs associated with rating agencies and strategic initiatives. The expenses are included in our calculation of consolidated underwriting profit, and in our consolidated expense ratio and combined ratio.
Total operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment were $35.0 million and $33.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The higher current year expenses as compared to the prior year were largely driven by higher compensation and insurance costs.
Investing Results
Net investment income was $93.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $84.0 million in the prior year. The Company's private investments generated income of $4.9 million and $5.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Excluding private investments, our net investment income for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased 11.7% over the prior year principally due to higher yields on cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents, and short-term investments.
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Major categories of the Company’s net investment income are summarized as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Fixed maturity securities | $ | 48,262 | $ | 49,793 | ||
| Bank loan participations | 16,992 | 11,984 | ||||
| Equity securities | 7,424 | 6,548 | ||||
| Other invested assets: | ||||||
| Renewable energy investments | 1,878 | 3,143 | ||||
| Other private investments | 2,977 | 1,906 | ||||
| 4,855 | 5,049 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents, and short-term investments | 19,249 | 13,703 | ||||
| Gross investment income | 96,782 | 87,077 | ||||
| Investment expense | (3,693) | (3,031) | ||||
| Net investment income | $ | 93,089 | $ | 84,046 |
The following table summarizes our investment returns:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| Annualized gross investment yield on: | |||||
| Average cash and invested assets | 4.8 | % | 4.6 | % | |
| Average fixed maturity securities | 4.5 | % | 4.4 | % |
Of our total cash and invested assets of $1,914.7 million at December 31, 2024 (excluding restricted cash equivalents), $362.3 million represents the cash and cash equivalents portion of the portfolio. The majority of the portfolio, or $1,189.7 million, is comprised of fixed maturity securities that are classified as available-for-sale and carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses on these securities reported, net of applicable taxes, as a separate component of accumulated comprehensive income or loss. Also included in our investments are $142.4 million of bank loan participations, $86.5 million of equity securities, $97.1 million of short-term investments, and $36.7 million of other invested assets.
Bank loan participations generally provide a higher yield than our portfolio of fixed maturity securities and are primarily senior, secured floating-rate debt rated “BB”, “B”, or “CCC” by Standard & Poor’s or an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, and are therefore below investment grade. Bank loans include assignments of and participations in performing and non-performing senior corporate debt generally acquired through primary bank syndications and in secondary markets. They consist of, but are not limited to, term loans, the funded and unfunded portions of revolving credit facilities, and similar loans and investments. Bank loan participations are measured at fair value pursuant to the Company's election of the fair value option, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our income statement as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the fair value of these securities was $142.4 million (aggregate unpaid principal balance of $149.4 million) and $156.2 million (aggregate unpaid principal balance of $164.3 million), respectively.
The Company invests selectively in private debt and equity opportunities. These investments comprise the Company’s other invested assets and are primarily focused in renewable energy, limited partnerships, and notes receivable for structured private specialty credit. Equity interests in various renewable energy LLCs generated investment income of $1.7 million and $2.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The Company’s former Non-Executive Chairman invested in certain of these LLCs. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the underlying projects in two of our LLCs were sold at the manager's discretion. We received proceeds of $2.0 million and $3.6 million from these sales during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. The remaining investments had a carrying value of $7.7 million at December 31, 2024.
Investments in loans for renewable energy projects had investment income of $138,000 and $244,000 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. During 2024, the Company received the remaining principal of $1.4 million on the notes receivable. The Company owns investments in limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios including publicly-traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, private equity general partnership interests, commercial mortgage-backed securities, specialty private credit, and tranches of distressed home loans. Investment income from these partnerships was $2.4 million and $1.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023,
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respectively . Together, these limited partnerships had a carrying value of $15.1 million at December 31, 2024. Income from the Company’s investments in renewable energy LLCs and limited partnerships is recognized under the equity method of accounting. At December 31, 2024, the Company held $13.9 million in two notes receivable for structured private credit. Previously, the Company held $4.5 million of subordinated notes issued by a bank holding company that matured on August 12, 2023. The Company’s former Non-Executive Chairman was previously the Lead Independent Director of the bank holding company and an investor in the bank holding company. Interest income from both notes was $584,000 and $340,000 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment gains of $3.6 million, including $1.1 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $3.2 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans securities, $9.6 million of net realized investment gains on the sale of equity securities, $620,000 of losses for the change in fair value of bank loans, $873,000 of losses for the change in fair value of equity securities, and an impairment loss of $207,000 for one fixed maturity security due to the Company's inability to hold the security until a recovery in its value to the amortized cost basis.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment gains of $10.4 million, including $339,000 of net realized investment losses on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $3.5 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans, $1.5 million of net realized investment gains on the sale of equity securities, $9.0 million of gains for the change in fair value of bank loans, and $3.7 million of gains for the change in fair value of equity securities.
In conjunction with its outside investment managers, the Company performs quarterly reviews of all securities within its investment portfolio to determine whether any impairment has occurred.
Management concluded that none of the fixed maturity securities with an unrealized loss at December 31, 2024 or 2023 experienced an other-than-temporary credit related impairment. During the year ended December 31, 2024, management recognized an impairment loss of $207,000 for one fixed maturity security due to the Company's inability to hold the security until a recovery in its value to the amortized cost basis. For the remainder of securities in an unrealized loss position, management does not intend to sell the securities and it is not "more likely than not" that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
At December 31, 2024, our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities had net unrealized losses of $88.6 million representing 6.9% of the amortized cost of the portfolio. Additionally, at December 31, 2024, 100.0% of our fixed maturity security portfolio was rated “BBB-” or better (“investment grade”) by Standard & Poor’s or had an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The average duration of our invested assets and cash, excluding restricted cash, was 3.4 years at December 31, 2024.
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities were as follows:
| December 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| State and municipal | $ | 223,009 | $ | 196,564 | 16.5 | % | $ | 273,462 | $ | 248,837 | 18.8 | % | |||||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 352,064 | 326,227 | 27.4 | % | 336,064 | 317,928 | 24.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Corporate | 503,610 | 475,485 | 40.0 | % | 530,408 | 505,728 | 38.2 | % | |||||||||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 178,238 | 170,458 | 14.3 | % | 235,302 | 222,853 | 16.8 | % | |||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury securities and obligations guaranteed by the U.S. government | 21,416 | 20,999 | 1.8 | % | 29,900 | 29,130 | 2.2 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale | $ | 1,278,337 | $ | 1,189,733 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,405,136 | $ | 1,324,476 | 100.0 | % |
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The following table sets forth the composition of the Company’s portfolio of fixed maturity securities by rating as of December 31, 2024:
| Standard & Poor’s or Equivalent Designation | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| AAA | $ | 230,065 | 19.4 | % | |||
| AA | 491,953 | 41.3 | % | ||||
| A | 335,313 | 28.2 | % | ||||
| BBB | 132,402 | 11.1 | % | ||||
| Below BBB and unrated | — | — | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 1,189,733 | 100.0 | % |
At December 31, 2024, our portfolio of available-for-sale fixed maturity securities contained corporate fixed maturity securities with a fair value of $475.5 million. A summary of these securities by industry segment is shown below as of December 31, 2024:
| Industry | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Industrials and other | $ | 81,563 | 17.2 | % | |||
| Consumer Discretionary | 41,672 | 8.8 | % | ||||
| Financial | 190,027 | 40.0 | % | ||||
| Health Care | 34,807 | 7.3 | % | ||||
| Consumer Staples | 36,124 | 7.5 | % | ||||
| Utilities | 91,292 | 19.2 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 475,485 | 100.0 | % |
Corporate available-for-sale fixed maturity securities include publicly traded securities and privately placed bonds as shown below as of December 31, 2024:
| Public/Private | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Publicly traded | $ | 437,936 | 92.1 | % | |||
| Privately placed | 37,549 | 7.9 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 475,485 | 100.0 | % |
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale investments in fixed maturity securities summarized by contractual maturity are as follows:
| December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Due in: | ||||||||||
| One year or less | $ | 23,591 | $ | 23,350 | 2.0 | % | ||||
| After one year through five years | 325,901 | 318,588 | 26.8 | % | ||||||
| After five years through ten years | 252,201 | 227,714 | 19.1 | % | ||||||
| After ten years | 146,342 | 123,396 | 10.4 | % | ||||||
| 748,035 | 693,048 | 58.3 | % | |||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 352,064 | 326,227 | 27.4 | % | ||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 178,238 | 170,458 | 14.3 | % | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,278,337 | $ | 1,189,733 | 100.0 | % |
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Other Income and Expense
Other income and expense items netted to expense of $14,000 and income of $424,000 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Included in 2024 are non-operating expenses of $6.1 million primarily consisting of legal and other professional fees and other expenses related to various strategic initiatives, partially offset by $5.4 million of broker incentive rebates in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $660,000 of income related to interest income from trust preferred securities and distributions from a joint venture interest. Included in 2023 are a $2.2 million gain on the sale of the renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, $1.3 million of broker incentive rebates in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, and $693,000 of income related to interest income from trust preferred securities and distributions from a joint venture interest, partially offset by non-operating expenses of $3.8 million primarily consisting of legal fees related to a purported class action lawsuit and legal and other professional fees and other expenses related to various strategic initiatives including the sale of renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $24.7 million and $24.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Sources and Uses of Funds” below for information regarding our senior debt facilities and trust preferred securities.
Amortization of Intangibles
The Company recorded $363,000 of amortization of intangibles in each of the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
Goodwill and Impairment
We test goodwill and other intangible assets in each operating segment for impairment at least annually. The fair value of the reporting units is determined by weighting the results of a discounted cash flow analysis and a valuation derived from a market-based approach. Intangible assets are valued using various methodologies. The projection of future cash flows is dependent upon assumptions on the future levels of income as well as business trends, prospects and market and economic conditions.
We perform this assessment to determine whether there has been any impairment in the value of goodwill or intangible assets by comparing its fair value to the net carrying value of the reporting units. If the carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value, an impairment loss is recognized and the asset is written down accordingly.
On September 29, 2023, the Company completed the sale of the renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. Upon closing of the transaction, the Company recognized an impairment charge of $2.5 million related to the trademark intangible asset in 2023 associated with the IRWC business.
The Company completed its impairment tests and fair value analysis for goodwill and other intangible assets during the fourth quarter of 2024 and 2023. No impairment was present for the years ended December 31, 2024 or 2023 except for the $2.5 million related to the trademark intangible asset in 2023 as mentioned above.
Income Tax Expense
Our effective tax rate fluctuates from period to period based on the relative mix of income reported by country and the respective tax rates imposed by each tax jurisdiction. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, our effective tax rate was 10.7% and 29.6%, respectively. The Company does not receive a U.S. tax deduction for losses in Bermuda. Bermuda had losses in both years because of Bermuda holding company expenses. For U.S.-sourced income, the Company’s U.S. federal income tax expense differs from the amounts computed by applying the federal statutory income tax rate to income before taxes due primarily to interest income on tax-advantaged state and municipal securities, dividends received income, and excess tax benefits and expenses on share based compensation.
The Company has a deferred tax asset of $18.6 million at December 31, 2024 associated with unrealized losses in the Company’s available-for-sale fixed maturity securities portfolio. The unrealized losses are attributable to changes in market interest rates and other economic factors rather than credit-related factors of the issuers. The Company does not intend to sell available-for-sale debt securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their fair value to their amortized cost basis occurs. The Company’s hold to recovery assertion related to investments in an unrealized loss position is considered a tax planning strategy. Both the cash generated by the Company from operating activities and the unused capacity on the Company’s unsecured revolving credit facilities reduce the likelihood of having to sell debt securities in an unrealized loss position. As a result, the Company has concluded that no valuation allowance is required for the deferred tax asset associated with unrealized losses on its investments at December 31, 2024.
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Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022
For a discussion of our results for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to year ended December 31, 2022, please refer to our 2023 Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 29, 2024.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Funds
Our sources of funds consist primarily of premiums written, investment income, reinsurance recoveries, proceeds from sales and redemptions of investments, borrowings on our credit facilities, and the issuance of common shares and Series A Preferred Shares. We use operating cash flows primarily to pay operating expenses, losses and loss adjustment expenses, reinsurance premiums, and income taxes. Cash flow from operations may differ substantially from net income. The potential for a large claim under an insurance contract means that substantial and unpredictable payments may need to be made within relatively short periods of time.
The following table summarizes our total cash flows including both continuing and discontinued operations, consistent with the presentation in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents provided by (used in): | ||||||||||
| Operating activities (excluding restricted cash equivalents) | $ | (203,341) | $ | 118,719 | $ | 221,524 | ||||
| Investing activities | 307,032 | 16,732 | (328,154) | |||||||
| Financing activities | (28,846) | (21,115) | 89,671 | |||||||
| Change in cash and cash equivalents | 74,845 | 114,336 | (16,959) | |||||||
| Change in restricted cash equivalents (operating activities) | (43,744) | (30,766) | 1,210 | |||||||
| Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | 31,101 | $ | 83,570 | $ | (15,749) |
Cash used in operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $203.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 principally reflects $313.2 million and $52.8 million of reinsurance premium paid in 2024 related to the E&S ADC and E&S Top Up ADC, respectively. Cash provided by operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $118.7 million and $221.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, was driven by the growth in our U.S. segments and the collection of premiums receivable at a quicker rate than payments of loss and loss adjustment expenses. The cash provided by operating activities declined in 2023 relative to 2022 due to the suspension of underwriting activities of JRG Re in 2023. Cash (used in) provided by operating activities from continuing operations excluding restricted cash equivalents was $(178.2) million, $234.6 million, and $246.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively, compared to cash used in operating activities of discontinued operations of $25.1 million, $115.9 million, and $25.1 million in the respective years.
Cash provided by investing activities of $307.0 million in 2024 reflects the $96.4 million of proceeds from the sale of JRG Re and the sale of investments to fund the reinsurance premiums for the E&S ADC and E&S Top Up ADC. In 2023, cash provided by investing activities of $16.7 million was driven by the suspension of underwriting activities of JRG Re and the withdrawal of invested assets in that company to fund claims and operating expenses. Cash used in investing activities for 2022 of $328.2 million reflects our efforts to enhance the yield in our investment portfolio by investing available cash and cash equivalents into higher yielding investments. Cash and cash equivalents (excluding restricted cash equivalents) comprised 18.9%, 13.9%, and 7.3% of total cash and invested assets at December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively. Cash provided by (used in) investing activities from continuing operations was $243.9 million, $(98.4) million, and $(336.7) million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively, compared to cash provided by investing activities of discontinued operations of $63.1 million, $115.1 million, and $8.5 million in the respective years.
Cash (used in) provided by financing activities above relate entirely to continuing operations for all years. Cash used in financing activities of $28.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 includes a $21.5 million repayment of an unsecured loan under the 2017 facility, $12.5 million received for the common share investment by Enstar, $12.8 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares, $6.2 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, and $847,000 of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net settlement of restricted share units (“RSUs”). Cash used in financing activities of $21.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes $7.7 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, $10.5 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares, $1.1 million of paid issuance costs related to the amendment of the 2013 Facility in July, 2023, and $1.7 million of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net settlement of RSUs. Cash provided by financing activities of $89.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes $144.9 million of net proceeds (after expenses) from the
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issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022. The proceeds were used for general corporate purposes and to repay $40.0 million of loans outstanding on the 2017 Facility (as defined below) on March 28, 2022. Financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 also include $7.8 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, $6.1 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares, and $1.3 million of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net settlement of RSUs.
As permitted under the agreements establishing the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust, we have withdrawn collateral from the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust to fund the Loss Fund Trust as required under the Administrative Services Agreement. Amounts on deposit in the Loss Fund Trust are included in restricted cash equivalents on the Company's consolidated balance sheet. See “Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book” below.
Dividends
We are organized as a Bermuda holding company with our operations conducted by our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Accordingly, our holding company may receive cash through loans from banks, issuance of equity and debt securities, corporate service fees or dividends received from our subsidiaries and/or other transactions. Our U.S. holding company may receive cash in a similar manner and also through payments from our subsidiaries pursuant to our U.S. consolidated tax allocation agreement.
The payment of dividends by our subsidiaries to us is limited by statute. In general, the laws and regulations applicable to our domestic insurance subsidiaries limit the aggregate amount of dividends or other distributions that they may declare or pay within any 12-month period without advance regulatory approval. Generally, the limitations are based on the greater of statutory net income for the preceding year or 10.0% of statutory surplus at the end of the preceding year. In addition, insurance regulators have broad powers to prevent reduction of statutory surplus to inadequate levels and could refuse to permit the payment of dividends calculated under any applicable formula. See Item 1. Business—U.S. Insurance Regulation—State Regulation” for additional information. The maximum amount of dividends available to the U.S. holding company from our U.S. insurance subsidiaries during 2025 without regulatory approval is $64.3 million.
Holders of the Series A Preferred Shares are entitled to a dividend at the rate of 7% of the $1,000 liquidation preference per share (the “Liquidation Preference”) per annum, paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at our election. On October 1, 2029, and each five-year anniversary thereafter, the dividend rate will reset to a rate equal to the five-year U.S. treasury rate plus 5.2%, provided, that the dividend rate shall not exceed 8.0%. Dividends accrue and are payable quarterly. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, cash dividends of $10.1 million, $10.5 million, and $8.8 million were declared, respectively. Cash dividends paid were $12.8 million, $10.5 million, and $6.1 million in the respective years.
At December 31, 2024, our Bermuda holding company had $64.5 million of cash and cash equivalent assets. Our U.S. holding company had $9.5 million of cash and invested assets at December 31, 2024, comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $6.0 million, preferred stock of $3.1 million, and other invested assets of $464,000, which are not subject to regulatory restrictions. Additionally, our U.K. intermediate holding company had no invested assets and cash of less than $10,000 at December 31, 2024.
Credit Agreements
The Company has a $257.5 million senior revolving credit facility (as amended or amended and restated, the “2013 Facility”). The 2013 Facility is comprised of the following at December 31, 2024:
• A $212.5 million unsecured revolving facility to meet the working capital needs of the Company. All unpaid principal on the revolver is due at maturity. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears, currently at 1-month SOFR (the Company, per the terms of the credit agreement, can elect between one, three, or six month interest periods) plus a 0.1% SOFR index adjustment and a SOFR margin (1.75% at December 31, 2024), which is subject to change according to terms in the credit agreement. At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had a drawn balance of $185.8 million outstanding on the unsecured revolver.
• A $45.0 million secured revolving facility to issue letters of credit for the benefit of third-party reinsureds. At December 31, 2024, the Company had $7.5 million of letters of credit issued under the secured facility, all of which are collateralized by a back-to-back letter of credit issued by Comerica Bank on behalf of JRG Re.
On July 7, 2023, the Company entered into a Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement for the 2013 Facility which, among other things, extended the maturity date of such facility until July 7, 2026 and increased the applicable interest rate and letter of credit fees. The 2013 Facility has been amended from time to time, including on April 16, 2024 when the 2013 Facility was amended in connection with the closing of the sale of JRG Re by the Company to (i) release JRG Re as a borrower and release all collateral pledged by JRG Re thereunder, and (ii) decrease the secured revolving facility commitment from $102.5 million to $45.0 million.
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Additionally, the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement provides for an accordion feature that permits the Company to request that one or more lenders (without the consent of the other lenders) or one or more financial institutions which were not previously party to the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (with the consent of the administrative agent) provide it with increases in the secured or unsecured revolving credit facilities of up to an aggregate of $100.0 million, which is unchanged from the accordion feature set forth in the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. The Company’s ability to request such increases in the revolving credit facility is subject to its compliance with customary conditions set forth in the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement.
The 2013 Facility contains certain financial and other covenants (including minimum net worth, maximum ratio of total adjusted debt outstanding to total capitalization, and financial strength ratings) with which the Company was in compliance at December 31, 2024.
On August 2, 2017, the Company and its former wholly-owned subsidiary, JRG Re, together as borrowers, entered into a credit agreement (the "2017 Facility") that provided the Company with a revolving line of credit of up to $100.0 million, which was used for loans and letters of credit made or issued, at the borrowers' option, on a secured or unsecured basis. The loans and letters of credit made or issued under the revolving line of credit were used to finance the Borrowers’ general corporate purposes. Obligations under the 2017 Facility carried a variable rate of interest subject to terms in the credit agreement.
The 2017 Facility was amended from time to time since its inception in 2017, including on April 16, 2024 in connection with the closing of the sale of JRG Re by the Company to (i) release JRG Re as a borrower and release all collateral pledged by JRG Re thereunder, (ii) increase the applicable interest rates, (iii) eliminate the letter of credit portion of the facility, and (iv) to build in an automatic decrease of the facility amount by the amount of each letter of credit outstanding under the 2017 Facility as of the date of the amendment with effect from the date each such letter of credit is cancelled. The 2017 Facility was terminated in November 2024.
On May 26, 2004, we issued $15.0 million of senior debt due April 29, 2034. The senior debt is not redeemable by the holder or subject to sinking fund requirements. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears at a floating rate per annum equal to the 3-month SOFR and 3.85% margin plus a spread adjustment of 0.26%. This senior debt is redeemable at par prior to its stated maturity at our option in whole or in part. The terms of the senior debt contain certain covenants, with which we are in compliance at December 31, 2024, and which, among other things, restrict our ability to assume senior indebtedness secured by our U.S. holding company's common stock or its subsidiaries' capital stock or to issue shares of its subsidiaries' capital stock.
From May 2004 through January 2008, we sold trust preferred securities through five Delaware statutory trusts sponsored and wholly-owned by the Company or its subsidiaries. Each trust used the net proceeds from the sale of its trust preferred securities to purchase our floating-rate junior subordinated debt.
The following table summarizes the nature and terms of the junior subordinated debt and trust preferred securities outstanding at December 31, 2024 (including the Company’s repurchase of a portion of these trust preferred securities):
| James River Capital Trust I | James River Capital Trust II | James River Capital Trust III | James River Capital Trust IV | Franklin Holdings II (Bermuda) Capital Trust I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||
| Issue date | May 26, 2004 | December 15, 2004 | June 15, 2006 | December 11, 2007 | January 10, 2008 | ||||
| Principal amount of trust preferred securities | $7,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 | $54,000 | $30,000 | ||||
| Principal amount of junior subordinated debt | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $55,670 | $30,928 | ||||
| Carrying amount of junior subordinated debt net of repurchases | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $44,827 | $15,928 | ||||
| Maturity date of junior subordinated debt, unless accelerated earlier | May 24, 2034 | December 15, 2034 | June 15, 2036 | December 15, 2037 | March 15, 2038 | ||||
| Trust common stock | $217 | $464 | $619 | $1,670 | $928 | ||||
| Interest rate, per annum | Three-Month SOFR plus 4.3% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.7% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.3% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.4% | Three-Month SOFR plus 4.3% |
All of the junior subordinated debt is currently redeemable at 100.0% of the unpaid principal amount at our option.
The junior subordinated debt contains certain covenants with which we are in compliance as of December 31, 2024.
At December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company's leverage ratio was 26.6% and 26.0%, respectively. The leverage ratio is defined in our senior credit agreements as the ratio of adjusted consolidated debt to total capital. Adjusted consolidated debt treats trust preferred securities as equity capital up to 15% of total capital. Total capital is defined as total debt
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plus tangible equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive income. The maximum leverage ratio permitted by the agreements is 35.0%.
James River Insurance has access to certain credit products including advances through its membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank. Any advances would be in the form of collateralized short-term borrowings not to exceed 30% of the Company's total assets.
Ceded Reinsurance
Our insurance segments enter into reinsurance contracts to limit our exposure to potential losses arising from large risks, to protect against the aggregation of several risks in a common loss occurrence, and to provide additional capacity for growth. Our reinsurance is contracted under excess of loss and proportional quota share reinsurance contracts. In excess of loss reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume all or a portion of the ceding company’s losses in excess of a specified amount. The premiums payable to the reinsurer are negotiated by the parties based on their assessment of the amount of risk being ceded to the reinsurer because the reinsurer does not share proportionately in the ceding company’s losses. In proportional quota share reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume a specified percentage of the ceding company’s losses arising out of a defined class of business in exchange for a corresponding percentage of premiums. The Company also utilizes facultative reinsurance to reduce the amount of exposure it retains on individual accounts according to its guidelines for accepting risk across various industry segments, locations and types of exposure. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 our net premium retention was 40.6%, 46.0% and 47.1%, respectively.
The following is a summary of our Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2024:
| Line of Business | Company Retention | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Specialty Casualty | Up to $3.2 million per occurrence.(1) | |
| Primary Casualty | Up to $1.38 million per occurrence.(2) | |
| Excess Casualty | Up to $1.98 million per occurrence. | |
| Property | ||
| Excess Property | Up to $5.0 million per risk.(3) |
(1) Excluding Excess Casualty.
(2) Total exposure to any one claim is generally $694,000.
(3) The property catastrophe reinsurance treaty has a limit of $20.0 million per event with one reinstatement.
We use catastrophe modeling software to analyze the risk of severe losses from hurricanes and earthquakes on our exposure. We utilize the model in our risk selection, pricing, and to manage our overall portfolio probable maximum loss (“PML”) accumulations. A PML is an estimate of the amount we would expect to pay in any one catastrophe event within a given annual probability of occurrence (i.e. a return period or loss exceedance probability).
In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, we write a small book of excess property insurance, but we do not write primary property insurance. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment has a specific proportional quota share treaty in effect to cover property risks. The proportional quota share treaty along with facultative reinsurance helps ensure that our net retained limit per risk will be $5.0 million or less.
Also in our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, a specialty casualty treaty providing $9.0 million in excess of $2.0 million coverage is subject to reinstatement premiums for treaty years spanning July 1, 2017 through July 1, 2022.
Based upon the modeling of our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted segments, it would take an event greater than the 1 in 1,000 year PML to exhaust our $20.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance. In the event of a catastrophe loss exhausting our $20.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance, we estimate our pre-tax cost would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, including reinstatement premiums and net retentions. In addition to this retention, we would retain any losses in excess of our reinsurance coverage limits.
The Commercial Auto LPT with Aleka reinsures substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier. See “Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book” below for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
The E&S ADC with State National applies to James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment casualty portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive), excluding, among others, losses related to commercial
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auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates. See “Combined Loss Portfolio Transfer and Adverse Development Cover” above for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
The E&S Top Up ADC with Enstar, through its subsidiary Cavello Bay Reinsurance Limited, reinsures 100% of the losses associated with James River’s Excess & Surplus Lines segment portfolio losses attaching to premium earned during 2010-2023 (both years inclusive). This agreement excludes losses related to commercial auto policies issued to a former large insured or its affiliates. It is subject to a retention by James River of $1,183.7 million (the limit of the E&S ADC) and up to an aggregate limit of $75.0 million. See “Enstar Strategic Partnership” above for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
The following is a summary of our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2024:
| Line of Business | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Auto Programs | Quota share coverage for 62.5%-100% of limits up to $1.5 million liability and $1.5 million physical damage per occurrence. | |
| General Liability & Professional Liability – Programs | Quota share coverage for 62.5%-100% of limits up to $2.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Umbrella and Excess Casualty - Programs | Quota share coverage for at least 85% of limits up to $10.0 million per occurrence, and 82% of excess of loss coverage for $5.0 million in excess of $10.0 million. | |
| Property | ||
| Property within Package - Programs | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $40.0 million per risk. | |
| Excess Property | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $53.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Aviation Programs | Quota share coverage for 82.5% of limits up to $25 million liability, $5.0 million hull, and $5.0 million spares per occurrence, each aircraft; and excess of loss coverage for up to $7.7 million excess of $175,000 of our 17.5% share of the quota share each occurrence. |
Our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment purchases reinsurance for at least 62.5% of the exposed limits on specialty admitted property-casualty business. While the segment focuses on casualty business, incidental property risk is incurred in the fronting and program business. The segment is covered for $20.0 million in excess of $5.0 million per occurrence to manage its property exposure to an approximate 1 in 1,000 year PML.
For individual risk workers' compensation business, now in runoff, we purchased $29.5 million excess of $500,000 per occurrence. This coverage expired on December 31, 2023.
In the aggregate, we believe our pre-tax group-wide PML from a 1 in 1,000 year property catastrophe event would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, inclusive of reinstatement premiums payable.
The Company’s insurance segments remain liable to policyholders if its reinsurers are unable to meet their contractual obligations under applicable reinsurance agreements. We establish an allowance for credit losses for our current estimate of uncollectible reinsurance recoverables. At December 31, 2024, the allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables was $1.2 million. To minimize exposure to significant losses from reinsurance insolvencies, the Company evaluates the financial condition of its reinsurers and monitors concentrations of credit risk. The Company generally seeks to purchase reinsurance from reinsurers with A.M. Best financial strength ratings of “A-” (Excellent) or better. The Company’s reinsurance contracts generally require reinsurers that are not authorized as reinsurers under U.S. state insurance regulations or that experience rating downgrades from rating agencies below specified levels to fund their share of the Company’s ceded outstanding losses and loss adjustment expense reserves, typically through the use of irrevocable and unconditional letters of credit. In fronting arrangements, which the Company conducts through its Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, we are subject to credit risk with regard to insurance companies who act as reinsurers for us in such arrangements. We require collateral, in the form of a trust arrangement or letter of credit, to secure the obligations of the insurance entity for whom we are fronting.
At December 31, 2024, we had reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses of $1,996.9 million (net of a $1.2 million allowance for credit losses) and reinsurance recoverables on paid losses of $101.2 million, and all material recoverable amounts were from companies with A.M. Best ratings of “A-" (Excellent) or better, or are collateralized by the reinsurer for our benefit through letters of credit or funds on deposit in trust accounts.
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The following table sets forth our most significant reinsurers by amount of reinsurance recoverables and the amount of reinsurance recoverables pertaining to each such reinsurer as well as its A.M. Best rating as of December 31, 2024:
| Reinsurer | Reinsurance Recoverable as of December 31, 2024 | A.M. Best Rating December 31, 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation | $ | 398,482 | A+ | |||
| State National Insurance Company (E&S ADC) | 365,549 | A | ||||
| Berkley Insurance Company | 216,574 | A+ | ||||
| Hannover Ruck SE | 88,860 | A+ | ||||
| Peak Reinsurance Company | 61,278 | A- | ||||
| Motors Insurance Corporation | 51,389 | A | ||||
| Endurance Assurance Corporation | 45,111 | A+ | ||||
| American European Insurance Company | 44,042 | B-(2) | ||||
| SiriusPoint America Insurance Company | 40,038 | A- | ||||
| Aleka Insurance Company (Commercial Auto LPT) | 35,315 | Unrated(1) | ||||
| Top 10 Total | 1,346,638 | |||||
| Other | 650,275 | |||||
| Total | $ | 1,996,913 |
(1) This reinsurer is unrated. All material reinsurance amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
(2) This reinsurer is below A-. All material reinsurance recoverable amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book
James River previously issued a set of commercial auto insurance contracts (the “Rasier Commercial Auto Policies”) to Rasier under which James River pays losses and loss adjustment expenses on the contracts. James River has indemnity agreements with Rasier (non-insurance entities) (collectively, the “Indemnity Agreements”) and is contractually entitled to reimbursement for the portion of the losses and loss adjustment expenses paid on behalf of Rasier under the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies and other expenses incurred by James River. On September 27, 2021, James River entered into the Commercial Auto LPT with Aleka to reinsure substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier under the Indemnity Agreements. Under the terms of the Commercial Auto LPT, effective as of July 1, 2021, James River ceded to Aleka approximately $345.1 million of commercial auto liabilities relating to Rasier Commercial Auto Policies written in the years 2013-2019, which amount constituted the reinsurance premium. Since inception, due to adverse paid and reported loss trends on the legacy Rasier business, the Company has recognized adverse prior year development of $114.2 million on the reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT, bringing the cumulative amount ceded under the Commercial Auto LPT to $459.3 million at December 31, 2024.
Each of Rasier and Aleka are required to post collateral under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT:
•Pursuant to the Indemnity Agreements, Rasier is required to post collateral equal to 102% of James River's estimate of the amounts that are recoverable or may be recoverable under the Indemnity Agreements, including, among other things, case loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, IBNR loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, extra contractual obligations and excess policy limits liabilities. The collateral is provided through a collateral trust arrangement (the “Indemnity Trust”) in favor of James River by Aleka. In connection with the execution of the Commercial Auto LPT, James River returned $691.3 million to the Indemnity Trust, representing the remaining balance of the amount withdrawn in October 2019, as was permitted under the indemnification agreements with Rasier and the associated trust agreement. At December 31, 2024, the balance in the Indemnity Trust was $64.7 million, and, together with the balance of the Loss Fund Trust (as defined below) attributable to the Indemnity Agreements as described below, the total balance of collateral securing Rasier’s obligations under the Indemnity Agreements was $82.1 million.
•Pursuant to the Commercial Auto LPT, Aleka is required to post collateral equal to 102% of James River's estimate of Aleka's obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT, calculated in accordance with standard actuarial principles and based on reserves recorded in the Company's statutory financial statements. The collateral is provided through a collateral trust arrangement (the “LPT Trust”) established in favor of James River by Aleka. At December 31, 2024, the balance in the LPT Trust was $30.1 million, and, together with the balance of the Loss Fund Trust (as defined below) attributable to the Commercial Auto LPT as described below, the total balance of collateral securing Aleka’s obligations under the Commercial
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Auto LPT was $37.8 million. At December 31, 2024, the total reinsurance recoverables under the Commercial Auto LPT was $36.6 million.
In connection with the execution of the Commercial Auto LPT, James River and Aleka entered into an administrative services agreement (the “Administrative Services Agreement”) with a third party claims administrator (the “Administrator”) pursuant to which the Administrator handles the claims on the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for the remaining life of those claims. The claims paid by the Administrator are reimbursable by James River, and pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement, James River established a loss fund trust account for the benefit of the Administrator (the “Loss Fund Trust”) to collateralize its claims payment reimbursement obligations. James River funds the Loss Fund Trust using funds withdrawn from the Indemnity Trust, funds withdrawn from the LPT Trust, and its own funds, in each case in an amount equal to the pro rata portion of the required Loss Fund Trust balance attributable to the Indemnity Agreements, the Commercial Auto LPT and James River’s existing third party reinsurance agreements, respectively. At December 31, 2024, the balance in the Loss Fund Trust was $28.7 million, including $17.4 million representing collateral supporting Rasier’s obligations under the Indemnity Agreements and $7.7 million representing collateral supporting Aleka’s obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT. Funds posted to the Loss Fund Trust are classified as restricted cash equivalents on the Company's balance sheet.
While the Commercial Auto LPT brings economic finality to substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies, the Company has credit exposure to Rasier and Aleka under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT if the estimated losses and expenses of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies grow at a faster pace than the growth in our collateral balances. In addition, the Company has credit exposure if its estimates of future losses and loss adjustment expenses and other amounts recoverable under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT, which are the basis for establishing the collateral balances, are lower than actual amounts paid or payable. The amount of credit exposure in any of these instances could be material. To mitigate these risks, the Company closely and frequently monitors exposure compared to collateral held, and requests additional collateral in accordance with the terms of the Commercial Auto LPT and Indemnity Agreements when its analysis indicates that the Company has uncollateralized exposure.
Ratings
The A.M. Best Company financial strength rating for our group’s regulated U.S. subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a negative outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s opinion of our insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our U.S. operating insurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our regulated subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our U.S. insurance subsidiaries allow our subsidiaries to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in their marketing plans.
Series A Preferred Shares
The Company closed on the issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022 for an aggregate purchase price of $150.0 million, or $1,000 per share, in a private placement. The Series A Preferred Shares are convertible into the Company’s common shares at the option of the holder at any time, or at the Company’s option under certain circumstances. Dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares accrue quarterly at the rate of 7% of the Liquidation Preference per annum, which may be paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at the Company’s election.
On November 11, 2024, the Company amended the Certificate of Designations setting forth the terms of the Series A Preferred Shares to, among other things, convert 37,500 outstanding Series A Preferred Shares with a liquidation value of $37.5 million to common shares at a per share price of $6.40. Following the conversion, 112,500 Series A Preferred Shares remain outstanding.
Equity
The Company issued 8,002,755 common shares in the year ended December 31, 2024, increasing the total common shares outstanding from 37,641,563 at December 31, 2023 to 45,644,318 at December 31, 2024.
On November 11, 2024, the Company amended the Certificate of Designations setting forth the terms of the Series A Preferred Shares to, among other things, convert 37,500 outstanding Series A Preferred Shares with a liquidation value of $37.5 million to common shares at a per share price of $6.40, resulting in the issuance of 5,859,375 common shares.
On November 11, 2024, Enstar Group Limited (“Enstar”), through its subsidiary Cavello Bay Reinsurance Limited, entered into a subscription agreement to purchase $12.5 million of the Company’s common shares at a share price of $6.40. The Enstar investment closed on December 23, 2024, resulting in the issuance of 1,953,125 common shares.
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In 2024, 190,255 of common shares were issued related to the vesting of restricted share units (“RSUs”).
Share Based Compensation Expense
For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, the Company recognized $6.6 million, $9.1 million and $8.1 million, respectively, of share based compensation expense. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $6.3 million of unrecognized share based compensation expense expected to be charged to earnings over a weighted-average period of 1.6 years.
Equity Incentive Plans
Options
The following table summarizes the option activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | ||||||||||||||
| Outstanding: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning of year | 74,390 | $ | 42.17 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | ||||||||||
| Granted | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Exercised | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Lapsed | (74,390) | $ | 42.17 | (164,548) | $ | 32.07 | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | — | $ | — | (49,036) | $ | 35.50 | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| End of year | — | $ | — | 74,390 | $ | 42.17 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | ||||||||||
| Exercisable, end of year | — | $ | — | 74,390 | $ | 42.17 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 |
The options outstanding at December 31, 2023 lapsed in the year ended December 31, 2024. At December 31, 2024, no options remain outstanding.
RSUs
The following table summarizes the RSU activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
| Unvested, beginning of year | 751,254 | $ | 23.48 | 665,458 | $ | 25.98 | 292,135 | $ | 45.89 | ||||||||||
| Granted | 541,520 | $ | 9.75 | 388,517 | $ | 24.13 | 560,680 | $ | 20.61 | ||||||||||
| Vested | (276,428) | $ | 24.80 | (250,793) | $ | 30.99 | (147,530) | $ | 45.16 | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | (101,494) | $ | 17.55 | (51,928) | $ | 24.08 | (39,827) | $ | 25.41 | ||||||||||
| PRSU performance adjustment | (29,679) | $ | 24.83 | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Unvested, end of year | 885,173 | $ | 15.30 | 751,254 | $ | 23.48 | 665,458 | $ | 25.98 |
Outstanding RSUs granted to employees generally vest ratably over a three year vesting period. RSUs granted to non-employee directors have a one year vesting period. The RSUs granted in 2024 and 2023 include 231,492 and 91,818 performance based restricted share units (“PRSUs”) awards, respectively. Initial PRSU awards are granted at the 100% target performance level. The Company projects the level of achievement for each award during the performance period and periodically adjusts the number of outstanding awards to reflect the number of awards expected to vest. In 2024, a downward performance adjustment was made to the outstanding PRSUs granted in 2023.
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Material Cash Requirements
We believe the cash generating capability of our operations, together with our revolving credit facilities, and ability to raise capital through future equity offerings, will be adequate to meet our short and long-term cash requirements and provide the financial strength necessary to support our business growth.
The following table illustrates our material cash requirements by due date as of December 31, 2024:
| Payments Due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2025 | 2026-2027 | 2028-2029 | Thereafter | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 3,084,406 | $ | 898,001 | $ | 1,302,465 | $ | 599,122 | $ | 284,818 | ||||||||
| Long-term debt: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior debt | 200,800 | — | 185,800 | — | 15,000 | |||||||||||||
| Junior subordinated debt | 104,055 | — | — | — | 104,055 | |||||||||||||
| Operating lease obligations | 5,956 | 3,150 | 2,110 | 696 | — | |||||||||||||
| Interest on debt obligations | 129,994 | 21,201 | 25,184 | 19,238 | 64,371 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,525,211 | $ | 922,352 | $ | 1,515,559 | $ | 619,056 | $ | 468,244 |
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represent management’s estimate of the ultimate cost of settling losses. As more fully discussed in “—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Reserve for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses” above, the estimation of losses is based on various complex and subjective judgments. Actual losses paid may differ, perhaps significantly, from the reserve estimates reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Similarly, the timing of payment of our estimated losses is not fixed and there may be significant changes in actual payment activity. The assumptions used in estimating the likely payments due by period are based on our historical claims payment experience and industry payment patterns, but due to the inherent uncertainty in the process of estimating the timing of such payments, there is a risk that the amounts paid in any such period can be significantly different from the amounts disclosed above.
The amounts in the above table represent our gross estimates of known liabilities as of December 31, 2024 and do not include any allowance for claims for future events within the time period specified. Accordingly, it is highly likely that the total amounts paid out in the time periods shown will be greater than those indicated in the table.
Interest on debt obligations was calculated using the SOFR rate as of December 31, 2024 with the assumption that interest rates would remain flat over the remainder of the period that the debt was outstanding.
The Company owns investments in limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios including publicly traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, private equity general partnership interests, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and tranches of distressed home loans. At December 31, 2024, the Company’s Excess and Surplus Lines segment has outstanding commitments to invest another $4.7 million in these limited partnerships.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
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Underwriting Performance Ratios
The following table provides the underwriting performance ratios of the Company's continuing operations inclusive of the business subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting. There is no economic impact to the Company over the life of a retroactive reinsurance contract so long as any additional losses subject to the contract are within the limit of the contract and the counterparty performs under the contract. Retroactive reinsurance accounting is not indicative of our current and ongoing operations. Management believes that providing loss ratios and combined ratios on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting gives the users of our financial statements useful information in evaluating our current and ongoing operations.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 87.6 | % | 68.9 | % | 65.9 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 7.3 | % | 0.8 | % | 2.8 | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 94.9 | % | 69.7 | % | 68.7 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 115.1 | % | 91.1 | % | 85.1 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 7.3 | % | 0.8 | % | 2.8 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 122.4 | % | 91.9 | % | 87.9 | % | ||
| Consolidated: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 86.2 | % | 69.9 | % | 67.5 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 6.2 | % | 0.7 | % | 2.5 | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 92.4 | % | 70.6 | % | 70.0 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 117.6 | % | 96.5 | % | 91.1 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 6.2 | % | 0.7 | % | 2.5 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 123.8 | % | 97.2 | % | 93.6 | % |
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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
See “Key Metrics” above for description of why management believes the following Non-GAAP measures provide useful information about our financial condition and results of operation.
Reconciliation of Underwriting Profit
We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies.
The following table reconciles the underwriting (loss) profit of the operating segments by individual segment to consolidated (loss) income before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Underwriting (loss) profit of the operating segments: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | (77,455) | $ | 54,347 | $ | 83,051 | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 6,873 | 4,077 | 4,234 | |||||||
| Total underwriting (loss) profit of the operating segments | (70,582) | 58,424 | 87,285 | |||||||
| Other operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment | (34,972) | (33,940) | (31,260) | |||||||
| Underwriting (loss) profit (1) | (105,554) | 24,484 | 56,025 | |||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | (37,237) | (4,991) | (15,742) | |||||||
| Net investment income | 93,089 | 84,046 | 43,188 | |||||||
| Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments | 3,625 | 10,441 | (15,720) | |||||||
| Other income | 6,131 | 4,216 | 551 | |||||||
| Other expenses | (6,145) | (3,792) | (795) | |||||||
| Interest expense | (24,666) | (24,627) | (13,872) | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (363) | (363) | |||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | — | (2,500) | — | |||||||
| (Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes | $ | (71,120) | $ | 86,914 | $ | 53,272 |
(1) Underwriting (loss) profit includes gross fee income of $21.0 million, $24.2 million, and $23.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.
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Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Operating Income
Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) income (loss) from discontinued operations, b) the impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting, c) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, d) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to certain lawsuits, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, e) severance costs associated with terminated employees, and f) deemed dividends recorded with the amendment of the Series A Preferred Shares. Adjusted net operating income should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP, and our definition of adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies.
Our (loss) income available to common shareholders for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 reconciles to our adjusted net operating (loss) income as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss Before Taxes | Net Loss | (Loss) Income Before Taxes | Net (Loss) Income | Income Before Taxes | Net Income | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Loss) income available to common shareholders | $ | (125,903) | $ | (118,269) | $ | (92,479) | $ | (118,184) | $ | 40,637 | $ | 22,223 | ||||||||||
| Loss from discontinued operations | 17,634 | 17,634 | 168,893 | 168,893 | 3,885 | 3,885 | ||||||||||||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | 37,237 | 29,418 | 4,991 | 3,943 | 15,742 | 12,437 | ||||||||||||||||
| Net realized and unrealized investment (gains) losses | (3,625) | (2,865) | (10,441) | (8,248) | 15,720 | 12,418 | ||||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | 6,145 | 5,573 | 1,588 | 1,938 | 747 | 747 | ||||||||||||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | — | — | 2,500 | 1,975 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Series A deemed dividends | 27,006 | 27,006 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted net operating (loss) income | $ | (41,506) | $ | (41,503) | $ | 75,052 | $ | 50,317 | $ | 76,731 | $ | 51,710 |
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Tangible Equity and Tangible Equity per Share
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares and the deferred retroactive reinsurance gain less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total common shares outstanding plus the common shares resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the conversion price effective as of the last day of the applicable period). Our definitions of tangible equity and tangible equity per share may not be comparable to that of other companies, and they should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity and shareholders’ equity per share calculated in accordance with GAAP.
The following table reconciles shareholders’ equity to tangible equity as of December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity | Equity per share | Equity | Equity per share | Equity | Equity per share | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | $ | 460,915 | $ | 10.10 | $ | 534,621 | $ | 14.20 | $ | 553,766 | $ | 14.78 | ||||||||||
| Series A redeemable preferred shares | 133,115 | 144,898 | 144,898 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred reinsurance gain | 57,970 | 20,733 | 20,091 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Less: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | 181,831 | 181,831 | 181,831 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 32,450 | 32,813 | 35,676 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tangible equity | $ | 437,719 | $ | 7.40 | $ | 485,608 | $ | 11.13 | $ | 501,248 | $ | 11.63 | ||||||||||
| Common shares outstanding | 45,644,318 | 37,641,563 | 37,470,237 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common shares from assumed conversion of Series A Preferred Shares | 13,521,635 | 5,971,184 | 5,640,158 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common shares outstanding after assumed conversion of Series A Preferred Shares | 59,165,953 | 43,612,747 | 43,110,395 |
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001620459-24-000022.
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements and involves numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should read this discussion and analysis together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
James River Group Holdings, Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company. We own and operate a group of specialty insurance companies with the objective of generating compelling returns on tangible equity while limiting underwriting and investment volatility. We seek to accomplish this by earning profits from insurance underwriting and generating meaningful risk-adjusted investment returns, while managing our capital.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, approximately 71.7% of our gross written premiums and 85.8% of our net written premiums from continuing operations originated from the U.S. E&S lines market, which we believe puts us among the top three publicly traded insurers as ranked by highest concentrations of E&S risk. We also have a specialty admitted insurance business in the United States. We intend to concentrate substantially all of our underwriting in casualty insurance, and for the year ended December 31, 2023, 95.7% of our gross written premiums from continuing operations were derived from casualty insurance. We focus on writing business in specialty markets where our underwriters have particular expertise and where we have long-standing distribution relationships; maintaining a strong balance sheet with appropriate reserves; monitoring reinsurance recoverables carefully; managing our investment portfolio actively without taking undue risk; using technology to monitor trends in our business; responding rapidly to market opportunities and challenges; and actively managing our capital.
We report our continuing operations in three segments: Excess and Surplus Lines, Specialty Admitted Insurance, and Corporate and Other.
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment offers E&S commercial lines liability and property insurance in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through James River Insurance and its wholly-owned subsidiary, James River Casualty. James River Insurance and James River Casualty are both non-admitted carriers. Non-admitted carriers writing in the E&S market are not bound by most of the rate and form regulations imposed on standard market companies, allowing them flexibility to change the coverage terms offered and the rate charged without the time constraints and financial costs associated with the rate and form filing process. In 2023, the average account in this segment (excluding commercial auto policies) generated annual gross written premiums of approximately $26,000. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment distributes its products primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. Members of our management team have participated in this market for over three decades and have long-standing relationships with the wholesale agents who place E&S lines accounts. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced 66.8% of our gross written premiums and 85.0% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment focuses on niche classes within the standard insurance markets with a primary focus on fronting business, where we retain a minority share of the risk and seek to earn fee income by allowing other carriers and producers to use our licensure, ratings, expertise and infrastructure. Through Falls Lake National and its subsidiaries, this segment has admitted licenses and the authority to write excess and surplus lines insurance in 50 states and the District of Columbia and distributes through a variety of sources, including program administrators and MGAs. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment produced 33.2% of our gross written premiums and 15.0% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The Corporate and Other segment consists of the management and treasury activities of our holding companies, equity compensation for the group, and interest expense associated with our debt.
Our discontinued operations include JRG Re, which comprises the remaining operations of the former Casualty Reinsurance segment, and which, prior to the suspension of its underwriting activities in 2023, provided proportional and working layer casualty reinsurance to third parties and, through December 31, 2021, to our U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries. On November 8, 2023, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to sell JRG Re. The sale transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.
All of the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries are party to an intercompany pooling agreement that distributes the net underwriting results among the group companies based on their approximate pro-rata level of statutory capital and surplus to the total Company statutory capital and surplus. Additionally, the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries were previously parties to intercompany quota share reinsurance agreements that in periods prior to January 1, 2018 ceded 70% of their premiums and losses to JRG Re, and from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2021, ceded 70% of their premiums and losses to Carolina Re Ltd., a former wholly-owned subsidiary of James River Group (“Carolina Re”).
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During 2022, Carolina Re commuted the outstanding obligations ceded under the intercompany quota-share reinsurance agreements back to the Company’s U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries with effect from January 1, 2022. Carolina Re concluded all operations and was dissolved in December 2023. During 2023, JRG Re commuted the outstanding obligations ceded under the intercompany quota share reinsurance agreements back to the Company's U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries with effect from January 1, 2023. We report all segment information in this ‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ prior to the effects of intercompany reinsurance, consistent with the manner in which we evaluate the operating performance of our reportable segments.
The A.M. Best Company (“A.M. Best”) financial strength rating for our group’s regulated U.S. insurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a negative outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s evaluation of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our U.S. operating insurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our regulated subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our insurance subsidiaries allow our subsidiaries to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in their marketing plans.
Key Metrics
We discuss certain key metrics, described below, which we believe provide useful information about our business and the operational factors underlying our financial performance.
Underwriting profit is a non-GAAP measure commonly used in the property and casualty insurance industry to evaluate underwriting performance. We believe that the disclosure of underwriting profit by individual segment and of the Company as a whole is useful to investors, analysts, rating agencies and other users of our financial information in evaluating our performance because our objective is to consistently earn underwriting profits. We evaluate the performance of our segments and allocate resources based primarily on underwriting profit. We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for a loss portfolio transfer (see Loss Portfolio Transfer in Strategic Actions below) and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of underwriting profit to income before taxes and for additional information.
Loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for a loss portfolio transfer to net earned premiums. Our definition of loss ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Accident year loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses for the current accident year (excluding development on prior accident year reserves) to net earned premiums for the current year (excluding net earned premium adjustments on reinstatement premiums associated with prior years).
Expense ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of other operating expenses net of gross fee income included in other income to net earned premiums.
Combined ratio is a measure of underwriting performance calculated as the sum of the loss ratio and the expense ratio. A combined ratio of less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit, while a combined ratio greater than 100% reflects an underwriting loss. Our definition of combined ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Adjusted net operating income is an internal performance measure used in the management of our operations. We believe it gives our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) income (loss) from discontinued operations b) the impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting for a loss portfolio transfer, c) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, d) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to a purported class action lawsuit, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, and e) severance costs associated with terminated employees. Adjusted net operating income is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of
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adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of income available to common shareholders to adjusted net operating income.
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares (as defined below) and the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain on loss portfolio transfers less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. We believe tangible equity is a good measure to evaluate the strength of our balance sheet and to compare returns relative to this measure. Key financial measures that we use to assess our longer term financial performance include the percentage growth in our tangible equity per share and our return on tangible equity. Tangible equity is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of tangible equity may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of shareholders' equity to tangible equity.
Adjusted net operating return on tangible equity is defined as annualized adjusted net operating income expressed as a percentage of the average quarterly tangible equity balances in the respective period.
Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total common shares outstanding plus the common shares resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the current conversion price).
Net retention is defined as the ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums.
Gross investment yield is annualized investment income before any deductions for fees and expenses, expressed as a percentage of the average beginning and ending carrying values of those investments during the period.
Unless specified otherwise, all references to our defined metrics above in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations are for our business from continuing operations that is not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for a loss portfolio transfer. Management believes that the lack of economic impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting makes the presentation of our key metrics on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting helpful to the users of our financial information. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” and “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We identified the accounting estimates below as critical to the understanding of our financial position and results of operations. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those estimates that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and which require us to exercise significant judgment. We use significant judgment concerning future results and developments in applying these critical accounting estimates and in preparing our consolidated financial statements. These judgments and estimates affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of material contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ materially from the estimates and assumptions used in preparing the consolidated financial statements. We evaluate our estimates regularly using information that we believe to be relevant. For a detailed discussion of our accounting policies, see the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K.
Reserve for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represents our estimated ultimate cost of all reported and unreported losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred and unpaid at the balance sheet date. We do not discount this reserve. We estimate the reserve using individual case-basis valuations of reported claims and statistical analysis. We believe that the use of judgment is necessary to arrive at a best estimate for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses given the long-tailed nature of the business generally written by the Company and the limited operating experience of the fronting and program business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment and the commercial auto business in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. In applying this judgment, we may establish reserves that differ from our internal actuaries’ estimate. We seek to establish reserves that will ultimately prove to be adequate. If we have indications that claims frequency or severity exceeds our initial expectations, we generally increase our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses. Conversely, when claims frequency and severity trends are more favorable than initially anticipated, we generally reduce our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses once we have sufficient data to confirm the validity of the favorable trends.
Our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments generally are notified of losses by our insureds or their brokers. Based on the information provided, we establish case reserves by estimating the ultimate losses from the claim, including administrative costs associated with the ultimate settlement of the claim. Our claims department personnel use their knowledge of the specific claim along with internal and external experts, including underwriters and legal counsel, to estimate the expected ultimate losses.
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We also use statistical analysis to estimate the cost of losses and loss adjustment expenses that have been incurred but not reported to us. Those estimates are based on our historical information, industry information and estimates of future trends that may affect the frequency of claims and changes in the average cost of claims (severity) that may arise in the future.
The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at December 31, 2023 was $2,606.1 million. Of this amount, 66.9% relates to IBNR. The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Gross Reserves at December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 468,820 | $ | 1,300,968 | $ | 1,769,788 | 73.5 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 394,330 | 441,989 | 836,319 | 52.8 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 863,150 | $ | 1,742,957 | $ | 2,606,107 | 66.9 | % |
The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses prior to the $660,000 allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables at December 31, 2023 was $1,247.0 million. Of this amount, 72.0% relates to IBNR. The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Net Reserves at December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 285,276 | $ | 828,095 | $ | 1,113,371 | 74.4 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 63,351 | 70,251 | 133,602 | 52.6 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 348,627 | $ | 898,346 | $ | 1,246,973 | 72.0 | % |
Our Reserve Committee consists of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Chief Actuary. Additionally, the presidents, chief financial officers and segment actuaries of each of our insurance segments participate in the Reserve Committee meetings for their respective segments. The Reserve Committee meets quarterly to review the actuarial recommendations made by each segment actuary and use their best judgment to determine the best estimate to be recorded for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses on our balance sheet.
We engage an independent internationally recognized actuarial consulting firm to review our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in the third and fourth quarters of each year. This independent actuarial consulting firm prepares its own estimate of our reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, and we compare their estimate to the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses reviewed and approved by the Reserve Committee in order to corroborate the adequacy of our reserves.
The process of estimating the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses requires a high degree of judgment and is subject to a number of variables. In establishing the quarterly actuarial recommendation for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries estimate an initial expected ultimate loss ratio for each of our product lines by accident year. Input from our underwriting and claims departments, including premium pricing assumptions and historical experience, are considered by our internal actuaries in estimating the initial expected loss ratios. Our actuaries generally utilize five primary actuarial methods in their estimation process for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses. These primary methods are supplemented by additional actuarial methods as the Chief Actuary considers appropriate. For example, these supplemental methods can include frequency and severity methods that use claim count data to estimate ultimate losses and loss adjustment expenses. These claims frequency and severity methods may be appropriate for some lines of business and inappropriate for others. The Chief Actuary uses professional judgment to determine when additional methods should be used to supplement the five primary methods. The five primary methods utilize, to varying degrees, the initial expected loss ratio, detailed statistical analysis of past claims reporting and payment patterns, claims frequency and severity, paid loss experience, industry loss experience, and changes in market conditions, policy forms, exclusions, and exposures. The five primary actuarial methods that we use in our reserve estimation process are:
Expected Loss Method
The Expected Loss method multiplies earned premiums by an initial expected loss ratio. In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment and for our Workers’ Compensation book in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, the initial expected loss ratio is estimated based on adjusting book of business prior year experience to current cost and rate level. In our Programs business within the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, the expected loss ratio is based on the actuarial pricing of the individual
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account. Alternatively, when company experience lacks historical depth, initial expected loss ratios can be determined using loss ratios implied by industry loss costs for the class or reported industry loss ratios.
Incurred Loss Development Method
The Incurred Loss Development method uses historical loss reporting patterns by accident year to estimate future loss reporting patterns. In this method, our actuaries review historical loss reporting patterns to develop incurred loss development factors that are applied to current reported losses to calculate ultimate losses.
Paid Loss Development Method
The Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Incurred Loss Development method, but it uses historical loss payment patterns to estimate future loss payment patterns. In this method, our actuaries apply historical loss payment patterns to develop paid loss development factors that are applied to current paid losses to calculate expected ultimate losses.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been reported and the portion that has yet to be reported. The portion that has yet to be reported is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unreported at the valuation date. This technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and reported losses lack historical depth.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method, except this method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been paid and the portion that has yet to be paid. The portion that has yet to be paid is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unpaid at the valuation date. This approach assumes that the paid experience has no effect on the subsequent paid loss emergence of the business. Again, this technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and paid losses lack historical depth.
Different reserving methods are appropriate in different situations, and our actuaries use their judgment and experience to determine the weighting of the methods detailed above to use for each accident year and each line of business. For example, the current accident year has very little incurred and paid loss development data on which to base reserve projections. As a result, we rely heavily on the Expected Loss Method in estimating reserves for the current accident year. The Company generally sets the initial expected loss ratio for the current accident year consistent with the internal actuaries’ pricing assumptions adjusted upward where warranted based on management's judgment in order to produce the best estimate. We believe that this is a reasonable and appropriate reserving assumption for the current accident year since our pricing assumptions are actuarially driven and since we expect to make an acceptable return on the new business that we write. If actual loss emergence is better than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience favorable development, and if it is worse than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience adverse development. Conversely, sufficient incurred and paid loss development is available for our oldest accident years, so more weight is given to the Incurred Loss Development method and the Paid Loss Development method than the Expected Loss Method. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development and Paid Loss Development methods blend features of the Expected Loss Method and the Incurred and Paid Loss Development methods. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods are typically used for the more recent prior accident years.
In applying these methods to develop an estimate of the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries use judgment to determine three key parameters for each accident year and line of business: the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the actuarial methods to be used for each accident year and line of business. Judgment is also required to make actuarial adjustments, if needed, for changes in claims processing and case reserving that could cause current reported loss and paid loss development patterns to deviate from historical patterns. For the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, the segment actuary performs a study on each of these parameters at least annually and makes recommendations for the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the actuarial methods by accident year and line of business. Members of the Reserve Committee review and approve the parameter review actuarial recommendations, and absent any developments requiring an earlier review, these approved parameters are generally used in the reserve estimation process for the next four quarters at which time a new parameter study is performed. For the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, expected loss ratios, loss development factors, and loss cost trends are reviewed and updated at least annually.
The table below quantifies the impact of extreme reserve deviations from our expected value at December 31, 2023. The total carried net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses for our continuing operations is displayed alongside 5th, 50th
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and 95th percentiles of likely ultimate net reserve outcomes. The estimates of these percentiles are a result of a reserve variability analysis which is part of our internal capital modeling efforts using a simulation approach.
| Sensitivity | 5th Pct. | 50th Pct. | Carried | 95th Pct. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 1,133,845 | $ | 1,242,367 | $ | 1,246,973 | $ | 1,376,650 | |||||||
| Changes in reserves | (113,128) | (4,606) | — | 129,677 |
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the highest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to increase losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $129.7 million, reduce after-tax net income by $102.4 million, reduce shareholders’ equity by $102.4 million and reduce shareholders’ tangible equity by $102.4 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the lowest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to reduce losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $113.1 million, increase after-tax net income by $89.4 million, increase shareholders’ equity by $89.4 million, and increase tangible equity by $89.4 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2023. Such changes in the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses would not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, but would affect cash flow and investment income in future periods as the incremental or reduced amount of losses are paid and investment assets adjusted to reflect the level of paid claims.
Loss reserve estimates are subject to a high degree of variability due to the inherent uncertainty of ultimate claims settlement values. In recording our best estimate of our reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our Reserve Committee may select an amount that is different from the actuarial recommendation submitted after considering other qualitative factors and our knowledge and expectations of trends and other business developments that impact our best estimate. There is inherent variation associated with our reserve estimates and the possibility that there are unforeseen or incorrectly valued liabilities in the actuarial recommendations exists. We believe that the insurance that we write is subject to above-average variation in reserve estimates. The Excess and Surplus Lines market is subject to high policyholder turnover and changes in underlying mix of exposures. This turnover and change in underlying mix of exposures can cause actuarial estimates based on prior experience to be less reliable than estimates for more stable, admitted books of business. As a casualty insurer, losses on our policies often take a number of years to develop, making it difficult to estimate the ultimate losses associated with this business. Judicial and regulatory bodies have frequently interpreted insurance contracts in a manner that expands coverage beyond that which was contemplated at the time that the policy was issued. In addition, many of our policies are issued on an occurrence basis, and insureds suffering a loss frequently seek coverage beyond the policies’ original intent.
Our reserves are driven by a number of important assumptions, including litigation and regulatory trends, legislative activity, climate change, social and economic patterns and claims inflation assumptions. Our reserve estimates reflect current inflation in legal claims’ settlements and assume we will not be subject to losses from significant new legal liability theories. Our reserve estimates also assume that we will not experience significant losses from mass torts and that we will not incur losses from future mass torts not known to us today. While it is not possible to predict the impact of changes in the litigation environment, if new mass torts or expanded legal theories of liability emerge, our cost of claims may differ substantially from our reserves. Our reserve estimates assume that there will not be significant changes in the regulatory and legislative environment. The impact of potential changes in the regulatory or legislative environment is difficult to quantify in the absence of specific, significant new regulation or legislation. In the event of significant new regulation or legislation, we will attempt to quantify its impact on our business but no assurance can be given that our attempt to quantify such inputs will be accurate or successful.
IBNR reserve estimates are inherently less precise than case reserve estimates. A 5% change in net IBNR reserves at December 31, 2023 would equate to a $44.9 million change in the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at such date, a $35.5 million change in after-tax net income, a 6.6% change in shareholders’ equity and a 7.3% change in tangible equity, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Although we believe that our reserve estimates are reasonable, it is possible that our actual loss experience may not conform to our assumptions. Specifically, our actual ultimate loss ratio could differ from our initial expected loss ratio or our actual reporting and payment patterns could differ from our expected reporting and payment patterns, which are based on our own data and industry data. Accordingly, the ultimate settlement of losses and the related loss adjustment expenses may vary significantly from the estimates included in our financial statements. We regularly review our estimates and adjust them as necessary as experience develops or as new information becomes known to us. Such adjustments are included in current operations.
In determining the amount of prior accident year development to recognize each year, we consider actual loss emergence (reported and paid) versus expected loss emergence, as well as our internal actuaries’ indications and the prior year development indicated in the actuarial analysis prepared by our independent third-party actuary. We look at these different data
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points with the goal of disclosing prior accident year development that is representative of loss emergence on prior accident years during the year, while also recording the Company’s best estimate of the aggregate reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet. At a high level, actual loss emergence on prior accident years in excess of actuarial expectations implies adverse development, while actual loss emergence less than expected emergence implies favorable development.
We experienced $31.6 million of net adverse development in 2023 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2022 (excluding adverse prior year development on the commercial auto loss portfolio transfer subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting - see Loss Portfolio Transfers and Impact of Retroactive Reinsurance below). This net adverse reserve development included $32.6 million of net adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, with adverse development in accident years 2020 and prior exceeding favorable development on accident years 2022 and 2021, and $972,000 of net favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment.
We experienced $4.4 million of net favorable development in 2022 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2021 (excluding adverse prior year development on the commercial auto loss portfolio transfer subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting - see Loss Portfolio Transfers and Impact of Retroactive Reinsurance below). This net favorable reserve development included $210,000 of net favorable development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $4.2 million of net favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment.
Investment Valuation and Impairment
We carry fixed maturity securities classified as “available-for-sale” at fair value, and unrealized gains and losses on such securities, net of any deferred taxes, are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Equity securities (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Certain restricted cash equivalents invested in funds with floating net asset values are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. At December 31, 2023, we do not have any securities classified as “held-to-maturity” or “trading.”
The Company periodically reviews its available-for-sale fixed maturities to determine whether any unrealized losses exist that are due to credit-related factors. An allowance for credit losses is established for any credit-related impairments, limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost. Changes in the allowance for credit losses are recognized in earnings and included in net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Unrealized losses that are not credit-related continue to be recognized in other comprehensive income.
The Company considers the extent to which fair value is below amortized cost in determining whether a credit-related loss exists. The Company also considers the credit quality rating of the security, with a special emphasis on securities downgraded below investment grade. A comparison is made between the present value of expected future cash flows for a security and its amortized cost. If the present value of future expected cash flows is less than amortized cost, a credit loss is presumed to exist and an allowance for credit losses is established. Management may conclude that a qualitative analysis is sufficient to support its conclusion that the present value of the expected cash flows equals or exceeds a security’s amortized cost. As a result of this review, management concluded that there were no credit-related impairments of fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2023, 2022, or 2021. Management does not intend to sell the securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
The Company elected the fair value option to account for bank loan participations. Under the fair value option, bank loan participations are measured at fair value, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income and Comprehensive Loss as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Losses due to credit-related impairments on bank loan participations are determined based upon consultations and advice from the Company's specialized investment manager and consideration of any adverse situations that could affect the borrower's ability to repay, the estimated value of underlying collateral, and other relevant factors. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, management concluded that $946,000 and $592,000 of the unrealized losses were due to credit-related impairments, respectively. Management concluded that none of the unrealized losses were due to credit-related impairments for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Fair values are measured in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements. The guidance establishes a framework for measuring fair value and a three-level hierarchy based upon the quality of inputs used to measure fair value. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are: (1) Level 1: quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets, (2) Level 2: inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the instrument and (3) Level 3: inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable for the asset or liability.
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The fair values of fixed maturity securities and equity securities have been determined using fair value prices provided by our investment accounting services provider or investment managers, who utilize internationally recognized independent pricing services. The prices provided by the independent pricing services are generally based on observable market data in active markets (e.g. broker quotes and prices observed for comparable securities). Values for U.S. Treasury and publicly-traded equity securities are generally based on Level 1 inputs which use the market approach valuation technique. The values for all other fixed maturity securities (including state and municipal securities and obligations of U.S. government corporations and agencies) generally incorporate significant Level 2 inputs, and in some cases, Level 3 inputs, using the market approach and income approach valuation techniques.
The fair values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents (excluding those invested in funds with floating net asset values), and short-term investments approximate their carrying values due to their short-term maturity.
In the determination of the fair value for bank loan participations and certain high yield bonds, the Company endeavors to obtain data from multiple external pricing sources. External pricing sources may include brokers, dealers, and price data vendors that provide a composite price based on prices from multiple dealers. Such external pricing sources typically provide valuations for normal institutional size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities, and various relationships between securities, as generally recognized by institutional dealers. For investments in which the Company determines that only one external pricing source is appropriate or if only one external price is available, the investment is generally recorded based on such price.
Investments for which external sources are not available or are determined by an investment manager not to be representative of fair value are recorded at fair value as determined by the investment manager. In determining the fair value of such investments, the investment manager considers one or more of the following factors: type of security held, convertibility or exchangeability of the security, redeemability of the security (including the timing of redemptions), application of industry accepted valuation models, recent trading activity, liquidity, estimates of liquidation value, purchase cost and prices received for securities with similar terms of the same issuer or similar issuers. There were no bank loan participations for which external sources were unavailable to determine fair value at December 31, 2023 or 2022.
We review fair value prices provided by our outside investment accounting service provider or our investment managers for reasonableness by comparing the fair values provided to those provided by our investment custodian. We conduct corroborative price testing comparing prices utilized for each security to those from an alternate reputable pricing service. We also review and monitor changes in fair values and unrealized gains and losses. We obtain an understanding of the methods, models, and inputs used by our investment managers and independent pricing services, and controls are in place to validate that prices provided represent fair values. Our control process includes, but is not limited to, initial and ongoing evaluation of the methodologies used, a review of specific securities and an assessment for proper classification within the fair value hierarchy, and obtaining and reviewing internal control reports for our investment accounting services provider and investment managers that obtain fair values from independent pricing services.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
No accounting standards were adopted during the year ended December 31, 2023 that had a material impact on our financial statements. There are no prospective accounting standards which are expected to have a material impact on our financial statements subsequent to December 31, 2023.
Recent Strategic Actions
James River Group Holdings, Ltd.
On November 10, 2023, the Company announced that its board of directors has initiated an exploration of strategic alternatives.
Sale of JRG Re
On November 8, 2023, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) with Fleming Intermediate Holdings LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Buyer”). Pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement, and on the terms and subject to the conditions therein, the Buyer agreed to purchase from the Company all of the common shares of JRG Re (the “Transaction”). JRG Re comprises the remaining operations of the former Casualty Reinsurance segment, and the Transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, will result in the Company’s disposition of its casualty reinsurance business and related assets.
Total consideration to the Company for the sale of JRG Re includes (A) $277 million (the “Purchase Price”), which is comprised of (i) $138 million payable by the Buyer to the Company on the closing date in cash, subject to final closing adjustments based on changes in JRG Re’s adjusted net worth between March 31, 2023 and the closing date, and (ii) a $139 million dividend or return of capital or surplus by JRG Re to the Company prior to the closing date, which dividend or return of capital or surplus is subject to the availability of unencumbered assets on the closing date, and (B) $2.5 million to be paid by the
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Buyer to the Company in the event that certain conditions outlined in the Stock Purchase Agreement are met on the date that is nine months following the closing date. The Purchase Price is subject to adjustment based on changes in JRG Re’s adjusted net worth between March 31, 2023 and the closing date.
We have determined that the sale of JRG Re meets the criteria to be classified as held for sale and that the sale represents a strategic shift that will have a major effect on our operations. Accordingly, the results of JRG Re's operations have been presented as discontinued operations, and the assets and liabilities of JRG Re have been classified as held for sale and segregated for all periods presented in the Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, we recorded an estimated loss on sale of $80.4 million to write down the carrying value of JRG Re to its estimated fair value based upon the estimated sales price of the transaction less costs to sell and other adjustments in accordance with the Stock Purchase Agreement.
Actions to Reduce Workers' Compensation Book
In June 2023, the Company non-renewed its large California workers' compensation program in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. This action was taken due to persistent rate pressure and tighter reinsurance capacity. Gross written premiums for the program were $96.5 million, $110.9 million, and $124.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.
On September 25, 2023, the Company announced that certain of its subsidiaries entered into an agreement to sell the renewal rights to the Individual Risk Workers’ Compensation (“IRWC”) business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. The transaction includes the full operations of the business, including underwriting, loss control and claims, and transfer of the employees supporting the business. The transaction, which closed on September 29, 2023, was aligned with our strategy to focus our resources on core businesses where we have meaningful scale. Gross written premiums for IRWC were $45.5 million, $53.0 million, and $57.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. Upon closing of the transaction, the Company recognized a $2.2 million gain on sale included in other income for the year ended December 31, 2023 representing the minimum guaranteed consideration to be received in the transaction. The Company also recognized an impairment charge of $2.5 million related to the trademark intangible asset associated with the IRWC business.
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Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022
The following table summarizes our results for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 1,508,660 | $ | 1,411,372 | 6.9 | % | ||||
| Net retention | 46.0 | % | 47.1 | % | ||||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 693,901 | $ | 665,446 | 4.3 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 708,005 | $ | 629,734 | 12.4 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses excluding retroactive reinsurance | (495,166) | (424,900) | 16.5 | % | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | (188,355) | (148,809) | 26.6 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit (1), (2) | 24,484 | 56,025 | (56.3) | % | ||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | (4,991) | (15,742) | (68.3) | % | ||||||
| Net investment income | 84,046 | 43,188 | 94.6 | % | ||||||
| Net realized and unrealized investment gains (losses) | 10,441 | (15,720) | — | |||||||
| Other income (expense) | 424 | (244) | — | |||||||
| Interest expense | (24,627) | (13,872) | 77.5 | % | ||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (363) | — | |||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | (2,500) | — | — | |||||||
| Income from continuing operations before taxes | 86,914 | 53,272 | 63.2 | % | ||||||
| Income tax expense on continuing operations | 25,705 | 18,414 | 39.6 | % | ||||||
| Net income from continuing operations | 61,209 | 34,858 | 75.6 | % | ||||||
| Net loss from discontinued operations | (168,893) | (3,885) | — | |||||||
| Net (loss) income | (107,684) | 30,973 | — | |||||||
| Dividends on Series A Preferred Shares | (10,500) | (8,750) | 20.0 | % | ||||||
| Net (loss) income available to common shareholders | $ | (118,184) | $ | 22,223 | — | |||||
| Adjusted net operating income (1) | $ | 50,317 | $ | 51,710 | (2.7) | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 69.9 | % | 67.5 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 26.6 | % | 23.6 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 96.5 | % | 91.1 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 64.0 | % | 68.2 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio ex-cat (3) | 64.0 | % | 67.4 | % |
(1) Underwriting profit and adjusted net operating income are non-GAAP measures. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Underwriting results include gross fee income of $24.2 million and $23.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
(3) Accident year loss ratio excluding $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ian in the year ended December 31, 2022.
The Company produced net income from continuing operations of $61.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 75.6% over the prior year. Adjusted net operating income was $50.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $51.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Underwriting profits were $24.5 million and $56.0 million (combined ratios of 96.5% and 91.1%) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Underwriting results for the current year were negatively impacted by $16.4 million of reinstatement premium in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. The reinstatement premium, triggered by claims on the 2020 and 2021 years of an excess of loss reinsurance treaty, reduced net written and net earned premiums, and underwriting profit. The reinstatement premium resulted in a 2.1 percentage point increase in our combined ratio for the current year.
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Net earned premiums grew by $78.3 million or 12.4% reflecting growth in both operating segments. Net earned premiums for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment grew by $54.0 million or 9.7% driven primarily by growth in our larger underwriting divisions, in particular Excess Casualty, General Casualty, and Manufacturers and Contractors. Segment renewal rate increases continue to be strong and broad based across underwriting divisions (+10.0% over the prior year). Net earned premiums for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment increased by $24.3 million or 32.8% due to higher retentions of individual risk workers compensation business following the termination of a quota share treaty effective January 1, 2023 and the growth in fronting with the mix of business and changes in reinsurance coverages contributing to higher retentions and higher earned premium.
Our loss ratio was 69.9% in the current year compared to 67.5% in the prior year. The impact of the reinstatement premium was a 1.5 percentage point increase in our loss ratio for the current year. Net reserve development on prior accident years was $31.6 million or 4.5 percentage points adverse for the year ended December 31, 2023 and included $32.6 million of net adverse development from the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, with adverse development in accident years 2020 and prior exceeding favorable development on accident years 2022 and 2021, and $972,000 of net favorable development from the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. For the year ended December 31, 2022, net reserve development on prior accident years was $4.4 million or 0.7 percentage points favorable including $210,000 of net favorable reserve development from the Excess and Surplus Lines segment and $4.2 million of net favorable development from the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. Current accident year losses for the year ended December 31, 2022 include $5.0 million or 0.8 percentage points of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ian in our Excess Property book within the Excess and Surplus Lines segment.
Our expense ratio increased from 23.6% to 26.6% with the reinstatement premium impact on net earned premium in the current year contributing 0.6 percentage points of the increase. Other contributors include lower reinsurance cessions that resulted in lower ceding commissions in the aggregate and higher net commissions and higher general and administrative expenses due to higher compensation, bad debts, and taxes, licenses and fees.
Investment income grew by $40.9 million or 94.6% over the prior year primarily driven by higher yields on fixed maturities, bank loans, and cash equivalents. The higher yields reflect the rise in interest rates in the current year. Net realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments include the impact of market volatility in the respective periods on the fair values of equity securities and bank loan participations (see Investing Results below). Interest expense was $10.8 million higher in the current year largely driven by higher interest rates on our variable rate senior and trust preferred debt. The applicable rates on our debt reset periodically and are structured as SOFR plus a margin or spread. Our average rate of interest increased from 4.3% in the prior year to 7.5% in the current year.
As disclosed above, on September 29, 2023, the Company completed the sale of the renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. Upon closing of the transaction, the Company recognized a $2.2 million gain on sale included in other income in the current year representing the minimum guaranteed consideration to be received in the transaction. The Company also recognized an impairment charge of $2.5 million related to the trademark intangible asset associated with the IRWC business.
The Company entered into a definitive agreement on November 8, 2023 to sell JRG Re. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024 and discontinued operations includes the operating results of JRG Re for the respective periods as well as certain transaction-related expenses in the current year. The current year transaction-related expenses include $53.2 million of losses recognized on JRG Re's fixed maturity investments as the Company no longer has the intent or ability to hold securities in an unrealized loss position until a recovery of their fair value could occur, $1.4 million of professional services and other costs to sell, and an $80.4 million loss on the held-for sale classification of JRG Re's net assets adjusting them down to the anticipated closing price in the transaction. Excluding the transaction-related expenses, JRG Re's operating results were a loss of $33.9 million compared to a $3.9 million loss in the prior year. The operating results include net adverse development of $35.5 million on treaties not subject to the Casualty Re LPT for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $13.4 million of net adverse development in the prior year.
Adjusted net operating income decreased 2.7% from the prior year due to lower underwriting results and higher interest expense, partially offset by higher investment income. Tangible equity and tangible equity per share decreased by 3.1% and 4.2%, respectively, in the current year mainly due to the loss from discontinued operations, partially offset by the positive results from continuing operations and unrealized gains on fixed maturities in other comprehensive income. Our 9.6% adjusted net operating return on tangible equity for the year ended December 31, 2023 compares to a 10.0% return in the prior year.
Loss Portfolio Transfers and Impact of Retroactive Reinsurance
The Company has entered into two loss portfolio transfers, which are a form of reinsurance utilized by the Company to transfer losses and loss adjustment expenses and associated risk of adverse development on covered subject business, as defined in the respective agreements, to an assuming reinsurer in exchange for a reinsurance premium. Loss portfolio transfers can bring economic finality on the subject risks as long as any additional losses are within the limit of the loss portfolio transfer and the counterparty performs under the contract.
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On September 27, 2021, James River Insurance Company and James River Casualty Company (together, “James River”) entered into a loss portfolio transfer transaction (the “Commercial Auto LPT”) with Aleka Insurance, Inc. (“Aleka”), a captive insurance company affiliate of Rasier LLC, to reinsure substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier LLC and its affiliates (collectively, “Rasier”) for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier. The reinsurance coverage is structured to be fully collateralized, is not subject to an aggregate limit, and is subject to certain exclusions.
On February 23, 2022, JRG Re entered into a loss portfolio transfer retrocession agreement (the “Casualty Re LPT”) with Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“FRL”) under which FRL reinsures the majority of JRG Re's reserves. Under the terms of the transaction, which closed on March 31, 2022 (the “Retrocession Closing Date”), JRG Re (a) ceded to FRL all existing and future claims for losses arising under certain casualty reinsurance agreements with underlying insurance companies with treaty inception dates ranging from 2011 to 2020 (the “Subject Business”), in each case net of third-party reinsurance and other recoveries, up to an aggregate limit of $400.0 million; (b) continues to manage and retain the benefit of other third-party reinsurance on the Subject Business; (c) paid FRL a reinsurance premium of $335.0 million, $310.0 million of which JRG Re credited to a notional funds withheld account (the “Funds Withheld Account”) and $25.0 million of which was paid in cash to FRL; and (d) pays FRL a 2% per annum crediting rate on the Funds Withheld Account balance on a quarterly basis. The total premium, initial Funds Withheld Account credit, and aggregate limit was adjusted for claims paid from October 1, 2021 to the Retrocession Closing Date. JRG Re incurred $6.8 million of net adverse reserve development in the three months ended March 31, 2022 associated with the Casualty Re LPT. The Funds Withheld Account balance was $137.8 million and $213.6 million at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Funds Withheld Account crediting fees of $3.6 million and $3.7 million are included in the loss from discontinued operations in our Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income and Comprehensive Loss for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The Company periodically reevaluates the remaining reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT and the Casualty Re LPT. For the year ended December 31, 2023, due to adverse paid and reported loss trends on the business subject to the loss portfolio transfers, the Company recognized adverse prior year development of $117.3 million on the reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT ($64.4 million) and Casualty Re LPT ($52.9 million), resulting in corresponding additional amounts ceded under the respective loss portfolio transfers. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized adverse prior year development of $46.7 million on the reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT and $6.1 million on the reserves subject to the Casualty Re LPT. Both loss portfolio transfers are in gain positions as the cumulative amounts ceded under the loss portfolio transfers exceed the consideration paid, requiring the application of retroactive reinsurance accounting.
Under retroactive reinsurance accounting, gains are deferred and recognized in earnings in proportion to actual paid recoveries under the loss portfolio transfers using the recovery method. Over the life of the contracts, we would expect no economic impact to the Company as long as any additional losses are within the limit of the loss portfolio transfer and the counterparty performs under the contract. In periods where the Company recognizes a change in the estimate of the reserves subject to the loss portfolio transfers that increases or decreases the amounts ceded under the loss portfolio transfers, the proportion of actual paid recoveries to total ceded losses is affected and the change in deferred gain is recognized in earnings as if the revised estimate of ceded losses was available at the effective date of the loss portfolio transfer. The effect of the deferred retroactive reinsurance benefit is recorded in losses and loss adjustment expenses on the Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income and Comprehensive Loss.
Retroactive reinsurance benefits totaling $83.5 million including $59.4 million for the Commercial Auto LPT and $24.0 million for the Casualty Re LPT were recorded in losses and loss adjustment expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 using the recovery method, resulting in a net impact of $33.8 million within our net losses and loss adjustment expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2022, retroactive reinsurance benefits of $31.0 million and $1.7 million were recorded in losses and loss adjustment expenses for the Commercial Auto LPT and Casualty Re LPT, respectively, resulting in a net impact of $20.1 million within our net losses and loss adjustment expenses. As of December 31, 2023, the cumulative amounts ceded under the loss portfolio transfers was $850.2 million ($456.2 million under the Commercial Auto LPT and $393.9 million under the Casualty Re LPT). The total deferred retroactive reinsurance gain of $53.9 million at December 31, 2023 under the loss portfolio transfers includes $20.7 million related to the Commercial Auto LPT separately presented on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets, and $33.2 million related to the Casualty Re LPT which is included within the assets held-for sale of JRG Re on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets. At December 31, 2023, the Company has $6.1 million of aggregate limit remaining under the Casualty Re LPT.
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Premiums
Insurance premiums are earned ratably over the terms of our insurance policies, generally twelve months. The following table summarizes the change in premium volume by component and business segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 1,007,351 | $ | 921,164 | 9.4 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 501,309 | 490,208 | 2.3 | % | ||||||
| $ | 1,508,660 | $ | 1,411,372 | 6.9 | % | |||||
| Net written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 589,551 | $ | 589,056 | 0.1 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 104,350 | 76,390 | 36.6 | % | ||||||
| $ | 693,901 | $ | 665,446 | 4.3 | % | |||||
| Net earned premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 609,566 | $ | 555,597 | 9.7 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 98,439 | 74,137 | 32.8 | % | ||||||
| $ | 708,005 | $ | 629,734 | 12.4 | % |
Gross written premiums for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment (which represents 66.8% of our consolidated gross written premiums from continuing operations in 2023) increased 9.4% from the prior year. The growth was driven by our Core E&S lines, as we continue to de-emphasize commercial auto. Total policy submissions for Core E&S lines (excluding commercial auto) increased 10.3% from the prior year in 2023 largely due to a 10.9% increase in new business submissions as the segment focused on growing new business with smaller account sizes. Renewal rates for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment were up 10.0% compared to 2022. The change in gross written premiums was notable in several divisions as shown below:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % Change | ||||||||
| Excess Casualty | $ | 339,870 | $ | 310,383 | 9.5 | % | ||||
| General Casualty | 202,861 | 173,574 | 16.9 | % | ||||||
| Manufacturers & Contractors | 180,074 | 156,645 | 15.0 | % | ||||||
| Excess Property | 64,574 | 52,104 | 23.9 | % | ||||||
| All other Core E&S divisions | 190,593 | 190,484 | 0.1 | % | ||||||
| Total Core E&S divisions | 977,972 | 883,190 | 10.7 | % | ||||||
| Commercial Auto | $ | 29,379 | $ | 37,974 | (22.6) | % | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines gross written premium | $ | 1,007,351 | $ | 921,164 | 9.4 | % |
The components of gross written premiums for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment (which represents 33.2% of our 2023 consolidated gross written premiums) are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Fronting and program premium | $ | 455,767 | $ | 437,221 | 4.2 | % | ||||
| Individual risk workers’ compensation premium | 45,542 | 52,987 | (14.1) | % | ||||||
| Specialty Admitted gross written premium | $ | 501,309 | $ | 490,208 | 2.3 | % |
Our fronting written premium increased 4.2% over the prior year driven primarily by the continued expansion of existing fronting relationships. Our largest fronting relationship represented $163.1 million or 32.5% of segment gross written premium in 2023 compared to $120.9 million or 24.7% in 2022.
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In June 2023, the Company non-renewed its large California workers' compensation program in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, which represented $96.5 million and $110.9 million of gross written premiums for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. This action was taken due to persistent rate pressure and tighter reinsurance capacity. On September 29, 2023, the Company completed the sale of the renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. The transaction is aligned with our strategy to focus our resources on core businesses where we have meaningful scale.
Net Retention
The ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums is referred to as our net premium retention. Our net premium retention by segment is as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 58.5 | % | 63.9 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 20.8 | % | 15.6 | % | |
| Total | 46.0 | % | 47.1 | % |
The net premium retention for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment decreased in 2023 driven by $16.4 million of reinstatement premium, which reduced the 2023 net retention ratio by 1.7%, and the renewal of a quota share treaty, effective July 1, 2023, that increased premium cessions across all underwriting divisions other than Excess Casualty and resulted in lower retentions for the segment.
The net premium retention for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment increased in 2023 primarily due to the termination of an individual risk workers' compensation quota share treaty effective January 1, 2023. The net retention on the workers’ compensation business was 76.0% and 29.8% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The net retention on the segment’s fronting business, which reflects the mix of business and changes in reinsurance coverage as treaties renew, was 15.3% and 13.9% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Segment Results
The following table presents our combined ratios by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 91.1 | % | 85.1 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 95.9 | % | 94.3 | % | |
| Total | 96.5 | % | 91.1 | % |
Excess and Surplus Lines Segment
Results for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 1,007,351 | $ | 921,164 | 9.4 | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 589,551 | $ | 589,056 | 0.1 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 609,566 | $ | 555,597 | 9.7 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (420,044) | (366,352) | 14.7 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (135,175) | (106,194) | 27.3 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit (1) | $ | 54,347 | $ | 83,051 | (34.6) | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 68.9 | % | 65.9 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 22.2 | % | 19.2 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 91.1 | % | 85.1 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 61.9 | % | 66.0 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio ex-cat (2) | 61.9 | % | 65.1 | % |
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(1) Underwriting Profit is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Accident year loss ratio excluding $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ian in the year ended December 31, 2022.
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced underwriting profits of $54.3 million and $83.1 million (combined ratios of 91.1% and 85.1%) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Underwriting results for the year ended December 31, 2023 include $16.4 million of reinstatement premium. The reinstatement premium, triggered by claims on the 2020 and 2021 years of an excess of loss reinsurance treaty, reduced net written and net earned premiums, and underwriting profit for the current year. Segment underwriting ratios were also impacted by the reinstatement premium, attributing to a 2.4 percentage point increase in the segment combined ratio for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Excluding the reinstatement premium, net earned premiums increased by $70.4 million or 12.7% for the year ended December 31, 2023 due to growth in our larger underwriting divisions and broad based renewal rate increases of 10.0% compared to the prior year.
The loss ratio of 68.9% for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes $32.6 million or 5.3 percentage points of net adverse reserve development (excluding adverse prior year development on the legacy Rasier business and the impact of retroactive reinsurance - see Commercial Auto Loss Portfolio Transfer in Strategic Actions) in our loss estimates for prior accident years, with adverse development in accident years 2020 and prior exceeding favorable development on accident years 2022 and 2021. The $16.4 million of reinstatement premium, which reduced net earned premiums in 2023, resulted in a 1.8 percentage point increase in our loss ratio for the year ended December 31, 2023. The loss ratio of 65.9% for the year ended December 31, 2022 included $210,000 of net favorable reserve development in our loss estimates for prior accident years, including $9.1 million of net favorable development in Core E&S lines and $8.9 million of net adverse reserve development on our commercial auto business. The 2022 loss ratio includes 0.9 percentage points related to $5.0 million of catastrophe losses for Hurricane Ian in the prior year.
The higher current year expense ratio was partially due to the $16.4 million of reinstatement premium, which reduced net earned premiums and contributed 0.6 percentage points of the expense ratio increase relative to the prior year. The expense ratios also increased over the prior year due to the mix of business and reinsurance changes which resulted in higher net commissions expense, as well as higher compensation costs and bad debt expenses.
Specialty Admitted Insurance Segment
Results for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 501,309 | $ | 490,208 | 2.3 | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 104,350 | $ | 76,390 | 36.6 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 98,439 | $ | 74,137 | 32.8 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (75,122) | (58,548) | 28.3 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (19,240) | (11,355) | 69.4 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit(1), (2) | $ | 4,077 | $ | 4,234 | (3.7) | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 76.3 | % | 79.0 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 19.6 | % | 15.3 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 95.9 | % | 94.3 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 77.3 | % | 84.6 | % |
(1) Underwriting Profit is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Underwriting profit includes fee income of $24.2 million and $23.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment generated underwriting profits of $4.1 million and $4.2 million (combined ratios of 95.9% and 94.3%) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Net earned premiums increased by $24.3 million or 32.8% due to higher retentions of individual risk workers compensation business following the termination of a
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quota share treaty effective January 1, 2023 and the growth in fronting with the mix of business and changes in reinsurance coverages contributing to higher retentions and higher earned premium. The growth in fronting business produced a 2.5% increase in segment fee income.
The loss ratio improvement in the current year primarily reflects changes in the mix of business and improved loss trends which helped to produce a lower current accident year loss ratio, partially offset by lower net favorable development in our loss estimates for prior accident years. Net favorable development in our loss estimates for prior accident years was $972,000 and $4.2 million (1.0 and 5.6 percentage points) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The favorable development in both 2023 and 2022 reflects the fact that actual loss emergence of the workers’ compensation book for prior accident years has been better than expected.
The segment expense ratio increased over the prior year driven by higher net commission expense due to the January 1, 2023 termination of the individual risk workers' compensation quota share treaty as well as higher taxes, licenses, and fees in the current year due to adjustments to tax and assessment accruals in the prior year.
Corporate and Other Segment
Other operating expenses for the Corporate and Other segment include personnel costs associated with the Bermuda and U.S. holding companies, professional fees, and various other corporate expenses that were not reimbursed by our subsidiaries, including costs associated with our internal quota share, rating agencies and strategic initiatives. The expenses are included in our calculation of consolidated underwriting profit, and in our consolidated expense ratio and combined ratio.
Total operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment were $33.9 million and $31.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The higher current year expenses as compared to the prior year were largely driven by higher compensation expenses due to the hiring of additional employees and included share-based compensation ($9.1 million and $8.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively), as well as higher audit fees.
Investing Results
Net investment income was $84.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $43.2 million in the prior year. The Company's private investments generated income of $5.0 million and $3.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Excluding private investments, our net investment income for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased 98.6% over the prior year principally due to higher yields on fixed maturities, bank loan participations, short-term investments, and cash and cash equivalents.
Major categories of the Company’s net investment income are summarized as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Fixed maturity securities | $ | 49,793 | $ | 28,131 | ||
| Bank loan participations | 11,984 | 4,256 | ||||
| Equity securities | 6,548 | 5,479 | ||||
| Other invested assets: | ||||||
| Renewable energy investments | 3,143 | 4,408 | ||||
| Other private investments | 1,906 | (1,000) | ||||
| 5,049 | 3,408 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents, and short-term investments | 13,703 | 4,170 | ||||
| Gross investment income | 87,077 | 45,444 | ||||
| Investment expense | (3,031) | (2,256) | ||||
| Net investment income | $ | 84,046 | $ | 43,188 |
The following table summarizes our investment returns:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||
| Annualized gross investment yield on: | |||||
| Average cash and invested assets | 4.6 | % | 2.8 | % | |
| Average fixed maturity securities | 4.4 | % | 2.8 | % |
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Of our total cash and invested assets of $1,980.1 million at December 31, 2023 (excluding restricted cash equivalents and cash and invested assets of JRG Re included in assets held for sale), $274.3 million represents the cash and cash equivalents portion of the portfolio. The majority of the portfolio, or $1,324.5 million, is comprised of fixed maturity securities that are classified as available-for-sale and carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses on these securities reported, net of applicable taxes, as a separate component of accumulated comprehensive income or loss. The fair values of our fixed maturity securities were negatively impacted in 2022 by a heightened inflationary environment and rate actions of the Federal Reserve, which led to higher interest rates and lower fair values of our fixed maturity securities. Unrealized losses on fixed maturities recognized in other comprehensive (loss) income in 2022 resulted in a $193.0 million reduction in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income in the year ended December 31, 2022. During 2023, the fair values of our fixed maturity securities recovered some of the unrealized losses with signs of inflation easing and optimism about future Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. The $99.3 million reduction in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the year ended December 31, 2023 reflects the increase in fair values of our fixed maturity securities as well as $53.2 million of losses recognized on JRG Re's fixed maturities. The Company entered into a definitive agreement on November 8, 2023 to sell JRG Re. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024 and the Company no longer has the intent or ability to hold securities in an unrealized loss position until a recovery of their fair value could occur.
Also included in our investments are $156.2 million of bank loan participations, $119.9 million of equity securities, $72.1 million of short-term investments, and $33.1 million of other invested assets.
Bank loan participations generally provide a higher yield than our portfolio of fixed maturity securities and are primarily senior, secured floating-rate debt rated “BB”, “B”, or “CCC” by Standard & Poor’s or an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, and are therefore below investment grade. Bank loans include assignments of and participations in performing and non-performing senior corporate debt generally acquired through primary bank syndications and in secondary markets. They consist of, but are not limited to, term loans, the funded and unfunded portions of revolving credit facilities, and similar loans and investments. Bank loan participations are measured at fair value pursuant to the Company's election of the fair value option, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our income statement as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the fair value of these securities was $156.2 million and $54.3 million, respectively.
The Company invests selectively in private debt and equity opportunities. These investments comprise the Company’s other invested assets and are primarily focused in renewable energy, limited partnerships, and notes receivable for structured private specialty credit. Equity interests in various renewable energy LLCs generated investment income of $2.9 million and $3.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company’s former Non-Executive Chairman has invested in certain of these LLCs. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the underlying projects in two of our LLCs were sold at the manager's discretion. We received proceeds of $3.6 million and $20.2 million from these sales during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. We could receive additional contingent payments in the future according to terms of the transaction. The remaining investments had a carrying value of $8.4 million at December 31, 2023.
Investments in loans for renewable energy projects had investment income of $244,000 and $607,000 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. During 2023, the Company received principal repayments of $1.3 million on the notes receivable. These investments had a carrying value of $1.4 million at December 31, 2023. The Company owns investments in limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios including publicly-traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, private equity general partnership interests, commercial mortgage-backed securities, specialty private credit, and tranches of distressed home loans. Investment income from these partnerships was $1.6 million in 2023 compared to losses of $1.3 million in 2022. Together, these limited partnerships had a carrying value of $12.6 million at December 31, 2023. Income from the Company’s investments in renewable energy LLCs and limited partnerships is recognized under the equity method of accounting. At December 31, 2023, the Company held $10.8 million in two notes receivable for structured private credit. Previously, the Company held $4.5 million of subordinated notes issued by a bank holding company that matured on August 12, 2023. The Company’s former Non-Executive Chairman was previously the Lead Independent Director of the bank holding company and an investor in the bank holding company. Interest income from both notes was $340,000 and $343,000 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment gains of $10.4 million, including $339,000 of net realized investment losses on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $3.5 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans securities, $1.5 million of net realized investment gains on the sale of equity securities, $9.0 million of gains for the change in fair value of bank loans, and $3.7 million of gains for the change in fair value of equity securities.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment losses of $15.7 million, including $1.2 million of net realized investment gains on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $365,000 of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans, $563,000 of net realized investment gains on the sale of equity securities, $5.4
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million of losses for the change in fair value of bank loans, and $11.7 million of losses for the change in fair value of equity securities.
In conjunction with its outside investment managers, the Company performs quarterly reviews of all securities within its investment portfolio to determine whether any impairment has occurred.
Management concluded that none of the fixed maturity securities with an unrealized loss at December 31, 2023 or 2022 experienced an other-than-temporary impairment. Management does not intend to sell available-for-sale securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
At December 31, 2023, our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities had net unrealized losses of $80.7 million representing 5.7% of the amortized cost of the portfolio. Additionally, at December 31, 2023, 99.9% of our fixed maturity security portfolio was rated “BBB-” or better (“investment grade”) by Standard & Poor’s or had an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The average duration of our invested assets and cash, excluding restricted cash, was 3.6 years at December 31, 2023.
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities were as follows:
| December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| State and municipal | $ | 273,462 | $ | 248,837 | 18.8 | % | $ | 263,543 | $ | 229,254 | 19.6 | % | |||||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 336,064 | 317,928 | 24.0 | % | 295,655 | 274,575 | 23.4 | % | |||||||||||||
| Corporate | 530,408 | 505,728 | 38.2 | % | 457,043 | 420,045 | 35.9 | % | |||||||||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 235,302 | 222,853 | 16.8 | % | 235,907 | 218,388 | 18.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury securities and obligations guaranteed by the U.S. government | 29,900 | 29,130 | 2.2 | % | 30,219 | 29,041 | 2.5 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale | $ | 1,405,136 | $ | 1,324,476 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,282,367 | $ | 1,171,303 | 100.0 | % |
The following table sets forth the composition of the Company’s portfolio of fixed maturity securities by rating as of December 31, 2023:
| Standard & Poor’s or Equivalent Designation | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| AAA | $ | 290,646 | 21.9 | % | |||
| AA | 535,520 | 40.4 | % | ||||
| A | 354,893 | 26.8 | % | ||||
| BBB | 142,100 | 10.7 | % | ||||
| Below BBB and unrated | 1,317 | 0.2 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 1,324,476 | 100.0 | % |
At December 31, 2023, our portfolio of available-for-sale fixed maturity securities contained corporate fixed maturity securities with a fair value of $505.7 million. A summary of these securities by industry segment is shown below as of December 31, 2023:
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| Industry | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Industrials and other | $ | 95,602 | 18.9 | % | |||
| Consumer Discretionary | 55,300 | 10.9 | % | ||||
| Financial | 183,527 | 36.3 | % | ||||
| Health Care | 36,529 | 7.2 | % | ||||
| Consumer Staples | 44,559 | 8.8 | % | ||||
| Utilities | 90,211 | 17.9 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 505,728 | 100.0 | % |
Corporate available-for-sale fixed maturity securities include publicly traded securities and privately placed bonds as shown below as of December 31, 2023:
| Public/Private | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Publicly traded | $ | 458,146 | 90.6 | % | |||
| Privately placed | 47,582 | 9.4 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 505,728 | 100.0 | % |
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale investments in fixed maturity securities summarized by contractual maturity are as follows:
| December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Due in: | ||||||||||
| One year or less | $ | 42,123 | $ | 41,699 | 3.1 | % | ||||
| After one year through five years | 349,510 | 341,971 | 25.8 | % | ||||||
| After five years through ten years | 265,836 | 243,960 | 18.4 | % | ||||||
| After ten years | 176,301 | 156,065 | 11.9 | % | ||||||
| 833,770 | 783,695 | 59.2 | % | |||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 336,064 | 317,928 | 24.0 | % | ||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 235,302 | 222,853 | 16.8 | % | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,405,136 | $ | 1,324,476 | 100.0 | % |
Other Income (Expense)
Other income and expense items netted to income of $424,000 and expense of $244,000 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Included in 2023 are a $2.2 million gain on the sale of the renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, $1.3 million of broker incentive rebates in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, and $693,000 of income related to interest income from trust preferred securities and distributions from a joint venture interest, partially offset by non-operating expenses of $3.8 million in the current year primarily consisting of legal fees related to a purported class action lawsuit and legal and other professional fees and other expenses related to various strategic initiatives including the sale of renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. For 2022, the expense of $244,000 included non-operating expenses of $797,000 primarily consisting of legal fees related to a purported class action lawsuit and $553,000 of income primarily related to interest income from trust preferred securities and distributions from a joint venture interest.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $24.6 million and $13.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase reflects the impact of rising interest rates on our variable rate senior and trust preferred debt. See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Sources and Uses of Funds” for information regarding our senior debt facilities and trust preferred securities.
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Amortization of Intangibles
The Company recorded $363,000 of amortization of intangibles in each of the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Goodwill and Impairment
We test goodwill and other intangible assets in each operating segment for impairment at least annually. The fair value of the reporting units is determined by weighting the results of a discounted cash flow analysis and a valuation derived from a market-based approach. Intangible assets are valued using various methodologies. The projection of future cash flows is dependent upon assumptions on the future levels of income as well as business trends, prospects and market and economic conditions.
We perform this assessment to determine whether there has been any impairment in the value of goodwill or intangible assets by comparing its fair value to the net carrying value of the reporting units. If the carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value, an impairment loss is recognized and the asset is written down accordingly.
On September 29, 2023, the Company completed the sale of the renewal rights to the IRWC business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment. Upon closing of the transaction, the Company recognized an impairment charge of $2.5 million related to the trademark intangible asset associated with the IRWC business.
The Company completed its impairment tests and fair value analysis for goodwill and other intangible assets during the fourth quarter of 2023 and 2022. No impairment was present for the years ended December 31, 2023 or 2022 except for the $2.5 million related to the trademark intangible asset as mentioned above.
Income Tax Expense
Our effective tax rate fluctuates from period to period based on the relative mix of income reported by country and the respective tax rates imposed by each tax jurisdiction. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our effective tax rate was 29.6% and 34.6%, respectively. The Company does not receive a U.S. tax deduction for losses in Bermuda. Bermuda had losses in both years because of Bermuda holding company expenses. For U.S.-sourced income, the Company’s U.S. federal income tax expense differs from the amounts computed by applying the federal statutory income tax rate to income before taxes due primarily to interest income on tax-advantaged state and municipal securities, dividends received income, and excess tax benefits and expenses on share based compensation.
The Company has a deferred tax asset of $16.6 million at December 31, 2023 associated with unrealized losses in the Company’s available-for-sale fixed maturity securities portfolio. The unrealized losses are attributable to rising market interest rates and other economic factors rather than credit-related factors of the issuers. The Company does not intend to sell available-for-sale debt securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their fair value to their amortized cost basis occurs. The Company’s hold to recovery assertion related to investments in an unrealized loss position is considered a tax planning strategy. Both the cash generated by the Company from operating activities and the unused capacity on the Company’s unsecured revolving credit facilities reduce the likelihood of having to sell debt securities in an unrealized loss position. As a result, the Company has concluded that no valuation allowance is required for the deferred tax asset associated with unrealized losses on its investments at December 31, 2023.
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021
For a discussion of our results for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to year ended December 31, 2021, please refer to our 2021 Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 1, 2022.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Funds
Our sources of funds consist primarily of premiums written, investment income, reinsurance recoveries, proceeds from sales and redemptions of investments, borrowings on our credit facilities, and the issuance of common shares and Series A Preferred Shares. We use operating cash flows primarily to pay operating expenses, losses and loss adjustment expenses, reinsurance premiums, and income taxes. Cash flow from operations may differ substantially from net income. The potential for a large claim under an insurance or reinsurance contract means that substantial and unpredictable payments may need to be made within relatively short periods of time.
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The following table summarizes our total cash flows including both continuing and discontinued operations, consistent with the presentation in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents provided by (used in): | ||||||||||
| Operating activities (excluding restricted cash equivalents) | $ | 118,719 | $ | 221,524 | $ | (155,631) | ||||
| Investing activities | 16,732 | (328,154) | 35,823 | |||||||
| Financing activities | (21,115) | 89,671 | 147,671 | |||||||
| Change in cash and cash equivalents | 114,336 | (16,959) | 27,863 | |||||||
| Change in restricted cash equivalents (operating activities) | (30,766) | 1,210 | (757,915) | |||||||
| Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | 83,570 | $ | (15,749) | $ | (730,052) |
Cash provided by operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $118.7 million and $221.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, was driven by the growth in our U.S. segments and the collection of premiums receivable at a quicker rate than payments of loss and loss adjustment expenses. The cash provided by operating activities declined in 2023 relative to the prior year due to the suspension of underwriting activities of JRG Re in 2023. Cash used in operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $155.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily reflects the outflow of funds to effect the Commercial Auto LPT in the third quarter of that year. Cash provided by (used in) operating activities from continuing operations excluding restricted cash equivalents was $234.6 million, $246.6 million, and $(134.4) million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively, compared to cash used in operating activities of discontinued operations of $115.9 million, $25.1 million, and $21.2 million in the respective years. Because JRG Re is currently in run off, we believe that its sale, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, will increase our future cash flows from operations relative to 2023. Proceeds from the sale of JRG Re will support additional growth in our U.S. continuing operations.
In 2023, cash provided by investing activities of $16.7 million was driven by the suspension of underwriting activities of JRG Re and the withdrawal of invested assets in that company to fund claims and operating expenses. Cash used in investing activities for 2022 of $328.2 million reflects our efforts to enhance the yield in our investment portfolio by investing available cash and cash equivalents into higher yielding investments. Cash provided by investing activities of $35.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to the investments sold and funds withdrawn from our investment portfolio to effect the Commercial Auto LPT in the third quarter of that year. Cash and cash equivalents (excluding restricted cash equivalents) comprised 13.9%, 7.3%, and 8.2% of total cash and invested assets at December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. Cash (used in) provided by investing activities from continuing operations was $(98.4) million, $(336.7) million, and $8.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively, compared to cash provided by investing activities of discontinued operations of $115.1 million, $8.5 million, and $27.7 million in the respective years. Because JRG Re is currently in run off, we believe that its sale, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, will increase our future cash flows from operations relative to 2023 which will lead to higher amounts invested and more cash used in investing activities. Proceeds from the sale of JRG Re supporting additional growth in our U.S. continuing operations are expected to be invested and will increase the invested assets of our continuing operations.
Cash (used in) provided by financing activities above relate entirely to continuing operations for all years. Cash used in financing activities of $21.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes $7.7 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, $10.5 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares, $1.1 million of paid issuance costs related to the amendment of the 2013 Facility in July, 2023, and $1.7 million of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net settlement of RSUs. Cash provided by financing activities of $89.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes $144.9 million of net proceeds (after expenses) from the issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022. The proceeds were used for general corporate purposes and to repay $40.0 million of loans outstanding on the 2017 Facility (as defined below) on March 28, 2022. Financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 also include $7.8 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, $6.1 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares, and $1.3 million of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net settlement of RSUs. Cash provided by financing activities of $147.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 includes $192.1 million of net proceeds (before expenses) from the May 10, 2021 public offering of common shares which was used for general corporate purposes, $43.2 million of dividends paid to common shareholders, $3.1 million of payroll taxes withheld and remitted on net settlement of RSUs, and $1.9 million of proceeds from the issuance of common shares resulting from share option exercises.
As permitted under the agreements establishing the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust, we have withdrawn collateral from the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust to fund the Loss Fund Trust as required under the Administrative Services Agreement.
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Amounts on deposit in the Loss Fund Trust are included in restricted cash equivalents on the Company's consolidated balance sheet. See Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book below.
Dividends
We are organized as a Bermuda holding company with our operations conducted by our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Accordingly, our holding company may receive cash through loans from banks, issuance of equity and debt securities, corporate service fees or dividends received from our subsidiaries and/or other transactions. Our U.S. holding company may receive cash in a similar manner and also through payments from our subsidiaries pursuant to our U.S. consolidated tax allocation agreement.
The payment of dividends by our subsidiaries to us is limited by statute. In general, the laws and regulations applicable to our domestic insurance subsidiaries limit the aggregate amount of dividends or other distributions that they may declare or pay within any 12-month period without advance regulatory approval. Generally, the limitations are based on the greater of statutory net income for the preceding year or 10.0% of statutory surplus at the end of the preceding year. In addition, insurance regulators have broad powers to prevent reduction of statutory surplus to inadequate levels and could refuse to permit the payment of dividends calculated under any applicable formula. See Item 1— “Regulation—U.S. Insurance Regulation—State Regulation” for additional information. The maximum amount of dividends available to the U.S. holding company from our U.S. insurance subsidiaries during 2023 without regulatory approval is $107.1 million.
The Bermuda Insurance Act of 1978 prohibits an insurer from declaring or paying a dividend if it is in breach of its minimum solvency margin, its enhanced capital requirement, or its minimum liquidity ratio, or if the declaration or payment of such dividend would cause such a breach. An insurer can declare or pay dividends without prior regulatory approval up to 25% of the total statutory capital and surplus (as shown on its previous financial year's statutory balance sheet). See Item 1- “Regulation- Bermuda Insurance Regulation- Restrictions on Dividends and Distributions” for additional information. Based on that calculation, the maximum amount of dividends available to us from JRG Re without regulatory approval in 2023 is calculated to be approximately $90.3 million. However, any dividend payment is contingent upon continued compliance with Bermuda regulatory requirements, including but not limited to the enhanced solvency requirement calculations.
Holders of the Series A Preferred Shares are entitled to a dividend at the initial rate of 7% of the $1,000 liquidation preference per share (the “Liquidation Preference”) per annum, paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at our election. On the five-year anniversary of the Closing Date, and each five-year anniversary thereafter, the dividend rate will reset to a rate equal to the five-year U.S. treasury rate plus 5.2%. Dividends accrue and are payable quarterly. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, cash dividends of $10.5 million and $8.8 million were declared, respectively, of which $2.6 million was payable at December 31 of both years.
At December 31, 2023, our Bermuda holding company had $2.0 million of cash and cash equivalent assets. Our U.S. holding company had $15.2 million of cash and invested assets at December 31, 2023, comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $13.8 million and other invested assets of $1.4 million, which are not subject to regulatory restrictions. Additionally, our U.K. intermediate holding company had no invested assets and cash of less than $10,000 at December 31, 2023.
Credit Agreements
The Company has a $315.0 million senior revolving credit facility (as amended or amended and restated, the “2013 Facility”). The 2013 Facility is comprised of the following at December 31, 2023:
• A $102.5 million secured revolving facility utilized by JRG Re to issue letters of credit for the benefit of third-party reinsureds. This portion of our credit facility is secured by our investment securities. At December 31, 2023, the Company had $42.7 million of letters of credit issued under the secured facility.
• A $212.5 million unsecured revolving facility to meet the working capital needs of the Company. All unpaid principal on the revolver is due at maturity. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears, currently at 1-month SOFR (the Company, per the terms of the credit agreement, can elect between one, three, or six month interest periods) plus a 0.1% SOFR index adjustment and a SOFR margin which is currently 1.75% and is subject to change according to terms in the credit agreement. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had a drawn balance of $185.8 million outstanding on the unsecured revolver.
The 2013 Facility has been amended from time to time since its inception in 2013.
On July 7, 2023, the Company entered into a Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement for its $315.0 million senior revolving credit facility which, among other things, extended the maturity date of such facility until July 7, 2026 and increased the applicable interest rate and letter of credit fees.
The 2013 Facility contains certain financial and other covenants (including minimum net worth, maximum ratio of total adjusted debt outstanding to total capitalization, and financial strength ratings) with which the Company was in compliance at
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December 31, 2023, with the exception of a default of the financial strength rating covenant due to the downgrade of JRG Re by A.M. Best on December 20, 2023 from “A-” (Excellent) to “B++” (good). The financial strength rating covenant requires that each of our regulated insurance subsidiaries maintain an A.M. Best rating not lower than “A-” (Excellent). Our lenders have waived this default through March 1, 2025, and in any event, we expect it to be cured upon the closing of the sale of JRG Re, at which time we expect JRG Re to be removed as a borrower under the 2013 Facility.
On August 2, 2017, the Company, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, JRG Re, together as borrowers, entered into a credit agreement (the "2017 Facility") that provides the Company with a revolving line of credit of up to $100.0 million, which may be used for loans and letters of credit made or issued, at the borrowers' option, on a secured or unsecured basis. Obligations under the 2017 Facility carry a variable rate of interest subject to terms in the credit agreement and will mature 30 days after notice of termination from the lender. The 2017 Facility contains certain financial and other covenants with which we are in compliance at December 31, 2023, with the exception of a default of the financial strength rating covenant due to the downgrade of JRG Re by A.M. Best on December 20, 2023 from “A-” (Excellent) to “B++” (good). The financial strength rating covenant requires that each of our regulated insurance subsidiaries maintain an A.M. Best rating not lower than “A-” (Excellent). Our lenders have waived this default through March 1, 2025, and in any event, we expect it to be cured upon the closing of the sale of JRG Re, at which time we expect JRG Re to be removed as a borrower under the 2017 Facility. The loans and letters of credit made or issued under the revolving line of credit of the 2017 Facility may be used to finance the borrowers' general corporate purposes. The 2017 Facility has been amended from time to time since its inception in 2017, including on November 8, 2019 when the Company entered into a First Amendment to Credit Agreement which, among other things, lowered the applicable interest rate and modified certain negative covenants to be less restrictive. Interest accrues and is payable in arrears at variable rates which are subject to change according to terms in the credit agreement. At December 31, 2023, unsecured loans of $21.5 million and secured letters of credit totaling $25.5 million were outstanding on the 2017 Facility. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company repaid $40.0 million of loans that were outstanding under the 2017 Facility.
The Company expects to have reduced borrowing needs following the expected disposition of JRG Re (See “Recent Strategic Actions—Sale of JRG Re” above), and therefore expects to reduce the size of its 2013 Facility and its 2017 Facility in connection with the removal of JRG Re as a borrower thereunder as referenced above.
On May 26, 2004, we issued $15.0 million of senior debt due April 29, 2034. The senior debt is not redeemable by the holder or subject to sinking fund requirements. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears at a floating rate per annum equal to the 3-month SOFR and 3.85% margin plus a spread adjustment of 0.26%. This senior debt is redeemable at par prior to its stated maturity at our option in whole or in part. The terms of the senior debt contain certain covenants, with which we are in compliance at December 31, 2023, and which, among other things, restrict our ability to assume senior indebtedness secured by our U.S. holding company's common stock or its subsidiaries' capital stock or to issue shares of its subsidiaries' capital stock.
From May 2004 through January 2008, we sold trust preferred securities through five Delaware statutory trusts sponsored and wholly-owned by the Company or its subsidiaries. Each trust used the net proceeds from the sale of its trust preferred securities to purchase our floating-rate junior subordinated debt.
The following table summarizes the nature and terms of the junior subordinated debt and trust preferred securities outstanding at December 31, 2023 (including the Company’s repurchase of a portion of these trust preferred securities):
| James River Capital Trust I | James River Capital Trust II | James River Capital Trust III | James River Capital Trust IV | Franklin Holdings II (Bermuda) Capital Trust I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||
| Issue date | May 26, 2004 | December 15, 2004 | June 15, 2006 | December 11, 2007 | January 10, 2008 | ||||
| Principal amount of trust preferred securities | $7,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 | $54,000 | $30,000 | ||||
| Principal amount of junior subordinated debt | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $55,670 | $30,928 | ||||
| Carrying amount of junior subordinated debt net of repurchases | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $44,827 | $15,928 | ||||
| Maturity date of junior subordinated debt, unless accelerated earlier | May 24, 2034 | December 15, 2034 | June 15, 2036 | December 15, 2037 | March 15, 2038 | ||||
| Trust common stock | $217 | $464 | $619 | $1,670 | $928 | ||||
| Interest rate, per annum | Three-Month SOFR plus 4.3% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.7% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.3% | Three-Month SOFR plus 3.4% | Three-Month SOFR plus 4.3% |
All of the junior subordinated debt is currently redeemable at 100.0% of the unpaid principal amount at our option.
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The junior subordinated debt contains certain covenants with which we are in compliance as of December 31, 2023.
At December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company's leverage ratio was 26.0% and 22.9%, respectively. The leverage ratio is defined in our senior credit agreements as the ratio of adjusted consolidated debt to total capital. Adjusted consolidated debt treats trust preferred securities as equity capital up to 15% of total capital. Total capital is defined as total debt plus tangible equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive income. The maximum leverage ratio permitted by the agreements is 35.0%.
Ceded Reinsurance
Our insurance segments enter into reinsurance contracts to limit our exposure to potential losses arising from large risks, to protect against the aggregation of several risks in a common loss occurrence, and to provide additional capacity for growth. Our reinsurance is contracted under excess of loss and proportional quota share reinsurance contracts. In excess of loss reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume all or a portion of the ceding company’s losses in excess of a specified amount. The premiums payable to the reinsurer are negotiated by the parties based on their assessment of the amount of risk being ceded to the reinsurer because the reinsurer does not share proportionately in the ceding company’s losses. In proportional quota share reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume a specified percentage of the ceding company’s losses arising out of a defined class of business in exchange for a corresponding percentage of premiums. The Company also utilizes facultative reinsurance to reduce the amount of exposure it retains on individual accounts according to its guidelines for accepting risk across various industry segments, locations and types of exposure. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 our net premium retention was 46.0%, 47.1% and 44.2%, respectively.
The following is a summary of our Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2023:
| Line of Business | Company Retention | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Specialty Casualty | Up to $3.2 million per occurrence.(1) | |
| Primary Casualty | Up to $1.38 million per occurrence.(2) | |
| Excess Casualty | Up to $1.98 million per occurrence. | |
| Property | ||
| Excess Property | Up to $5.0 million per risk.(3) |
(1) Excluding Excess Casualty.
(2) Total exposure to any one claim is generally $690,000.
(3) The property catastrophe reinsurance treaty has a limit of $20.0 million per event with one reinstatement.
We use catastrophe modeling software to analyze the risk of severe losses from hurricanes and earthquakes on our exposure. We utilize the model in our risk selection, pricing, and to manage our overall portfolio probable maximum loss (“PML”) accumulations. A PML is an estimate of the amount we would expect to pay in any one catastrophe event within a given annual probability of occurrence (i.e. a return period or loss exceedance probability).
In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, we write a small book of excess property insurance, but we do not write primary property insurance. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment has a specific proportional quota share treaty in effect to cover property risks. The proportional quota share treaty along with facultative reinsurance helps ensure that our net retained limit per risk will be $5.0 million or less.
Also in our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, a specialty casualty treaty providing $9.0 million in excess of $2.0 million coverage is subject to reinstatement premiums for treaty years spanning July 1, 2017 through July 1, 2022.
Based upon the modeling of our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted segments, it would take an event greater than the 1 in 1,000 year PML to exhaust our $20.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance. In the event of a catastrophe loss exhausting our $20.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance, we estimate our pre-tax cost would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, including reinstatement premiums and net retentions. In addition to this retention, we would retain any losses in excess of our reinsurance coverage limits.
The Commercial Auto LPT with Aleka reinsures substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier. See “Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on the Legacy Commercial Auto Book” below for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
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The following is a summary of our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2023:
| Line of Business | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Workers’ Compensation | Excess of loss coverage for $29.5 million in excess of $500,000. | |
| Auto Programs | Quota share coverage for 50%-90% of limits up to $1.5 million liability and $7.5 million physical damage per occurrence. | |
| General Liability & Professional Liability – Programs | Quota share coverage for 61.3%-100% of limits up to $2.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Umbrella and Excess Casualty - Programs | Quota share coverage for at least 85% of limits up to $10.0 million per occurrence, and 82% of excess of loss coverage for $5.0 million in excess of $10.0 million. | |
| Property | ||
| Property within Package - Programs | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $40.0 million per risk. | |
| Excess Property | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $58.9 million per occurrence. | |
| Aviation Programs | Quota share coverage for 80% of limits up to $25 million liability, $5.0 million hull, and $5.0 million spares per occurrence, each aircraft; and excess of loss coverage for up to $8.7M excess of $300,000 of our 20% share of the quota share each occurrence. |
Our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment purchases reinsurance for at least 50% of the exposed limits on specialty admitted property-casualty business. The segment enters into reinsurance contracts for the individual risk workers’ compensation business as well as fronting and program business. While the segment focuses on casualty business, incidental property risk is incurred in the fronting and program business. The segment is covered for $20.0 million in excess of $5.0 million per occurrence to manage its property exposure to an approximate 1 in 1,000 year PML.
In the aggregate, we believe our pre-tax group-wide PML from a 1 in 1,000 year property catastrophe event would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, inclusive of reinstatement premiums payable.
On February 23, 2022, JRG Re entered into the Casualty Re LPT with FRL to reinsure the majority of the segment risk, which closed on March 31, 2022. Under the terms of the transaction, JRG Re (a) ceded to FRL all existing and future claims for losses arising under certain casualty reinsurance agreements with underlying insurance companies with treaty inception dates ranging from 2011 to 2020 (the “Subject Business”), in each case net of third-party reinsurance and other recoveries, up to an aggregate limit of $400.0 million; (b) continues to manage and retain the benefit of other third-party reinsurance on the Subject Business; (c) paid FRL a reinsurance premium of $335.0 million, $310.0 million of which JRG Re credited to a notional funds withheld account (the “Funds Withheld Account”) and $25.0 million of which was paid in cash to FRL.
We also had a contingency clash reinsurance treaty to cover both the Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments in the event of a claim incident involving more than one of our insureds in addition to Extra Contractual and Excess Policy Limits protection. The treaty covered $10.0 million in excess of a $2.0 million retention for loss occurrences within the treaty term. This coverage was put into runoff effective July 1, 2022.
Effective January 1, 2020, we purchased an additional $10.0 million in claims made coverage for excess policy limits and extra contractual obligations exposures above the clash and contingency treaty for the period 2014 to present. This treaty had one reinstatement and expired on December 31, 2022.
The Company’s insurance segments remain liable to policyholders if its reinsurers are unable to meet their contractual obligations under applicable reinsurance agreements. We establish an allowance for credit losses for our current estimate of uncollectible reinsurance recoverables. At December 31, 2023, the allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables was $660,000. To minimize exposure to significant losses from reinsurance insolvencies, the Company evaluates the financial condition of its reinsurers and monitors concentrations of credit risk. The Company generally seeks to purchase reinsurance from reinsurers with A.M. Best financial strength ratings of “A-” (Excellent) or better. The Company’s reinsurance contracts generally require reinsurers that are not authorized as reinsurers under U.S. state insurance regulations or that experience rating downgrades from rating agencies below specified levels to fund their share of the Company’s ceded outstanding losses and loss adjustment expense reserves, typically through the use of irrevocable and unconditional letters of credit. In fronting arrangements, which the Company conducts through its Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, we are subject to credit risk with regard to insurance companies who act as reinsurers for us in such arrangements. We require collateral, in the form of a trust arrangement or letter of credit, to secure the obligations of the insurance entity for whom we are fronting.
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At December 31, 2023, we had reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses of $1,358.5 million (net of a $660,000 allowance for credit losses) and reinsurance recoverables on paid losses of $158.0 million, and all material recoverable amounts were from companies with A.M. Best ratings of “A" (Excellent) or better, or are collateralized by the reinsurer for our benefit through letters of credit or funds on deposit in trust accounts.
The following table sets forth our most significant reinsurers by amount of reinsurance recoverables and the amount of reinsurance recoverables pertaining to each such reinsurer as well as its A.M. Best rating as of December 31, 2023:
| Reinsurer | Reinsurance Recoverable as of December 31, 2023 | A.M. Best Rating December 31, 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation | $ | 366,107 | A+ | |||
| Berkley Insurance Company | 162,120 | A+ | ||||
| Aleka Insurance Company (Commercial Auto LPT) | 78,065 | Unrated(1) | ||||
| Hannover Ruck SE | 57,280 | A+ | ||||
| Endurance Assurance Corporation | 51,850 | A+ | ||||
| American European Insurance Company | 41,429 | B(2) | ||||
| Munich Reinsurance America | 37,024 | A+ | ||||
| Safety National Casualty | 32,919 | A++ | ||||
| Aspen Insurance | 29,397 | A | ||||
| Motors Insurance | 29,395 | A | ||||
| Top 10 Total | 885,586 | |||||
| Other | 472,888 | |||||
| Total | $ | 1,358,474 |
(1) This reinsurer is unrated. All material reinsurance amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
(2) This reinsurer is below A-. All material reinsurance recoverable amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book
James River previously issued a set of commercial auto insurance contracts to Rasier (the “Rasier Commercial Auto Policies”) under which James River pays losses and loss adjustment expenses on the contracts. James River has indemnity agreements with Rasier (non-insurance entities) (collectively, the “Indemnity Agreements”) and is contractually entitled to reimbursement for the portion of the losses and loss adjustment expenses paid on behalf of Rasier under the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies and other expenses incurred by James River. On September 27, 2021, James River entered into a loss portfolio transfer reinsurance agreement (the “Commercial Auto LPT”) with Aleka to reinsure substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier under the Indemnity Agreements. Under the terms of the Commercial Auto LPT, effective as of July 1, 2021, James River ceded to Aleka approximately $345.1 million of commercial auto liabilities relating to Rasier Commercial Auto Policies written in the years 2013-2019, which amount constituted the reinsurance premium. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, due to adverse paid and reported loss trends on the legacy Rasier business, the Company recognized adverse prior year development of $64.4 million and $46.7 million, respectively, on the reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT, bringing the cumulative amount ceded under the Commercial Auto LPT to $456.2 million at December 31, 2023.
Each of Rasier and Aleka are required to post collateral under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT:
•Pursuant to the Indemnity Agreements, Rasier is required to post collateral equal to 102% of James River's estimate of the amounts that are recoverable or may be recoverable under the indemnity agreements, including, among other things, case loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, IBNR loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, extra contractual obligations and excess policy limits liabilities. The collateral is provided through a collateral trust arrangement (the “Indemnity Trust”) in favor of James River by Aleka. In connection with the execution of the Commercial Auto LPT, James River returned $691.3 million to the Indemnity Trust, representing the remaining balance of the amount withdrawn in October 2019, as was permitted under the indemnification agreements with Rasier and the associated trust agreement. At December 31, 2023, the balance in the Indemnity Trust was $138.4 million, and, together with the balance of the Loss Fund Trust (as defined below) attributable to the Indemnity Agreements as described below, the total balance of collateral securing Rasier’s obligations under the Indemnity Agreements was $183.6 million.
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•Pursuant to the Commercial Auto LPT, Aleka is required to post collateral equal to 102% of James River's estimate of Aleka's obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT, calculated in accordance with standard actuarial principles and based on reserves recorded in our statutory financial statements. The collateral is provided through a collateral trust arrangement (the “LPT Trust”) established in favor of James River by Aleka. At December 31, 2023, the balance in the LPT Trust was $63.7 million, and, together with the balance of the Loss Fund Trust (as defined below) attributable to the Commercial Auto LPT as described below, the total balance of collateral securing Aleka’s obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT was $83.8 million. At December 31, 2023, the total reinsurance recoverables under the Commercial Auto LPT was $84.5 million (including $78.1 million of unpaid recoverables and $6.4 million of paid recoverables).
In connection with the execution of the Commercial Auto LPT, James River and Aleka entered into an administrative services agreement (the “Administrative Services Agreement”) with a third party claims administrator (the “Administrator”) pursuant to which the Administrator handles the claims on the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for the remaining life of those claims. The claims paid by the Administrator are reimbursable by James River, and pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement, James River established the Loss Fund Trust account for the benefit of the Administrator (the “Loss Fund Trust”) to collateralize its claims payment reimbursement obligations. James River funds the Loss Fund Trust using funds withdrawn from the Indemnity Trust, funds withdrawn from the LPT Trust, and its own funds, in each case in an amount equal to the pro rata portion of the required Loss Fund Trust balance attributable to the Indemnity Agreements, the Commercial Auto LPT and James River’s existing third party reinsurance agreements, respectively. At December 31, 2023, the balance in the Loss Fund Trust was $72.4 million, including $45.2 million representing collateral supporting Rasier’s obligations under the Indemnity Agreements and $20.0 million representing collateral supporting Aleka’s obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT. Funds posted to the Loss Fund Trust are classified as restricted cash equivalents on the Company's balance sheet.
While the Commercial Auto LPT brings economic finality to substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies, the Company has credit exposure to Rasier and Aleka under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT if the estimated losses and expenses of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies grow at a faster pace than the growth in our collateral balances. In addition, we have credit exposure if our estimates of future losses and loss adjustment expenses and other amounts recoverable under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT, which are the basis for establishing the collateral balances, are lower than actual amounts paid or payable. The amount of our credit exposure in any of these instances could be material. To mitigate these risks, we closely and frequently monitor our exposure compared to our collateral held, and we request additional collateral in accordance with the terms of the Commercial Auto LPT and Indemnity Agreements when our analysis indicates that we have uncollateralized exposure.
Ratings
The A.M. Best financial strength rating for our group’s regulated U.S. insurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a negative outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s opinion of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our U.S. operating insurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders. On December 20, 2023, A.M. Best announced that it reduced the outlook on our regulated U.S. insurance subsidiaries to negative from stable on the “A-” (Excellent) financial strength rating on such entities following our announcements in November 2023 that we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, that we entered into an agreement to sell JRG Re and our announcement that James River Group's board of directors will explore strategic business alternatives. We have since received all required regulatory approvals for the sale of JRG Re and have remediated the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our regulated U.S. subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our U.S. insurance subsidiaries allow our subsidiaries to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in their marketing plans.
Series A Preferred Shares
The Company closed on the issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022 for an aggregate purchase price of $150.0 million, or $1,000 per share, in a private placement. The Series A Preferred Shares are convertible into the Company’s common shares at the option of the holder at any time, or at the Company’s option under certain circumstances. Dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares accrue quarterly at the initial rate of 7% of the Liquidation Preference per annum, which may be paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at the Company’s election.
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Equity
The Company issued 171,326 common shares in the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 related to vesting of restricted share units (“RSUs”), increasing the total common shares outstanding from 37,470,237 at December 31, 2022 to 37,641,563 at December 31, 2023.
Share Based Compensation Expense
For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the Company recognized $9.1 million, $8.1 million and $6.7 million, respectively, of share based compensation expense. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $10.2 million of unrecognized share based compensation expense expected to be charged to earnings over a weighted-average period of 1.7 years.
Equity Incentive Plans
Options
The following table summarizes the option activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | ||||||||||||||
| Outstanding: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning of year | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 463,324 | $ | 32.25 | ||||||||||
| Granted | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Exercised | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | (126,798) | $ | 22.26 | ||||||||||
| Lapsed | (164,548) | $ | 32.07 | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | (49,036) | $ | 35.50 | — | $ | — | (48,552) | $ | 40.42 | ||||||||||
| End of year | 74,390 | $ | 42.17 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | ||||||||||
| Exercisable, end of year | 74,390 | $ | 42.17 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 |
All of the outstanding options vested over three years and have a contractual life of seven years from the original date of grant.
RSUs
The following table summarizes the RSU activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
| Unvested, beginning of year | 665,458 | $ | 25.98 | 292,135 | $ | 45.89 | 399,856 | $ | 43.59 | ||||||||||
| Granted | 388,517 | $ | 24.13 | 560,680 | $ | 20.61 | 161,971 | $ | 47.82 | ||||||||||
| Vested | (250,793) | $ | 30.99 | (147,530) | $ | 45.16 | (194,157) | $ | 42.74 | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | (51,928) | $ | 24.08 | (39,827) | $ | 25.41 | (75,535) | $ | 45.98 | ||||||||||
| Unvested, end of year | 751,254 | $ | 23.48 | 665,458 | $ | 25.98 | 292,135 | $ | 45.89 |
Outstanding RSUs granted to employees generally vest ratably over a three year vesting period. RSUs granted to non-employee directors have a one year vesting period.
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Material Cash Requirements
We believe the cash generating capability of our operations, together with our revolving credit facilities, and ability to raise capital through future equity offerings, will be adequate to meet our short and long-term cash requirements and provide the financial strength necessary to support our business growth.
The following table illustrates our material cash requirements by due date as of December 31, 2023:
| Payments Due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2024 | 2025-2026 | 2027-2028 | Thereafter | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 2,606,107 | $ | 793,592 | $ | 1,182,083 | $ | 432,104 | $ | 198,328 | ||||||||
| Long-term debt: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior debt | 222,300 | — | 185,800 | — | 36,500 | |||||||||||||
| Junior subordinated debt | 104,055 | — | — | — | 104,055 | |||||||||||||
| Operating lease obligations | 8,674 | 3,102 | 4,116 | 1,298 | 158 | |||||||||||||
| Interest on debt obligations | 175,700 | 25,955 | 44,475 | 21,719 | 83,551 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,116,836 | $ | 822,649 | $ | 1,416,474 | $ | 455,121 | $ | 422,592 |
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represent management’s estimate of the ultimate cost of settling losses. As more fully discussed in “—Critical Accounting Policies—Reserves for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses” above, the estimation of losses is based on various complex and subjective judgments. Actual losses paid may differ, perhaps significantly, from the reserve estimates reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Similarly, the timing of payment of our estimated losses is not fixed and there may be significant changes in actual payment activity. The assumptions used in estimating the likely payments due by period are based on our historical claims payment experience and industry payment patterns, but due to the inherent uncertainty in the process of estimating the timing of such payments, there is a risk that the amounts paid in any such period can be significantly different from the amounts disclosed above.
The amounts in the above table represent our gross estimates of known liabilities as of December 31, 2023 and do not include any allowance for claims for future events within the time period specified. Accordingly, it is highly likely that the total amounts paid out in the time periods shown will be greater than those indicated in the table.
Interest on debt obligations was calculated using the SOFR rate as of December 31, 2023 with the assumption that interest rates would remain flat over the remainder of the period that the debt was outstanding.
The Company owns investments in limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios including publicly traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, private equity general partnership interests, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and tranches of distressed home loans. At December 31, 2023, the Company’s Excess and Surplus Lines segment has outstanding commitments to invest another $6.3 million in these limited partnerships.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
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Underwriting Performance Ratios
The following table provides the underwriting performance ratios of the Company's continuing operations inclusive of the business subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for a loss portfolio transfer. There is no economic impact to the Company over the life of a loss portfolio transfer contract so long as any additional losses subject to the contract are within the limit of the loss portfolio transfer and the counterparty performs under the contract. Retroactive reinsurance accounting is not indicative of our current and ongoing operations. Management believes that providing loss ratios and combined ratios on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers gives the users of our financial statements useful information in evaluating our current and ongoing operations.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 68.9 | % | 65.9 | % | 106.2 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 0.8 | % | 2.8 | % | — | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 69.7 | % | 68.7 | % | 106.2 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 91.1 | % | 85.1 | % | 125.0 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 0.8 | % | 2.8 | % | — | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 91.9 | % | 87.9 | % | 125.0 | % | ||
| Consolidated: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 69.9 | % | 67.5 | % | 101.9 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 0.7 | % | 2.5 | % | — | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 70.6 | % | 70.0 | % | 101.9 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 96.5 | % | 91.1 | % | 124.8 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 0.7 | % | 2.5 | % | — | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 97.2 | % | 93.6 | % | 124.8 | % |
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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
See “Key Metrics” above for description of why management believes the following Non-GAAP measures provide useful information about our financial condition and results of operation.
Reconciliation of Underwriting Profit
We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business from continuing operations not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies.
The following table reconciles the underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments by individual segment to consolidated income (loss) before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 54,347 | $ | 83,051 | $ | (121,478) | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 4,077 | 4,234 | 9,667 | |||||||
| Total underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments | 58,424 | 87,285 | (111,811) | |||||||
| Other operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment | (33,940) | (31,260) | (27,609) | |||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss)(1) | 24,484 | 56,025 | (139,420) | |||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | (4,991) | (15,742) | — | |||||||
| Net investment income | 84,046 | 43,188 | 31,989 | |||||||
| Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments | 10,441 | (15,720) | 10,818 | |||||||
| Other income | 4,216 | 551 | 353 | |||||||
| Other expenses | (3,792) | (795) | (2,585) | |||||||
| Interest expense | (24,627) | (13,872) | (8,922) | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (363) | (363) | |||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | (2,500) | — | — | |||||||
| Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes | $ | 86,914 | $ | 53,272 | $ | (108,130) |
(1) Underwriting profit (loss) includes gross fee income of $24.2 million, $23.6 million, and $22.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.
Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Operating Income (Loss)
Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) income (loss) from discontinued operations b) the impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting for a loss portfolio transfer, c) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, d) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to a purported class action lawsuit, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, and e) severance costs associated with terminated employees. Adjusted net operating income should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP, and our definition of adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies.
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Our (loss) income available to common shareholders for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 reconciles to our adjusted net operating income (loss) as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income Before Taxes | Net Income | Loss Before Taxes | Net Loss | Income Before Taxes | Net Income | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Loss) income available to common shareholders | $ | (92,479) | $ | (118,184) | $ | 40,637 | $ | 22,223 | $ | (196,034) | $ | (172,799) | ||||||||||
| Loss from discontinued operations | 168,893 | 168,893 | 3,885 | 3,885 | 87,904 | 87,904 | ||||||||||||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | 4,991 | 3,943 | 15,742 | 12,437 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Net realized and unrealized investment (gains) losses | (10,441) | (8,248) | 15,720 | 12,418 | (10,818) | (8,547) | ||||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | 1,588 | 1,938 | 747 | 747 | 2,214 | 1,847 | ||||||||||||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | 2,500 | 1,975 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted net operating income (loss) | $ | 75,052 | $ | 50,317 | $ | 76,731 | $ | 51,710 | $ | (116,734) | $ | (91,595) |
Tangible Equity and Tangible Equity per Share
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares and the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain on loss portfolio transfers less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total common shares outstanding plus the common shares resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the current conversion price). Our definitions of tangible equity and tangible equity per share may not be comparable to that of other companies, and they should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity and shareholders’ equity per share calculated in accordance with GAAP.
The following table reconciles shareholders’ equity to tangible equity as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity | Equity per share | Equity | Equity per share | Equity | Equity per share | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | $ | 534,621 | $ | 14.20 | $ | 553,766 | $ | 14.78 | $ | 725,362 | $ | 19.41 | ||||||||||
| Series A redeemable preferred shares | 144,898 | 144,898 | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred reinsurance gain | 20,733 | 20,091 | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Less: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | 181,831 | 181,831 | 181,831 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 32,813 | 35,676 | 36,039 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tangible equity | $ | 485,608 | $ | 11.13 | $ | 501,248 | $ | 11.63 | $ | 507,492 | $ | 13.58 | ||||||||||
| Common shares outstanding | 37,641,563 | 37,470,237 | 37,373,066 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common shares from assumed conversion of Series A Preferred Shares | 5,971,184 | 5,640,158 | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common shares outstanding after assumed conversion of Series A Preferred Shares | 43,612,747 | 43,110,395 | 37,373,066 |
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FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001620459-23-000026.
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements and involves numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should read this discussion and analysis together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
James River Group Holdings, Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company. We own and operate a group of specialty insurance and reinsurance companies with the objective of generating compelling returns on tangible equity while limiting underwriting and investment volatility. We seek to accomplish this by earning profits from insurance and reinsurance underwriting and generating meaningful risk-adjusted investment returns, while managing our capital.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, approximately 71.2% of our group-wide gross written premiums and 90.3% of our group-wide net written premiums originated from the U.S. E&S lines market, which we believe puts us among the top three publicly traded insurers as ranked by highest concentrations of E&S risk. We also have a specialty admitted insurance business in the United States. We intend to concentrate substantially all of our underwriting in casualty insurance, and for the year ended December 31, 2022, we derived 96.5% of our group-wide gross written premiums from casualty insurance. We focus on writing business in specialty markets where our underwriters have particular expertise and where we have long-standing distribution relationships; maintaining a strong balance sheet with appropriate reserves; monitoring reinsurance recoverables carefully; managing our investment portfolio actively without taking undue risk; using technology to monitor trends in our business; responding rapidly to market opportunities and challenges; and actively managing our capital.
We report our business in four segments: Excess and Surplus Lines, Specialty Admitted Insurance, Casualty Reinsurance and Corporate and Other.
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment offers E&S commercial lines liability and property insurance in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through James River Insurance and its wholly-owned subsidiary, James River Casualty. James River Insurance and James River Casualty are both non-admitted carriers. Non-admitted carriers writing in the E&S market are not bound by most of the rate and form regulations imposed on standard market companies, allowing them flexibility to change the coverage terms offered and the rate charged without the time constraints and financial costs associated with the rate and form filing process. In 2022, the average account in this segment (excluding commercial auto policies) generated annual gross written premiums of approximately $24,000. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment distributes its products primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. Members of our management team have participated in this market for over three decades and have long-standing relationships with the wholesale agents who place E&S lines accounts. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced 61.5% of our gross written premiums and 78.7% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2022.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment focuses on niche classes within the standard insurance markets with a primary focus on fronting business, where we retain a minority share of the risk and seek to earn fee income by allowing other carriers and producers to use our licensure, ratings, expertise and infrastructure. We also write workers’ compensation coverage for building trades, healthcare employees, light manufacturing and other light-to-medium hazard risks in select U.S. states. Through Falls Lake National and its subsidiaries, this segment has admitted licenses and the authority to write excess and surplus lines insurance in 50 states and the District of Columbia and distributes through a variety of sources, including program administrators, MGAs, and independent retail agents. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment produced 32.8% of our gross written premiums and 10.2% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2022.
The Casualty Reinsurance segment provides proportional and working layer casualty reinsurance to third parties and, through December 31, 2021, to our U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries. Typically, we structure our reinsurance contracts (also known as treaties) as quota share arrangements, with loss mitigating features, such as commissions that adjust based on underwriting results. On a net premium volume basis, treaties with loss mitigation features including sliding scale ceding commissions represented 40.6% of the net premiums written by our Casualty Reinsurance segment during 2022. We typically do not assume large individual risks in our Casualty Reinsurance segment, nor do we write property catastrophe reinsurance. Most of the underlying policies assumed by our Casualty Reinsurance segment have a $1.0 million per occurrence limit, and we typically assume only a portion of that exposure. We do not assume stand-alone third-party property business at our Casualty Reinsurance segment, but we do have a small amount of assumed business with ancillary property exposure. Of the total gross premiums written by our Casualty Reinsurance segment during 2022, 64.8% were general liability accounts. The Casualty Reinsurance segment distributes through reinsurance brokers. The Casualty Reinsurance segment produced 5.7% of our gross written premiums and 11.1% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2022.
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The Casualty Reinsurance segment writes third party business through one entity, JRG Re. Through December 31, 2017, we had intercompany reinsurance agreements under which we ceded 70% of the net written premiums of our U.S. subsidiaries (after taking into account third-party reinsurance) to JRG Re. Effective January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2021, we generally discontinued ceding 70% of our U.S.-written premiums to JRG Re and instead ceded 70% of our U.S.-written premiums to Carolina Re, a Bermuda-domiciled, wholly-owned subsidiary of James River Group, Inc. Carolina Re made an irrevocable election to be taxed as a U.S. domestic corporation under Section 953(d) of the Code effective January 1, 2018. Carolina Re was also the cedent on a stop loss reinsurance treaty with JRG Re through December 31, 2021. Business in the Casualty Reinsurance segment is ceded under proportional, or quota-share, reinsurance treaties that provide for an arm’s length ceding commission. We exclude the effects of intercompany reinsurance agreements from the presentation of our segment results, consistent with the way we manage the Company. At December 31, 2022, 33.2% of our invested assets were held at JRG Re.
The Corporate and Other segment consists of the management and treasury activities of our holding companies, equity compensation for the group, and interest expense associated with our debt.
All of the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries are party to an intercompany pooling agreement that distributes the net underwriting results among the group companies based on their approximate pro-rata level of statutory capital and surplus to the total Company statutory capital and surplus. Additionally, each of the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries is a party to a quota share reinsurance agreement that in periods prior to January 1, 2018 ceded 70% of their premiums and losses to JRG Re, and from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2021, ceded 70% of their premiums and losses to Carolina Re. During 2022, Carolina Re commuted the outstanding obligations ceded under the intercompany quota-share reinsurance agreements back to the Company’s U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries with effect from January 1, 2022. We report all segment information in this ‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ prior to the effects of intercompany reinsurance, consistent with the manner in which we evaluate the operating performance of our reportable segments.
The A.M. Best Company (“A.M. Best”) financial strength rating for our group’s regulated insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a stable outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s evaluation of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our operating insurance and reinsurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our regulated subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries allow our subsidiaries to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in their marketing plans.
Key Metrics
We discuss certain key metrics, described below, which we believe provide useful information about our business and the operational factors underlying our financial performance.
Underwriting profit is a non-GAAP measure commonly used in the property and casualty insurance industry to evaluate underwriting performance. We believe that the disclosure of underwriting profit by individual segment and of the Company as a whole is useful to investors, analysts, rating agencies and other users of our financial information in evaluating our performance because our objective is to consistently earn underwriting profits. We evaluate the performance of our segments and allocate resources based primarily on underwriting profit. We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers (see Loss Portfolio Transfers in Strategic Actions below) and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of underwriting profit to income before taxes and for additional information.
Loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers to net earned premiums. Our definition of loss ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Accident year loss ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses for the current accident year (excluding development on prior accident year reserves) to net earned premiums.
Expense ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of other operating expenses net of gross fee income included in other income to net earned premiums.
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Combined ratio is a measure of underwriting performance calculated as the sum of the loss ratio and the expense ratio. A combined ratio of less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit, while a combined ratio greater than 100% reflects an underwriting loss. Our definition of combined ratio may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” for a reconciliation of underwriting ratios.
Adjusted net operating income is an internal performance measure used in the management of our operations. We believe it gives our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) the impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers, b) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, c) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to a purported class action lawsuit, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, and d) severance costs associated with terminated employees. Adjusted net operating income is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of income available to common shareholders to adjusted net operating income.
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares (as defined below) and the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain on loss portfolio transfers less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. We believe tangible equity is a good measure to evaluate the strength of our balance sheet and to compare returns relative to this measure. Key financial measures that we use to assess our longer term financial performance include the percentage growth in our tangible equity per share and our return on tangible equity. Tangible equity is a non-GAAP measure and should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of tangible equity may not be comparable to that of other companies. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of shareholders' equity to tangible equity.
Adjusted net operating return on tangible equity is defined as annualized adjusted net operating income expressed as a percentage of the average quarterly tangible equity balances in the respective period.
Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total common shares outstanding plus the common shares resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the current conversion price).
Net retention is defined as the ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums.
Gross investment yield is annualized investment income before any deductions for fees and expenses, expressed as a percentage of the average beginning and ending carrying values of those investments during the period.
Unless specified otherwise, all references to our defined metrics above in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations are for our business that is not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers. Management believes that the lack of economic impact of retroactive reinsurance accounting makes the presentation of our key metrics on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting helpful to the users of our financial information. See “Underwriting Performance Ratios” and “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We identified the accounting estimates below as critical to the understanding of our financial position and results of operations. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those estimates that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and which require us to exercise significant judgment. We use significant judgment concerning future results and developments in applying these critical accounting estimates and in preparing our consolidated financial statements. These judgments and estimates affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of material contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ materially from the estimates and assumptions used in preparing the consolidated financial statements. We evaluate our estimates regularly using information that we believe to be relevant. For a detailed discussion of our accounting policies, see the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K.
Reserve for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represents our estimated ultimate cost of all reported and unreported losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred and unpaid at the balance sheet date. We do not discount this reserve. We estimate the reserve using individual case-basis valuations of reported claims and statistical analysis. We believe that the use of judgment is necessary to arrive at a best estimate for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses given the long-tailed nature of the business generally written by the Company and the limited operating experience of the Casualty Reinsurance segment, the fronting and program business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment and the commercial auto business in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. In applying this judgment, we may establish reserves that differ from our internal
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actuaries’ estimate. We seek to establish reserves that will ultimately prove to be adequate. If we have indications that claims frequency or severity exceeds our initial expectations, we generally increase our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses. Conversely, when claims frequency and severity trends are more favorable than initially anticipated, we generally reduce our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses once we have sufficient data to confirm the validity of the favorable trends.
Our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments generally are notified of losses by our insureds or their brokers. Based on the information provided, we establish case reserves by estimating the ultimate losses from the claim, including administrative costs associated with the ultimate settlement of the claim. Our claims department personnel use their knowledge of the specific claim along with internal and external experts, including underwriters and legal counsel, to estimate the expected ultimate losses.
Our Casualty Reinsurance segment generally establishes case reserves based on reports received from ceding companies or their brokers. For excess of loss contracts, we are typically notified of insurance losses on specific contracts, and we record case reserves based on the estimated ultimate losses on each claim. For proportional contracts, we typically receive aggregated claims information and record case reserves based on that information.
We also use statistical analysis to estimate the cost of losses and loss adjustment expenses that have been incurred but not reported to us. Those estimates are based on our historical information, industry information and estimates of future trends that may affect the frequency of claims and changes in the average cost of claims (severity) that may arise in the future.
The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at December 31, 2022 was $2,769.0 million. Of this amount, 61.5% relates to IBNR. The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Gross Reserves at December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 570,933 | $ | 1,014,927 | $ | 1,585,860 | 64.0 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 349,008 | 406,094 | 755,102 | 53.8 | % | ||||||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 147,401 | 280,632 | 428,033 | 65.6 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 1,067,342 | $ | 1,701,653 | $ | 2,768,995 | 61.5 | % |
The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses prior to the $612,000 allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables at December 31, 2022 was $1,248.3 million. Of this amount, 66.6% relates to IBNR. The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Net Reserves at December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 310,192 | $ | 657,392 | $ | 967,584 | 67.9 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 46,852 | 66,329 | 113,181 | 58.6 | % | ||||||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 60,213 | 107,292 | 167,505 | 64.1 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 417,257 | $ | 831,013 | $ | 1,248,270 | 66.6 | % |
Our Reserve Committee consists of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Chief Actuary. Additionally, the presidents, chief financial officers and segment actuaries of each of our three insurance segments participate in the Reserve Committee meetings for their respective segments. The Reserve Committee meets quarterly to review the actuarial recommendations made by each segment actuary and use their best judgment to determine the best estimate to be recorded for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses on our balance sheet.
We engage an independent internationally recognized actuarial consulting firm to review our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in the third and fourth quarters of each year. This independent actuarial consulting firm prepares its own estimate of our reserve for loss and loss adjustment expenses, and we compare their estimate to the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses reviewed and approved by the Reserve Committee in order to corroborate the adequacy of our reserves.
The Reserve Committee believes that using judgment to supplement the actuarial recommendations is necessary to arrive at a best estimate given the nature of the business generally written by the Company and the limited operating experience of the
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Casualty Reinsurance segment, the fronting and program business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment and the commercial auto business in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment.
The process of estimating the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses requires a high degree of judgment and is subject to a number of variables. In establishing the quarterly actuarial recommendation for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries estimate an initial expected ultimate loss ratio for each of our product lines by accident year (or for our Casualty Reinsurance segment, on a contract by contract basis). Input from our underwriting and claims departments, including premium pricing assumptions and historical experience, are considered by our internal actuaries in estimating the initial expected loss ratios. Our actuaries generally utilize five actuarial methods in their estimation process for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses. These five methods utilize, to varying degrees, the initial expected loss ratio, detailed statistical analysis of past claims reporting and payment patterns, claims frequency and severity, paid loss experience, industry loss experience, and changes in market conditions, policy forms, exclusions, and exposures. The five actuarial methods that we use in our reserve estimation process are:
Expected Loss Method
The Expected Loss method multiplies earned premiums by an initial expected loss ratio. In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment and for our Workers’ Compensation book in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, the initial expected loss ratio is estimated based on adjusting book of business prior year experience to current cost and rate level. In our Programs business within the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment and in our Casualty Reinsurance segment, the expected loss ratio is based on the actuarial pricing of the individual account. Alternatively, when company experience lacks historical depth, initial expected loss ratios can be determined using loss ratios implied by industry loss costs for the class or reported industry loss ratios.
Incurred Loss Development Method
The Incurred Loss Development method uses historical loss reporting patterns by accident year or treaty year to estimate future loss reporting patterns. In this method, our actuaries review historical loss reporting patterns to develop incurred loss development factors that are applied to current reported losses to calculate ultimate losses.
Paid Loss Development Method
The Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Incurred Loss Development method, but it uses historical loss payment patterns to estimate future loss payment patterns. In this method, our actuaries apply historical loss payment patterns to develop paid loss development factors that are applied to current paid losses to calculate expected ultimate losses.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been reported and the portion that has yet to be reported. The portion that has yet to be reported is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unreported at the valuation date. This technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and reported losses lack historical depth.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method, except this method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been paid and the portion that has yet to be paid. The portion that has yet to be paid is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unpaid at the valuation date. This approach assumes that the paid experience has no effect on the subsequent paid loss emergence of the business. Again, this technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and paid losses lack historical depth.
Different reserving methods are appropriate in different situations, and our actuaries use their judgment and experience to determine the weighting of the methods detailed above to use for each accident year and each line of business and, for our Casualty Reinsurance segment, on a contract by contract basis. For example, the current accident year has very little incurred and paid loss development data on which to base reserve projections. As a result, we rely heavily on the Expected Loss Method in estimating reserves for the current accident year. We generally set our initial expected loss ratio for the current accident year consistent with our pricing assumptions. We believe that this is a reasonable and appropriate reserving assumption for the current accident year since our pricing assumptions are actuarially driven and since we expect to make an acceptable return on the new business that we write. If actual loss emergence is better than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience favorable development, and if it is worse than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience adverse development. Conversely, sufficient incurred and paid loss development is available for our oldest accident years, so more weight is given to the Incurred Loss Development method and the Paid Loss Development method than the Expected Loss
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method. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development and Paid Loss Development methods blend features of the Expected Loss method and the Incurred and Paid Loss Development methods. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods are typically used for the more recent prior accident years.
In applying these methods to develop an estimate of the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries use judgment to determine three key parameters for each accident year and line of business: the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the five actuarial methods to be used for each accident year and line of business. Judgment is also required to make actuarial adjustments, if needed, for changes in claims processing and case reserving that could cause current reported loss and paid loss development patterns to deviate from historical patterns. For the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, the segment actuary performs a study on each of these parameters at least annually and makes recommendations for the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the five actuarial methods by accident year and line of business. Members of the Reserve Committee review and approve the parameter review actuarial recommendations, and absent any developments requiring an earlier review, these approved parameters are used in the reserve estimation process for the next four quarters at which time a new parameter study is performed. For the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, expected loss ratios, loss development factors, and loss cost trends are reviewed and updated at least annually. For the Casualty Reinsurance segment, periodic assessments are made on a contract by contract basis. Method weights are generally less rigid for the Casualty Reinsurance segment given the heterogeneous nature of the various contracts, and the potential for significant changes in mix of business within individual treaties.
The table below quantifies the impact of extreme reserve deviations from our expected value at December 31, 2022. The total carried net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses is displayed alongside 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles of likely ultimate net reserve outcomes. The estimates of these percentiles are a result of a reserve variability analysis using a simulation approach.
| Sensitivity | 5th Pct. | Carried | 50th Pct. | 95th Pct. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 1,156,992 | $ | 1,248,270 | $ | 1,253,315 | $ | 1,378,327 | |||||||
| Changes in reserves | (91,278) | — | 5,045 | 130,057 |
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the highest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to increase losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $130.1 million, reduce after-tax net income by $113.7 million, reduce shareholders’ equity by $113.7 million and reduce shareholders’ tangible equity by $113.7 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2022.
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the lowest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to reduce losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $91.3 million, increase after-tax net income by $81.2 million, increase shareholders’ equity by $81.2 million, and increase tangible equity by $81.2 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2022. Such changes in the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses would not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, but would affect cash flow and investment income in future periods as the incremental or reduced amount of losses are paid and investment assets adjusted to reflect the level of paid claims.
Loss reserve estimates are subject to a high degree of variability due to the inherent uncertainty of ultimate claims settlement values. In recording our best estimate of our reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our Reserve Committee may select an amount that is different from the actuarial recommendation submitted after considering other qualitative factors and our knowledge and expectations of trends and other business developments that impact our best estimate. There is inherent variation associated with our reserve estimates and the possibility that there are unforeseen or incorrectly valued liabilities in the actuarial recommendations exists. We believe that the insurance that we write is subject to above-average variation in reserve estimates. The Excess and Surplus Lines market is subject to high policyholder turnover and changes in underlying mix of exposures. This turnover and change in underlying mix of exposures can cause actuarial estimates based on prior experience to be less reliable than estimates for more stable, admitted books of business. As a casualty insurer, losses on our policies often take a number of years to develop, making it difficult to estimate the ultimate losses associated with this business. Judicial and regulatory bodies have frequently interpreted insurance contracts in a manner that expands coverage beyond that which was contemplated at the time that the policy was issued. In addition, many of our policies are issued on an occurrence basis, and insureds suffering a loss frequently seek coverage beyond the policies’ original intent.
Our reserves are driven by a number of important assumptions, including litigation and regulatory trends, legislative activity, climate change, social and economic patterns and claims inflation assumptions. Our reserve estimates reflect current inflation in legal claims’ settlements and assume we will not be subject to losses from significant new legal liability theories. Our reserve estimates also assume that we will not experience significant losses from mass torts and that we will not incur losses from future mass torts not known to us today. While it is not possible to predict the impact of changes in the litigation environment, if new mass torts or expanded legal theories of liability emerge, our cost of claims may differ substantially from
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our reserves. Our reserve estimates assume that there will not be significant changes in the regulatory and legislative environment. The impact of potential changes in the regulatory or legislative environment is difficult to quantify in the absence of specific, significant new regulation or legislation. In the event of significant new regulation or legislation, we will attempt to quantify its impact on our business but no assurance can be given that our attempt to quantify such inputs will be accurate or successful.
IBNR reserve estimates are inherently less precise than case reserve estimates. A 5% change in net IBNR reserves at December 31, 2022 would equate to a $41.6 million change in the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at such date, a $34.0 million change in after-tax net income, a 6.1% change in shareholders’ equity and a 6.8% change in tangible equity, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Although we believe that our reserve estimates are reasonable, it is possible that our actual loss experience may not conform to our assumptions. Specifically, our actual ultimate loss ratio could differ from our initial expected loss ratio or our actual reporting and payment patterns could differ from our expected reporting and payment patterns, which are based on our own data and industry data. Accordingly, the ultimate settlement of losses and the related loss adjustment expenses may vary significantly from the estimates included in our financial statements. We regularly review our estimates and adjust them as necessary as experience develops or as new information becomes known to us. Such adjustments are included in current operations.
We experienced $9.1 million of adverse development in 2022 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2021 (excluding adverse prior year development subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting - see Loss Portfolio Transfers in Strategic Actions below). This adverse reserve development included $210,000 of favorable development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, $4.2 million of favorable development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, and $13.4 million of adverse development in the Casualty Reinsurance segment.
We experienced $325.8 million of adverse development in 2021 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2020. This adverse reserve development included $190.7 million of adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment including $200.1 million of adverse development in the commercial auto line of business that was primarily related to the 2019 and prior accident years with Rasier LLC and its affiliates (collectively, “Rasier”). The adverse development for commercial auto was partially offset by $9.4 million of favorable development in other Excess and Surplus Lines underwriting divisions. Favorable reserve development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment was $2.5 million as losses on our workers’ compensation business written prior to 2020 continued to develop more favorably than we had anticipated. The Casualty Reinsurance segment experienced $137.6 million of adverse development on prior accident years. Actual reported and paid losses in the Casualty Reinsurance segment significantly exceeded expectations in 2021, particularly in the fourth quarter of 2021, causing us to refine some of the assumptions used to determine our best estimate of ultimate losses for this segment. Specifically, we responded to this highly elevated loss emergence by making significant adjustments to our assumed tail factors, other development factors, initial expected loss ratios, and weights given to various actuarial methods. In particular, we gave significantly more weight to incurred loss development methods and Bornhuetter – Ferguson incurred loss development methods than had been done previously. These actuarial refinements resulted in material deterioration in ultimate loss selections for underwriting years 2014 through 2018.
Investment Valuation and Impairment
We carry fixed maturity securities classified as “available-for-sale” at fair value, and unrealized gains and losses on such securities, net of any deferred taxes, are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Equity securities (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Certain restricted cash equivalents invested in funds with floating net asset values are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. At December 31, 2022, we do not have any securities classified as “held-to-maturity” or “trading.”
The Company adopted ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments on January 1, 2020. This update changed the impairment model for available-for-sale fixed maturities and requires the Company to determine whether unrealized losses on available-for-sale fixed maturities are due to credit-related factors. An allowance for credit losses is established for any credit-related impairments, limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost. Changes in the allowance for credit losses are recognized in earnings and included in net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Unrealized losses that are not credit-related continue to be recognized in other comprehensive income (loss).
The Company considers the extent to which fair value is below amortized cost in determining whether a credit-related loss exists. The Company also considers the credit quality rating of the security, with a special emphasis on securities downgraded below investment grade. A comparison is made between the present value of expected future cash flows for a security and its amortized cost. If the present value of future expected cash flows is less than amortized cost, a credit loss is presumed to exist and an allowance for credit losses is established. Management may conclude that a qualitative analysis is sufficient to support
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its conclusion that the present value of the expected cash flows equals or exceeds a security’s amortized cost. As a result of this review, management concluded that there were no credit-related impairments of fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2022, 2021, or 2020. Management does not intend to sell the securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
In connection with the adoption of ASU 2016-13, the Company elected the fair value option in accounting for bank loan participations effective January 1, 2020. The targeted transition relief offered by ASU 2019-05, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Targeted Transition Relief was applied to elect the fair value option to account for bank loan participations already held at the January 1, 2020 date of adoption. Under the fair value option, bank loan participations are measured at fair value, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our income statement as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. At adoption on January 1, 2020, the Company applied the amendments on a modified retrospective basis, reducing the carrying value of its bank loan portfolio to fair value through an $8.4 million adjustment with a $7.8 million (net of tax) cumulative effect adjustment to reduce retained earnings.
Losses due to credit-related impairments on bank loan participations are determined based upon consultations and advice from the Company's specialized investment manager and consideration of any adverse situations that could affect the borrower's ability to repay, the estimated value of underlying collateral, and other relevant factors. For the year ended December 31, 2022, management concluded that $1.5 million of the unrealized losses were due to credit-related impairments. Management concluded that none of the unrealized losses were due to credit-related impairments for the year ended December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2020, management concluded that $8.3 million of the unrealized losses were due to credit-related impairments.
Fair values are measured in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements. The guidance establishes a framework for measuring fair value and a three-level hierarchy based upon the quality of inputs used to measure fair value. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are: (1) Level 1: quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets, (2) Level 2: inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the instrument and (3) Level 3: inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable for the asset or liability.
The fair values of fixed maturity securities and equity securities have been determined using fair value prices provided by our investment accounting services provider or investment managers, who utilize internationally recognized independent pricing services. The prices provided by the independent pricing services are generally based on observable market data in active markets (e.g. broker quotes and prices observed for comparable securities). Values for U.S. Treasury and publicly-traded equity securities are generally based on Level 1 inputs which use the market approach valuation technique. The values for all other fixed maturity securities (including state and municipal securities and obligations of U.S. government corporations and agencies) generally incorporate significant Level 2 inputs, and in some cases, Level 3 inputs, using the market approach and income approach valuation techniques.
The fair values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents (excluding those invested in funds with floating net asset values), and short-term investments approximate their carrying values due to their short-term maturity.
In the determination of the fair value for bank loan participations and certain high yield bonds, the Company endeavors to obtain data from multiple external pricing sources. External pricing sources may include brokers, dealers, and price data vendors that provide a composite price based on prices from multiple dealers. Such external pricing sources typically provide valuations for normal institutional size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities, and various relationships between securities, as generally recognized by institutional dealers. For investments in which the Company determines that only one external pricing source is appropriate or if only one external price is available, the investment is generally recorded based on such price.
Investments for which external sources are not available or are determined by an investment manager not to be representative of fair value are recorded at fair value as determined by the investment manager. In determining the fair value of such investments, the investment manager considers one or more of the following factors: type of security held, convertibility or exchangeability of the security, redeemability of the security (including the timing of redemptions), application of industry accepted valuation models, recent trading activity, liquidity, estimates of liquidation value, purchase cost and prices received for securities with similar terms of the same issuer or similar issuers. There were no bank loan participations for which external sources were unavailable to determine fair value at December 31, 2022 or 2021.
We review fair value prices provided by our outside investment accounting service provider or our investment managers for reasonableness by comparing the fair values provided to those provided by our investment custodian. We conduct corroborative price testing comparing prices utilized for each security to those from an alternate reputable pricing service. We also review and monitor changes in fair values and unrealized gains and losses. We obtain an understanding of the methods, models, and inputs used by our investment managers and independent pricing services, and controls are in place to validate that
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prices provided represent fair values. Our control process includes, but is not limited to, initial and ongoing evaluation of the methodologies used, a review of specific securities and an assessment for proper classification within the fair value hierarchy, and obtaining and reviewing internal control reports for our investment accounting services provider and investment managers that obtain fair values from independent pricing services.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40), Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity. ASU 2020-06 simplifies the accounting for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock and became effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2021. The Company adopted the new standard concurrent with the issuance of our 7% Series A Perpetual Cumulative Convertible Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022. Under ASU 2020-06, embedded conversion features are no longer separated from the host contract for convertible instruments with conversion features that are not required to be accounted for as derivatives under Topic 815, or that do not result in substantial premiums accounted for as paid-in capital. The new guidance also requires entities to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments in the diluted earnings per share calculation and generally requires them to include the effect of potential share settlement for instruments that may be settled in cash or shares. Adoption of the new standard did not materially impact our financial position, results of operations, or earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Company’s financial condition and results of operations were not materially impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during 2022. However, we are continuing to monitor a number of risks that COVID-19 poses to the Company. For a description of these risks, see “Part I-Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Impact of Macroeconomic Events Including Higher Levels of Inflation and Rising Interest Rates
Current macroeconomic events including the war in Ukraine and sustained supply chain constraints stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic led to higher levels of inflation in 2022. The Federal Reserve, attempting to gain control of inflation, implemented a series of federal funds rate increases in 2022 and early 2023. Interest rates, in response, rose significantly in 2022 and fears of an impending economic slowdown have increased the likelihood of an economic recession, all of which negatively impacted financial markets. The immediate impacts to the Company were on our investment portfolio and investing results. Our investment portfolio is primarily comprised of fixed maturity investments (81.3% of total invested assets at December 31, 2022). The fair values of fixed maturities generally move inversely with interest rates, and unrealized losses associated with the declines in fair values are recognized as a component of other comprehensive income (loss), contributing to declines in shareholders' equity and tangible equity. For the year ended December 31, 2022, other comprehensive loss, representing the after-tax impact of the unrealized losses on fixed maturity investments, was $193.0 million. We are monitoring our portfolio for signs of credit-related impairments, and to date, we have concluded that the declines are primarily interest rate and market-driven with no allowance for credit losses considered necessary. As turnover has occurred in our portfolio and we invest cash generated from operations, we are benefiting from the higher yields now available on fixed maturities which is reflected in our investment income. Our investment portfolio also contains investments in equity securities and bank loan participations (comprising 5.4% and 7.1% of total invested assets at December 31, 2022, respectively) that are carried on our Balance Sheets at fair value. The fair values of these investments, the changes in which are recognized as unrealized gains and losses in our Statements of Income (Loss) and Comprehensive (Loss) Income, have been negatively impacted by the ongoing macroeconomic events and associated declines in financial markets. Net realized and unrealized (losses) gains on investments for the year ended December 31, 2022 include unrealized losses of $11.2 million and $15.9 million, respectively, for the changes in fair values of equity securities and bank loan participations. The rising interest rates have also increased interest expense on our outstanding variable rate senior and trust preferred debt. The applicable rates on our debt reset quarterly or semi-annually and are structured as LIBOR plus a margin or spread.
Strategic Actions
Issuance of Series A Preferred Shares
The Company closed on the issuance and sale of 150,000 7% Series A Perpetual Cumulative Convertible Preferred Shares, par value $0.00125 per share (the “Series A Preferred Shares”) on March 1, 2022 for an aggregate purchase price of $150.0 million, or $1,000 per share, in a private placement. The Series A Preferred Shares are convertible into the Company’s common shares at the option of the holder at any time, or at the Company’s option under certain circumstances. Dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares accrue quarterly at the initial rate of 7% of the $1,000 liquidation preference per share (the “Liquidation Preference”) per annum, which may be paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at the Company’s election. During 2022, cash dividends of $8.8 million were declared, of which $2.6 million was payable at December 31, 2022. Please see “Note 11. Series A Preferred Shares” in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.
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Loss Portfolio Transfers
Loss portfolio transfers are a form of reinsurance utilized by the Company to transfer losses and loss adjustment expenses and associated risk of adverse development on covered subject business, as defined in the respective agreements, to an assuming reinsurer in exchange for a reinsurance premium. Loss portfolio transfers can bring economic finality on the subject risks when they no longer meet the Company's appetite or are no longer aligned with our risk management guidelines.
Commercial Auto Loss Portfolio Transfer
On September 27, 2021, James River Insurance Company and James River Casualty Company (together, “James River”) entered into a loss portfolio transfer transaction (the “Commercial Auto LPT”) with Aleka Insurance, Inc. (“Aleka”), a captive insurance company affiliate of Rasier LLC, to reinsure substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier LLC and its affiliates (collectively, “Rasier”) for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier. Under the terms of the transaction, effective as of July 1, 2021, James River ceded to Aleka approximately $345.1 million of commercial auto liabilities relating to Rasier policies written in the years 2013-2019, which amount constituted the reinsurance premium. The reinsurance coverage is structured to be fully collateralized, is not subject to an aggregate limit, and is subject to certain exclusions. A pre-tax loss of $29.6 million was recognized as adverse loss and loss adjustment reserve development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment for the third quarter of 2021 associated with the loss portfolio transfer.
Casualty Re Loss Portfolio Transfer
On February 23, 2022, JRG Re entered into a loss portfolio transfer retrocession agreement (the “Casualty Re LPT”) with Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“FRL”) under which FRL reinsures the majority of the reserves in the Company’s Casualty Reinsurance segment. Under the terms of the transaction, which closed on March 31, 2022 (the “Retrocession Closing Date”), JRG Re (a) ceded to FRL all existing and future claims for losses arising under certain casualty reinsurance agreements with underlying insurance companies with treaty inception dates ranging from 2011 to 2020 (the “Subject Business”), in each case net of third-party reinsurance and other recoveries, up to an aggregate limit of $400.0 million; (b) continues to manage and retain the benefit of other third-party reinsurance on the Subject Business; (c) paid FRL a reinsurance premium of $335.0 million, $310.0 million of which JRG Re credited to a notional funds withheld account (the “Funds Withheld Account”) and $25.0 million of which was paid in cash to FRL; and (d) pays FRL a 2% per annum crediting rate on the Funds Withheld Account balance on a quarterly basis. The total premium, initial Funds Withheld Account credit, and aggregate limit was adjusted for claims paid from October 1, 2021 to the Retrocession Closing Date. The Casualty Reinsurance segment incurred $6.8 million of net adverse reserve development in the three months ended March 31, 2022 associated with the Casualty Re LPT. The Funds Withheld Account balance was $213.6 million at December 31, 2022 and Funds Withheld Account crediting fees of $3.7 million are included in interest expense in our Statements of Income (Loss) and Comprehensive (Loss) Income for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Retroactive Reinsurance Accounting
The Company periodically reevaluates the remaining reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT and the Casualty Re LPT (together, the “Loss Portfolio Transfers”). For the year ended December 31, 2022, due to adverse paid loss trends on the legacy Rasier business, the Company recognized adverse prior year development of $46.7 million on the reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT, resulting in a corresponding additional amount ceded under the Commercial Auto LPT. As a result, the cumulative amounts ceded under the Commercial Auto LPT exceed the consideration paid, moving the Commercial Auto LPT into a gain position and requiring retroactive reinsurance accounting. Similarly, due to adverse paid and reported loss trends on the business subject to the Casualty Re LPT, the Company ceded an additional $6.1 million of losses recoverable under the Casualty Re LPT for the year ended December 31, 2022, moving the Casualty Re LPT into a deferred gain position requiring retroactive reinsurance accounting. At December 31, 2022, the Company has $58.9 million of aggregate limit remaining under the Casualty Re LPT.
Under retroactive reinsurance accounting, gains are deferred and recognized in earnings in proportion to actual paid recoveries under the Loss Portfolio Transfers using the recovery method. Over the life of the contracts, we would expect no economic impact to the Company as long as any additional losses are within the limit of the loss portfolio transfer and the counterparty performs under the contract. In periods where the Company recognizes a change in the estimate of the reserves subject to the Loss Portfolio Transfers that increases or decreases the amounts ceded under the Loss Portfolio Transfers, the proportion of actual paid recoveries to total ceded losses is affected and the change in deferred gain is recognized in earnings as if the revised estimate of ceded losses was available at the effective date of the loss portfolio transfer. The effect of the deferred retroactive reinsurance benefit is recorded in losses and loss adjustment expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.
Retroactive reinsurance benefits totaling $32.7 million ($31.0 million for the Commercial Auto LPT and $1.7 million for the Casualty Re LPT) were recorded in losses and loss adjustment expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022 using the
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recovery method. As of December 31, 2022, the cumulative amounts ceded under the Loss Portfolio Transfers was $732.9 million ($391.8 million under the Commercial Auto LPT and $341.1 million under the Casualty Re LPT). At December 31, 2021, $345.1 million was ceded under the Commercial Auto LPT. The total unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain of $20.1 million at December 31, 2022 under the Loss Portfolio Transfers ($15.7 million related to the Commercial Auto LPT and $4.4 million related to the Casualty Re LPT) is separately presented on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Suspension of Underwriting Activities in Casualty Reinsurance Segment
In keeping with our previously announced plans to significantly shrink top-line writings of the Casualty Reinsurance segment, we have decided to suspend writing business in the Casualty Reinsurance segment, as we continue our focus on growing our higher returning U.S. insurance and fronting businesses. We expect the Casualty Reinsurance segment to continue earning premium due to the nature of the earnings patterns in the reinsurance business, which can extend over multiple years. Aside from the suspension of underwriting activities, we plan for the Casualty Reinsurance segment to maintain its normal day-to-day operations, with a staff to continue servicing the business on its books and to facilitate compliance with its regulatory requirements.
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Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021
The following table summarizes our results for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 1,496,580 | $ | 1,507,299 | (0.7) | % | ||||
| Net retention | 50.0 | % | 49.4 | % | ||||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 748,479 | $ | 744,380 | 0.6 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 766,161 | $ | 695,594 | 10.1 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses excluding retroactive reinsurance | (524,723) | (792,352) | (33.8) | % | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | (191,796) | (160,188) | 19.7 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss) (1), (2) | 49,642 | (256,946) | — | |||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | (20,091) | — | — | |||||||
| Net investment income | 71,111 | 56,865 | 25.1 | % | ||||||
| Net realized and unrealized investment (losses) gains | (28,318) | 15,564 | — | |||||||
| Other income and expense | (5,016) | (2,232) | 124.7 | % | ||||||
| Interest expense | (17,578) | (8,922) | 97.0 | % | ||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (363) | — | |||||||
| Income (loss) before taxes | 49,387 | (196,034) | — | |||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 18,414 | (23,235) | — | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 30,973 | $ | (172,799) | — | |||||
| Dividends on Series A Preferred Shares | (8,750) | — | — | |||||||
| Net income (loss) available to common shareholders | $ | 22,223 | $ | (172,799) | — | |||||
| Adjusted net operating income (loss) (1) | $ | 69,542 | $ | (184,245) | — | |||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 68.5 | % | 113.9 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 25.0 | % | 23.0 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 93.5 | % | 136.9 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 67.3 | % | 67.1 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio ex-cat (3) | 66.7 | % | 66.4 | % |
(1) Underwriting profit (loss) and adjusted net operating income (loss) are non-GAAP measures. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Underwriting results include gross fee income of $23.6 million and $22.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
(3) Accident year loss ratio excluding $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ian in the year ended December 31, 2022 and $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ida in the year ended December 31, 2021.
The Company produced an underwriting profit of $49.6 million and a combined ratio of 93.5% for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to an underwriting loss of $256.9 million and a combined ratio of 136.9% for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The 10.1% growth in consolidated net earned premiums was driven by attractive market conditions, particularly for our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, which reported net earned premium growth of $69.6 million or 14.3% compared to the prior year. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment is our largest segment, comprising 61.5% of consolidated gross written premiums and 72.5% of consolidated net earned premiums in 2022.
Our loss ratio improved from 113.9% in the prior year to 68.5% in the current year. The improvement was primarily driven by net reserve development on prior accident years which was $9.1 million or 1.2 percentage points adverse for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $325.8 million or 46.8 percentage points adverse for the year ended December 31, 2021. The
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$9.1 million of net adverse reserve development for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes $210,000 of net favorable development from the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, $4.2 million of net favorable development from the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, and $13.4 million of net adverse development from the Casualty Reinsurance segment, of which $6.8 million related to the Company's entrance into the Casualty Re LPT in March of 2022. The $325.8 million of net adverse reserve development for the year ended December 31, 2021 included $190.7 million of net adverse reserve development from the Excess and Surplus Lines segment almost entirely related to a previous commercial auto account, $2.5 million of net favorable development from the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, and $137.6 million of net adverse reserve development from the Casualty Reinsurance segment. Refer to the discussion of segment underwriting results below for additional details on this adverse reserve development.
Current accident year losses in both years include $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses (Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Ida in 2021) in our small Excess Property book within the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment has a surplus share reinsurance treaty in effect that was specifically designed to cover property risks. The surplus share treaty along with facultative reinsurance helps ensure that our net retained limit per risk will be $5.0 million or less.
Our expense ratio increased relative to the prior year driven by higher expense ratios for our Specialty Admitted Insurance and Casualty Reinsurance segments and higher operating expenses for our Corporate and Other segment. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment benefited from 4.3% growth in fee income, but the segment expense ratio was higher due to slightly lower net earned premiums and the net impact of commission, tax and assessment accrual adjustments in both years. The Casualty Reinsurance segment typically structures its reinsurance treaties with loss mitigation features including profit and sliding scale ceding commissions. Net adverse reserve development on treaties with such features reduced our commissions in 2021 by $11.8 million compared to $249,000 in 2022. Operating expenses for our Corporate and Other segment increased driven by higher compensation expenses due to the hiring of additional employees.
Underwriting results in the prior year were also negatively impacted by $8.1 million of reinstatement premium, including $6.4 million triggered by one claim on a 2019 excess of loss treaty in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. The reinstatement premium reduced net written and net earned premium and increased the underwriting loss.
Our net income increased over the prior year due to the improved underwriting results and higher net investment income, with partially offsetting items including the $20.1 million of retroactive reinsurance losses and loss adjustment expenses under the loss portfolio transfers, the unfavorable swing in net realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments, and higher interest expense. As discussed above, the Company recognized adverse prior year development of $52.8 million on the reserves subject to the LPT Agreements in the year ended December 31, 2022, resulting in corresponding additional amounts ceded under the LPT Agreements, and requiring retroactive reinsurance accounting. Retroactive reinsurance benefits of $32.7 million were recorded in losses and loss adjustment expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022, resulting in a net impact of $20.1 million within our net losses and loss adjustment expenses. Higher interest rates in the current year boosted yields on fixed income investments and increased investment income, but also resulted in higher interest expense on our variable rate senior and trust preferred debt. Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 also includes $3.7 million of crediting fees on the Funds Withheld Account balance under the Casualty Re LPT. The unfavorable swing in net realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments (see Investing Results below) also had a negative impact on the comparative net results for the two years as market values of equity securities and bank loan participations have declined in the current year due to the effect of macroeconomic events on financial markets. Net income available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2022 reflects the $8.8 million of current year dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares.
Adjusted net operating income (loss) improved from a $184.2 million loss in the year ended December 31, 2021 to income of $69.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2022. Tangible equity decreased by 1.2% in 2022 as net income of $31.0 million and proceeds from the Series A Preferred Share issuance of $144.9 million were offset by $193.0 million of unrealized losses on our fixed maturity investments in other comprehensive loss (see Investing Results below). Tangible equity per share decreased by 14.4% for the year reflecting the small decrease in tangible equity over a larger share count including an assumed conversion of the Series A Preferred Shares. Our adjusted net operating return on tangible equity of 13.5% for the year ended December 31, 2022 compares favorably to the prior year loss and reflects the turnaround in underwriting results and higher investment income.
Premiums
Insurance premiums are earned ratably over the terms of our insurance policies, generally twelve months. Reinsurance premiums assumed are earned over the terms of the underlying policies or reinsurance contracts. Contracts and policies written on a “losses occurring” basis cover claims that may occur during the term of the contract or insurance policy, which is typically twelve months. Reinsurance contracts which are written on a “risks attaching” basis cover claims which attach to the underlying insurance policies written during the terms of such contracts. Premiums earned on such contracts usually extend beyond the
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original term of the reinsurance contract, typically resulting in recognition of premiums earned over a 24-month period in proportion to the level of underlying exposure.
The following table summarizes the change in premium volume by component and business segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 921,164 | $ | 833,657 | 10.5 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 490,208 | 491,561 | (0.3) | % | ||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 85,208 | 182,081 | (53.2) | % | ||||||
| $ | 1,496,580 | $ | 1,507,299 | (0.7) | % | |||||
| Net written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 589,056 | $ | 501,250 | 17.5 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 76,390 | 83,935 | (9.0) | % | ||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 83,033 | 159,195 | (47.8) | % | ||||||
| $ | 748,479 | $ | 744,380 | 0.6 | % | |||||
| Net earned premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 555,597 | $ | 486,000 | 14.3 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 74,137 | 75,371 | (1.6) | % | ||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 136,427 | 134,223 | 1.6 | % | ||||||
| $ | 766,161 | $ | 695,594 | 10.1 | % |
Gross written premiums for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment (which represents 61.5% of our consolidated gross written premiums in 2022) increased 10.5% from the prior year. Total policy submissions for Core E&S lines (excluding commercial auto) declined 4.9% in 2022, but renewal submissions increased 12.2% and our ratio of bound policies to quoted policies improved generating 1.5% more bound policies in the year ended December 31, 2022. Renewal rates for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment were up 9.9% compared to 2021 and the total number of policies in force grew by 4.2% in 2022. The change in gross written premiums was notable in several divisions as shown below:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % Change | ||||||||
| Excess Casualty | $ | 310,383 | $ | 285,082 | 8.9 | % | ||||
| General Casualty | 173,574 | 140,608 | 23.4 | % | ||||||
| Manufacturers & Contractors | 156,645 | 139,720 | 12.1 | % | ||||||
| Excess Property | 52,104 | 47,241 | 10.3 | % | ||||||
| Small Business | 36,930 | 32,593 | 13.3 | % | ||||||
| Sports & Entertainment | 13,934 | 9,442 | 47.6 | % | ||||||
| All other Core E&S divisions | 139,620 | 144,341 | (3.3) | % | ||||||
| Total Core E&S divisions | 883,190 | 799,027 | 10.5 | % | ||||||
| Commercial Auto | $ | 37,974 | $ | 34,630 | 9.7 | % | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines gross written premium | $ | 921,164 | $ | 833,657 | 10.5 | % |
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The components of gross written premiums for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment (which represents 32.8% of our 2022 consolidated gross written premiums) are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Fronting and program premium | $ | 437,221 | $ | 434,165 | 0.7 | % | ||||
| Individual risk workers’ compensation premium | 52,987 | 57,396 | (7.7) | % | ||||||
| Specialty Admitted gross written premium | $ | 490,208 | $ | 491,561 | (0.3) | % |
Our fronting written premium increased slightly from the prior year driven by new fronting relationships in the current year and the continued expansion of existing fronting relationships (together representing an increase of $50.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022), and partially offset by the loss of one relationship from merger and acquisition activity at a general agent and a decline of $13.2 million or 10.6% in written premium for our largest workers' compensation program due to a very competitive workers' compensation market in California. Our two largest fronting relationships represented $231.8 million or 47.3% of segment gross written premium in 2022 compared to $213.6 million or 43.5% in 2021. Individual risk workers' compensation premium declined in 2022 due to the soft market conditions currently present for workers' compensation.
Gross written premiums for the Casualty Reinsurance segment (which represents 5.7% of our consolidated gross written premiums in 2022) decreased 53.2% in 2022 reflecting our current strategic focus on downsizing the Casualty Reinsurance third party book, which resulted in the nonrenewal of several treaties in the current year and lower participations on certain renewing treaties. The Casualty Reinsurance segment generally writes large casualty-focused treaties that are expected to have lower volatility relative to property and catastrophe treaties. We rarely write stand-alone property reinsurance. When treaties that include property exposure are written, we utilize property occurrence caps, inuring reinsurance protection and low individual risk limits to minimize exposure.
Net Retention
The ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums is referred to as our net premium retention. Our net premium retention by segment is as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 63.9 | % | 60.1 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 15.6 | % | 17.1 | % | |
| Casualty Reinsurance | 97.4 | % | 87.4 | % | |
| Total | 50.0 | % | 49.4 | % |
The net premium retention for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment increased in 2022 largely driven by the segment's Excess Casualty division, which comprises approximately one-third of the segment's gross written premiums in the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Excess Casualty division cedes a high percentage of written premiums under a reinsurance treaty and changes in growth rates for this division can impact comparable premium retention ratios for the segment. In the third quarter of 2022, we increased our retention on the reinsurance treaty applicable to the Excess Casualty division. Net retention for the Excess Casualty division was 20.3% in 2022 compared to 14.1% in 2021. In addition, net retention for the segment in 2021 was impacted by $8.1 million of reinstatement premium in the prior year third quarter which reduced net written premium and the net retention for that year.
The net premium retention for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment decreased in 2022 primarily due to a lower retention in the fronting business reflecting the mix of business and changes in reinsurance coverage as treaties renew. The net retention on the segment’s fronting business was 13.9% and 15.7% in the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The net retention on the workers’ compensation business was 29.8% and 27.3% for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The renewal of the workers' compensation quota share treaty on January 1, 2022 resulted in a higher retention for this business.
The Casualty Reinsurance segment previously wrote a retrocessional treaty/fronting arrangement under which 100% of the premiums were ceded. The treaty was nonrenewed for 2022 and higher net retention in the current year reflects adjustments to prior year assumed and ceded written premiums on the treaty.
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Segment Results
The following table presents our combined ratios by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 85.1 | % | 125.0 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 94.3 | % | 87.2 | % | |
| Casualty Reinsurance | 104.7 | % | 187.6 | % | |
| Total | 93.5 | % | 136.9 | % |
Excess and Surplus Lines Segment
Results for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 921,164 | $ | 833,657 | 10.5 | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 589,056 | $ | 501,250 | 17.5 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 555,597 | $ | 486,000 | 14.3 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (366,352) | (516,299) | (29.0) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (106,194) | (91,179) | 16.5 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss)(1) | $ | 83,051 | $ | (121,478) | — | |||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 65.9 | % | 106.2 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 19.2 | % | 18.8 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 85.1 | % | 125.0 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 66.0 | % | 67.0 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio ex-cat (2) | 65.1 | % | 66.0 | % |
(1) Underwriting Profit (Loss) is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Accident year loss ratio excluding $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ian in the year ended December 31, 2022 and $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ida in the year ended December 31, 2021.
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced an underwriting profit of $83.1 million and combined ratio of 85.1% for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to an underwriting loss of $121.5 million and a combined ratio of 125.0% for the year ended December 31, 2021. The loss ratio of 65.9% for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes $210,000 of net favorable reserve development (excluding adverse prior year development on the legacy Rasier business and the impact of retroactive reinsurance - see Commercial Auto Loss Portfolio Transfer in Strategic Actions) in our loss estimates for prior accident years. The loss ratio of 106.2% for the year ended December 31, 2021 included $190.7 million of net adverse reserve development (39.2 percentage points) in our loss estimates for prior accident years, including $200.1 million of net adverse reserve development on our commercial auto business that was almost entirely related to the legacy Rasier business that has been in runoff since 2019. We had expected that reported losses on this terminated commercial auto account would decline as the account moved further into runoff, but the continued heavy reported loss emergence in 2021 indicated more inherent severity than anticipated. In response, we meaningfully adjusted our actuarial methodology, resulting in a significant strengthening of reserves for this account.
Current accident year losses in both 2022 and 2021 include $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses (Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Ida in 2021) in our small Excess Property book within the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment has a surplus share reinsurance treaty in effect that was specifically designed to cover property risks. The surplus share treaty along with facultative reinsurance helps ensure that our net retained limit per risk will be $5.0 million or less.
Written and earned premiums for our Excess and Surplus Lines segment grew due to attractive market conditions. Net earned premiums increased $69.6 million or 14.3% over the prior year, including growth in lines that have meaningful ceding
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commissions. The segment expense ratio increased slightly over the prior year primarily due to higher compensation related expenses.
Underwriting results in the prior year were also negatively impacted by $8.1 million of reinstatement premium, including $6.4 million triggered by one claim on a 2019 excess of loss treaty in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. The reinstatement premium reduced net written and net earned premium in the prior year quarter and year to date and increased the underwriting loss.
Specialty Admitted Insurance Segment
Results for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 490,208 | $ | 491,561 | (0.3) | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 76,390 | $ | 83,935 | (9.0) | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 74,137 | $ | 75,371 | (1.6) | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (58,548) | (55,875) | 4.8 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (11,355) | (9,829) | 15.5 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit(1), (2) | $ | 4,234 | $ | 9,667 | (56.2) | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 79.0 | % | 74.1 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 15.3 | % | 13.1 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 94.3 | % | 87.2 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 84.6 | % | 77.5 | % |
(1) Underwriting Profit is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
(2) Underwriting profit includes fee income of $23.6 million and $22.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment generated underwriting profits of $4.2 million and $9.7 million (combined ratios of 94.3% and 87.2%) for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The loss ratios of 79.0% and 74.1% for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 include $4.2 million and $2.5 million (5.6 and 3.3 percentage points, respectively) of net favorable development on prior accident years. The favorable development in both 2022 and 2021 reflects the fact that actual loss emergence of the workers’ compensation book for prior accident years has been better than expected. The higher current accident year loss ratio in 2022 (84.6% compared to 77.5% in the prior year) reflects current actuarial indications and higher loss trends in the business.
The expense ratio of the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment was 15.3% for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the prior year ratio of 13.1%, reflecting slightly lower net earned premiums, higher compensation related expenses, and the net impact of commission, tax and assessment accrual adjustments. The segment also benefited from growth in our fronting business which led to a 4.3% increase in fee income.
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Casualty Reinsurance Segment
Results for the Casualty Reinsurance segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 85,208 | $ | 182,081 | (53.2) | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 83,033 | $ | 159,195 | (47.8) | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 136,427 | $ | 134,223 | 1.6 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (99,823) | (220,178) | (54.7) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (42,987) | (31,571) | 36.2 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting loss(1) | $ | (6,383) | $ | (117,526) | (94.6) | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 73.2 | % | 164.0 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 31.5 | % | 23.6 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 104.7 | % | 187.6 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 63.3 | % | 61.5 | % |
(1) Underwriting Loss is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures.”
The Casualty Reinsurance segment produced underwriting losses of $6.4 million and $117.5 million (combined ratios of 104.7% and 187.6%) for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The loss ratio of 73.2% for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes net adverse reserve development of $13.4 million or 9.8 points (including $6.8 million of net adverse reserve development on prior accident years recognized in the three months ended March 31, 2022 associated with the Casualty Re LPT). The loss ratio of 164.0% for the year ended December 31, 2021 includes $137.6 million, or 102.5 percentage points, of net adverse development in our loss estimates for prior accident years. Actual reported and paid losses in the Casualty Reinsurance segment significantly exceeded expectations in 2021, particularly in the fourth quarter of 2021, causing us to refine some of the assumptions used to determine our best estimate of ultimate losses for this segment. Specifically, we responded to this highly elevated loss emergence by making significant adjustments to our assumed tail factors, other development factors, initial expected loss ratios, and weights given to various actuarial methods. In particular, we gave significantly more weight to incurred loss development methods and Bornhuetter – Ferguson incurred loss development methods than had been done previously. These actuarial refinements resulted in material deterioration in ultimate loss selections for underwriting years 2014 through 2018.
The Casualty Reinsurance segment focuses on proportional reinsurance which requires larger ceding commissions resulting in a higher commission expense than in our other segments. The segment typically structures its reinsurance treaties with loss mitigation features including sliding scale ceding commissions. Net adverse reserve development on treaties with such features reduced our commissions by $11.8 million (8.8 percentage points) for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $249,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Corporate and Other Segment
Other operating expenses for the Corporate and Other segment include personnel costs associated with the Bermuda and U.S. holding companies, professional fees, and various other corporate expenses that were not reimbursed by our subsidiaries, including costs associated with our internal quota share, rating agencies and strategic initiatives. The expenses are included in our calculation of consolidated underwriting profit, and in our consolidated expense ratio and combined ratio.
Total operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment were $31.3 million and $27.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The higher current year expenses as compared to the prior year were largely driven by higher compensation expenses due to the hiring of additional employees.
Investing Results
Net investment income was $71.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $56.9 million in the prior year. The Company's private investments generated income of $3.4 million and $2.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Excluding private investments, our net investment income for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased 23.9% over the prior year principally due to higher yields on fixed maturities, bank loan participations, short-term investments, and cash and cash equivalents.
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Major categories of the Company’s net investment income are summarized as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Fixed maturity securities | $ | 48,647 | $ | 42,968 | ||
| Bank loan participations | 12,639 | 10,571 | ||||
| Equity securities | 5,680 | 4,883 | ||||
| Other invested assets: | ||||||
| Renewable energy investments | 4,408 | (498) | ||||
| Other private investments | (1,000) | 2,698 | ||||
| 3,408 | 2,200 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents, and short-term investments | 4,853 | 260 | ||||
| Gross investment income | 75,227 | 60,882 | ||||
| Investment expense | (4,116) | (4,017) | ||||
| Net investment income | $ | 71,111 | $ | 56,865 |
The following table summarizes our investment returns:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||
| Annualized gross investment yield on: | |||||
| Average cash and invested assets | 3.1 | % | 2.4 | % | |
| Average fixed maturity securities | 3.1 | % | 2.7 | % |
Of our total cash and invested assets of $2,365.5 million at December 31, 2022 (excluding restricted cash equivalents), $173.2 million represents the cash and cash equivalents portion of the portfolio. The majority of the portfolio, or $1,783.4 million, is comprised of fixed maturity securities that are classified as available-for-sale and carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses on these securities reported, net of applicable taxes, as a separate component of accumulated comprehensive income or loss. The fair values of our fixed maturity securities were negatively impacted in 2022 by a heightened inflationary environment and rate actions of the Federal Reserve, which led to higher interest rates and lower fair values of our fixed maturity securities. Unrealized losses on fixed maturities recognized in other comprehensive (loss) income resulted in a $193.0 million reduction in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income in the year ended December 31, 2022.
Also included in our investments are $155.0 million of bank loan participations, $118.6 million of equity securities, $107.8 million of short-term investments, and $27.4 million of other invested assets.
Bank loan participations generally provide a higher yield than our portfolio of fixed maturity securities and are primarily senior, secured floating-rate debt rated “BB”, “B”, or “CCC” by Standard & Poor’s or an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, and are therefore below investment grade. Bank loans include assignments of and participations in performing and non-performing senior corporate debt generally acquired through primary bank syndications and in secondary markets. They consist of, but are not limited to, term loans, the funded and unfunded portions of revolving credit facilities, and similar loans and investments. Bank loan participations are measured at fair value pursuant to the Company's election of the fair value option, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our income statement as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. At December 31, 2022 and 2021, the fair value of these securities was $155.0 million and $156.0 million, respectively.
The Company invests selectively in private debt and equity opportunities. These investments comprise the Company’s other invested assets and are primarily focused in renewable energy, limited partnerships, and bank holding companies. Equity interests in various renewable energy LLCs generated investment income of $3.8 million and losses of $1.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The LLCs are managed by an entity for which two of our former directors serve as officers, and the Company’s Non-Executive Chairman has invested in certain of these LLCs. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the underlying projects in two of our LLCs were sold at the manager's discretion. We received proceeds of $20.2 million, and could receive additional contingent payments in the future according to terms of the transaction. The remaining investments had a carrying value of $9.2 million at December 31, 2022. Investments in loans for renewable energy projects had investment income of $607,000 and $939,000 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. During 2022, the Company received principal repayments of $2.5 million on the notes receivable. These investments had a
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carrying value of $2.7 million at December 31, 2022. Two of our former directors are officers of the entities that issued the loans. The Company has invested in several limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios of publicly traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, equity tranches of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), and tranches of distressed home loans. Investment losses from these partnerships were $1.3 million in 2022 compared to income of $2.4 million in 2021. Together, these limited partnerships had a carrying value of $11.1 million at December 31, 2022. Income from the Company’s investments in renewable energy LLCs and limited partnerships is recognized under the equity method of accounting. The Company also holds $4.5 million of subordinated notes issued by a bank holding company. Interest income from the notes was $343,000 in each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company’s Non-Executive Chairman was previously the Lead Independent Director of the bank holding company and an investor in the bank holding company.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment losses of $28.3 million, including $275,000 of net realized investment gains on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $1.2 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans securities, $254,000 of net realized investment losses on the sale of equity securities, $15.9 million of losses for the change in fair value of bank loans, and $11.2 million of losses for the change in fair value of equity securities.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment gains of $15.6 million, including $4.9 million of net realized investment gains on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $833,000 of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans, $543,000 of net realized investment losses on the sale of equity securities, $6.7 million of gains for the change in fair value of bank loans, and $5.4 million of gains for the change in fair value of equity securities.
In conjunction with its outside investment managers, the Company performs quarterly reviews of all securities within its investment portfolio to determine whether any impairment has occurred.
Management concluded that none of the fixed maturity securities with an unrealized loss at December 31, 2022 or 2021 experienced an other-than-temporary impairment. Management does not intend to sell available-for-sale securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
At December 31, 2022, our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities had net unrealized losses of $186.4 million representing 9.5% of the amortized cost of the portfolio. Additionally, at December 31, 2022, 99.8% of our fixed maturity security portfolio was rated “BBB-” or better (“investment grade”) by Standard & Poor’s or had an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The average duration of our invested assets and cash, excluding restricted cash, was 4.1 years at December 31, 2022.
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities were as follows:
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| State and municipal | $ | 386,456 | $ | 330,852 | 18.6 | % | $ | 323,773 | $ | 333,717 | 19.9 | % | |||||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 437,702 | 401,249 | 22.5 | % | 246,586 | 246,631 | 14.7 | % | |||||||||||||
| Corporate | 734,976 | 670,212 | 37.6 | % | 711,930 | 732,335 | 43.7 | % | |||||||||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 335,066 | 309,015 | 17.3 | % | 301,247 | 304,488 | 18.2 | % | |||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury securities and obligations guaranteed by the U.S. government | 75,583 | 72,089 | 4.0 | % | 60,329 | 60,390 | 3.5 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale | $ | 1,969,783 | $ | 1,783,417 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,643,865 | $ | 1,677,561 | 100.0 | % |
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The following table sets forth the composition of the Company’s portfolio of fixed maturity securities by rating as of December 31, 2022:
| Standard & Poor’s or Equivalent Designation | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| AAA | $ | 393,779 | 22.1 | % | |||
| AA | 735,336 | 41.2 | % | ||||
| A | 488,893 | 27.4 | % | ||||
| BBB | 162,742 | 9.1 | % | ||||
| Below BBB and unrated | 2,667 | 0.2 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 1,783,417 | 100.0 | % |
At December 31, 2022, our portfolio of available-for-sale fixed maturity securities contained corporate fixed maturity securities with a fair value of $670.2 million. A summary of these securities by industry segment is shown below as of December 31, 2022:
| Industry | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Industrials and other | $ | 141,721 | 21.1 | % | |||
| Consumer Discretionary | 90,202 | 13.5 | % | ||||
| Financial | 222,777 | 33.2 | % | ||||
| Health Care | 50,771 | 7.6 | % | ||||
| Consumer Staples | 57,034 | 8.5 | % | ||||
| Utilities | 107,707 | 16.1 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 670,212 | 100.0 | % |
Corporate available-for-sale fixed maturity securities include public traded securities and privately placed bonds as shown below as of December 31, 2022:
| Public/Private | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Publicly traded | $ | 593,804 | 88.6 | % | |||
| Privately placed | 76,408 | 11.4 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 670,212 | 100.0 | % |
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale investments in fixed maturity securities summarized by contractual maturity are as follows:
| December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Due in: | ||||||||||
| One year or less | $ | 53,202 | $ | 52,229 | 2.9 | % | ||||
| After one year through five years | 493,890 | 468,007 | 26.2 | % | ||||||
| After five years through ten years | 366,853 | 320,871 | 18.0 | % | ||||||
| After ten years | 283,070 | 232,046 | 13.1 | % | ||||||
| 1,197,015 | 1,073,153 | 60.2 | % | |||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 437,702 | 401,249 | 22.5 | % | ||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 335,066 | 309,015 | 17.3 | % | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,969,783 | $ | 1,783,417 | 100.0 | % |
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Other Income and Expense
Other income and expense primarily consists of non-operating expenses of $6.0 million and $2.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Non-operating expenses include legal fees related to a purported class action lawsuit, legal and other professional fees related to the Company's May 2021 common share offering, legal and other professional fees and other expenses related to various strategic initiatives including loss portfolio transfers accounted for as retroactive reinsurance, and employee severance costs.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $17.6 million and $8.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes $3.7 million of crediting fees on the Funds Withheld Account balance under the Casualty Re LPT. The impact of rising interest rates on our variable rate senior and trust preferred debt also contributed to the higher current year interest expense. See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Sources and Uses of Funds” for information regarding our senior debt facilities and trust preferred securities.
Amortization of Intangibles
The Company recorded $363,000 of amortization of intangibles in each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Goodwill and Impairment
We test goodwill and other intangible assets in each operating segment for impairment at least annually. The fair value of the reporting units is determined by weighting the results of a discounted cash flow analysis and a valuation derived from a market-based approach. Intangible assets are valued using various methodologies. The projection of future cash flows is dependent upon assumptions on the future levels of income as well as business trends, prospects and market and economic conditions.
We perform this assessment to determine whether there has been any impairment in the value of goodwill or intangible assets by comparing its fair value to the net carrying value of the reporting units. If the carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value, an impairment loss is recognized and the asset is written down accordingly.
The Company completed its impairment tests and fair value analysis for goodwill and other intangible assets during the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2021. No impairment was present for the years ended December 31, 2022 or 2021.
Income Tax Expense
Our effective tax rate fluctuates from period to period based on the relative mix of income reported by country and the respective tax rates imposed by each tax jurisdiction. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our effective tax rate was 37.3%. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had an effective tax benefit that was 11.9% of our pre-tax loss for the year. Bermuda had losses in both years due to significant adverse development on U.S. commercial auto reserves ceded from the U.S. to Bermuda under the internal quota share reinsurance in 2021 and because of the unprofitable underwriting results at JRG Re and the non-deductible Bermuda holding company expenses in both 2021 and 2022. The Company does not receive a U.S. tax deduction for losses in Bermuda. For U.S.-sourced income, the Company’s U.S. federal income tax expense differs from the amounts computed by applying the federal statutory income tax rate to income before taxes due primarily to interest income on tax-advantaged state and municipal securities, dividends received income, and excess tax benefits and expenses on share based compensation.
The Company has a deferred tax asset of $23.3 million at December 31, 2022 associated with unrealized losses in the Company’s available-for-sale fixed maturity securities portfolio. The unrealized losses are attributable to rising market interest rates and other economic factors rather than credit-related factors of the issuers. The Company does not intend to sell available-for-sale debt securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their fair value to their amortized cost basis occurs. The Company’s hold to recovery assertion related to investments in an unrealized loss position is considered a tax planning strategy. Both the cash generated by the Company from operating activities and the unused capacity on the Company’s unsecured revolving credit facilities reduce the likelihood of having to sell debt securities in an unrealized loss position. As a result, the Company has concluded that no valuation allowance is required for the deferred tax asset associated with unrealized losses on its investments at December 31, 2022.
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
For a discussion of our results for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to year ended December 31, 2020, please refer to our 2021 Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 1, 2022.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Funds
Our sources of funds consist primarily of premiums written, investment income, reinsurance recoveries, proceeds from sales and redemptions of investments, borrowings on our credit facilities, and the issuance of common and Series A Preferred Shares. We use operating cash flows primarily to pay operating expenses, losses and loss adjustment expenses, reinsurance premiums, and income taxes. Cash flow from operations may differ substantially from net income. The potential for a large claim under an insurance or reinsurance contract means that substantial and unpredictable payments may need to be made within relatively short periods of time.
The following table summarizes our cash flows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents provided by (used in): | ||||||||||
| Operating activities (excluding restricted cash equivalents) | $ | 221,524 | $ | (155,631) | $ | 65,414 | ||||
| Investing activities | (328,154) | 35,823 | (175,991) | |||||||
| Financing activities | 89,671 | 147,671 | 65,925 | |||||||
| Change in cash and cash equivalents | (16,959) | 27,863 | (44,652) | |||||||
| Change in restricted cash equivalents (operating activities) | 1,210 | (757,915) | (339,244) | |||||||
| Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | (15,749) | $ | (730,052) | $ | (383,896) |
Cash provided by operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $221.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 was driven by the growth in our U.S. segments and the collection of premiums receivable at a quicker rate than payments of loss and loss adjustment expenses. Cash used in operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $155.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily reflects the outflow of funds to effect the Commercial Auto LPT in the third quarter of that year. For the year ended December 31, 2020, cash provided by operations of $65.4 million was impacted by the run-off of Rasier. There were no associated premiums collected in 2020 for the Rasier policies terminated on December 31, 2019, but claim payments associated with the run-off continued in 2020.
In 2022 and 2020, cash used in investing activities of $328.2 million and $176.0 million reflects our efforts to enhance the yield in our investment portfolio by investing available cash and cash equivalents into higher yielding investments. Cash provided by investing activities of $35.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to the investments sold and funds withdrawn from our investment portfolio to effect the Commercial Auto LPT in the third quarter of that year. Cash and cash equivalents (excluding restricted cash equivalents) comprised 7.3%, 8.2%, and 6.9% of total cash and invested assets at December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively.
Cash provided by financing activities of $89.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes $144.9 million of net proceeds (after expenses) from the issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022. The proceeds were used for general corporate purposes and to repay $40.0 million of loans outstanding on the 2017 Facility (as defined below) on March 28, 2022. Financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes $6.1 million of dividends paid on the Series A Preferred Shares. Cash provided by financing activities also includes dividends paid to common shareholders of $7.8 million in 2022, $43.2 million in 2021, and $37.1 million in 2020. On May 10, 2021, the Company closed on a public offering of its common shares. The Company received net proceeds (before expenses) of $192.1 million. The proceeds were used for general corporate purposes. In 2020, net draws on our senior credit facilities of $104.0 million were used to help support our growth.
As permitted under the agreements establishing the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust, we have withdrawn collateral from the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust to fund the Loss Fund Trust as required under the Administrative Services Agreement. Amounts on deposit in the Loss Fund Trust are included in restricted cash equivalents on the Company's consolidated balance sheet. See Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book below.
Dividends
We are organized as a Bermuda holding company with our operations conducted by our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Accordingly, our holding company may receive cash through loans from banks, issuance of equity and debt securities, corporate service fees or dividends received from our subsidiaries and/or other transactions. Our U.S. holding company may receive cash in a similar manner and also through payments from our subsidiaries pursuant to our U.S. consolidated tax allocation agreement.
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The payment of dividends by our subsidiaries to us is limited by statute. In general, the laws and regulations applicable to our domestic insurance subsidiaries limit the aggregate amount of dividends or other distributions that they may declare or pay within any 12-month period without advance regulatory approval. Generally, the limitations are based on the greater of statutory net income for the preceding year or 10.0% of statutory surplus at the end of the preceding year. In addition, insurance regulators have broad powers to prevent reduction of statutory surplus to inadequate levels and could refuse to permit the payment of dividends calculated under any applicable formula. See Item 1— “Regulation—U.S. Insurance Regulation—State Regulation” for additional information. The maximum amount of dividends available to the U.S. holding company from our U.S. insurance subsidiaries during 2023 without regulatory approval is $53.7 million.
The Bermuda Insurance Act of 1978 prohibits an insurer from declaring or paying a dividend if it is in breach of its minimum solvency margin, its enhanced capital requirement, or its minimum liquidity ratio, or if the declaration or payment of such dividend would cause such a breach. An insurer can declare or pay dividends without prior regulatory approval up to 25% of the total statutory capital and surplus (as shown on its previous financial year's statutory balance sheet). See Item 1- “Regulation- Bermuda Insurance Regulation- Restrictions on Dividends and Distributions” for additional information. Based on that calculation, the maximum amount of dividends available to us from JRG Re without regulatory approval in 2023 is calculated to be approximately $93.9 million. However, any dividend payment is contingent upon continued compliance with Bermuda regulatory requirements, including but not limited to the enhanced solvency requirement calculations.
Holders of the Series A Preferred Shares are entitled to a dividend at the initial rate of 7% of the Liquidation Preference per annum, paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at our election. On the five-year anniversary of the Closing Date, and each five-year anniversary thereafter, the dividend rate will reset to a rate equal to the five-year U.S. treasury rate plus 5.2%. Dividends accrue and are payable quarterly. During 2022, cash dividends of $8.8 million were declared, of which $2.6 million was payable at December 31, 2022.
At December 31, 2022, our Bermuda holding company had $277,000 of cash and cash equivalent assets. Our U.S. holding company had $28.1 million of cash and invested assets at December 31, 2022, comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $15.5 million, short-term investments of $10.0 million and other invested assets of $2.6 million, which are not subject to regulatory restrictions. Additionally, our U.K. intermediate holding company had no invested assets and cash of less than $10,000 at December 31, 2022.
Credit Agreements
The Company has a $315.0 million senior revolving credit facility (as amended or amended and restated, the “2013 Facility”). The 2013 Facility is comprised of the following at December 31, 2022:
• A $102.5 million secured revolving facility utilized by JRG Re to issue letters of credit for the benefit of third-party reinsureds. This portion of our credit facility is secured by our investment securities. At December 31, 2022, the Company had $44.5 million of letters of credit issued under the secured facility.
• A $212.5 million unsecured revolving facility to meet the working capital needs of the Company. All unpaid principal on the revolver is due at maturity. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears at 3-month LIBOR plus a margin which at December 31, 2022 was 1.5% and is subject to change according to terms in the credit agreement. At December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had a drawn balance of $185.8 million outstanding on the unsecured revolver.
The 2013 Facility has been amended from time to time since its inception in 2013. On November 8, 2019, the Company entered into a Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement for the 2013 Facility which, among other things, extended the maturity date of the 2013 Facility until November 8, 2024, increased the amount available under the unsecured revolving credit facility to $212.5 million, lowered the applicable interest rate and letter of credit fees, and modified certain negative covenants to be less restrictive.
The 2013 Facility contains certain financial and other covenants (including minimum net worth, maximum ratio of total adjusted debt outstanding to total capitalization, and financial strength ratings) with which the Company was in compliance at December 31, 2022.
On August 2, 2017, the Company, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, JRG Re, together as borrowers, entered into a credit agreement (the "2017 Facility") that provides the Company with a revolving line of credit of up to $100.0 million, which may be used for loans and letters of credit made or issued, at the borrowers' option, on a secured or unsecured basis. Obligations under the 2017 Facility carry a variable rate of interest subject to terms in the credit agreement (LIBOR plus a margin of 1.5% at December 31, 2022) and will mature 30 days after notice of termination from the lender. The 2017 Facility contains certain financial and other covenants with which we are in compliance at December 31, 2022. The loans and letters of credit made or issued under the revolving line of credit of the 2017 Facility may be used to finance the borrowers' general corporate purposes. The 2017 Facility has been amended from time to time since its inception in 2017. On November 8, 2019, the Company entered
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into a First Amendment to Credit Agreement which, among other things, lowered the applicable interest rate and modified certain negative covenants to be less restrictive. At December 31, 2022, unsecured loans of $21.5 million and secured letters of credit totaling $22.9 million were outstanding on the 2017 Facility. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company repaid $40.0 million of loans that were outstanding under the 2017 Facility.
On May 26, 2004, we issued $15.0 million of senior debt due April 29, 2034. The senior debt is not redeemable by the holder or subject to sinking fund requirements. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears at a floating rate per annum equal to the 3-month LIBOR plus 3.85%. This senior debt is redeemable at par prior to its stated maturity at our option in whole or in part. The terms of the senior debt contain certain covenants, with which we are in compliance at December 31, 2022, and which, among other things, restrict our ability to assume senior indebtedness secured by our U.S. holding company's common stock or its subsidiaries' capital stock or to issue shares of its subsidiaries' capital stock.
From May 2004 through January 2008, we sold trust preferred securities through five Delaware statutory trusts sponsored and wholly-owned by the Company or its subsidiaries. Each trust used the net proceeds from the sale of its trust preferred securities to purchase our floating-rate junior subordinated debt.
The following table summarizes the nature and terms of the junior subordinated debt and trust preferred securities outstanding at December 31, 2022 (including the Company’s repurchase of a portion of these trust preferred securities):
| James River Capital Trust I | James River Capital Trust II | James River Capital Trust III | James River Capital Trust IV | Franklin Holdings II (Bermuda) Capital Trust I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||
| Issue date | May 26, 2004 | December 15, 2004 | June 15, 2006 | December 11, 2007 | January 10, 2008 | ||||
| Principal amount of trust preferred securities | $7,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 | $54,000 | $30,000 | ||||
| Principal amount of junior subordinated debt | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $55,670 | $30,928 | ||||
| Carrying amount of junior subordinated debt net of repurchases | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $44,827 | $15,928 | ||||
| Maturity date of junior subordinated debt, unless accelerated earlier | May 24, 2034 | December 15, 2034 | June 15, 2036 | December 15, 2037 | March 15, 2038 | ||||
| Trust common stock | $217 | $464 | $619 | $1,670 | $928 | ||||
| Interest rate, per annum | Three-Month LIBOR plus 4.0% | Three-Month LIBOR plus 3.4% | Three-Month LIBOR plus 3.0% | Three-Month LIBOR plus 3.1% | Three-Month LIBOR plus 4.0% |
All of the junior subordinated debt is currently redeemable at 100.0% of the unpaid principal amount at our option.
The junior subordinated debt contains certain covenants with which we are in compliance as of December 31, 2022.
At December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company's leverage ratio was 22.9% and 31.1%, respectively. The leverage ratio is defined in our senior credit agreements as the ratio of adjusted consolidated debt to total capital. Adjusted consolidated debt treats trust preferred securities as equity capital up to 15% of total capital. Total capital is defined as total debt plus tangible equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive income. The maximum leverage ratio permitted by the agreements is 35.0%. Having debt as part of our capital structure allows us to generate a higher return on equity and greater book value per share results than we could by using equity capital alone.
Ceded Reinsurance
Our insurance segments enter into reinsurance contracts to limit our exposure to potential losses arising from large risks, to protect against the aggregation of several risks in a common loss occurrence, and to provide additional capacity for growth. Our reinsurance is contracted under excess of loss and quota share reinsurance contracts. In excess of loss reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume all or a portion of the ceding company’s losses in excess of a specified amount. The premiums payable to the reinsurer are negotiated by the parties based on their assessment of the amount of risk being ceded to the reinsurer because the reinsurer does not share proportionately in the ceding company’s losses. In quota share reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume a specified percentage of the ceding company’s losses arising out of a defined class of business in exchange for a corresponding percentage of premiums. For the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020 our net premium retention was 50.0%, 49.4% and 51.5%, respectively.
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The following is a summary of our Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2022:
| Line of Business | Company Retention | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Primary Specialty Casualty, including Professional Liability | Up to $1.0 million per occurrence, subject to a $1.0 million aggregate deductible.(1) | |
| Primary Casualty | Up to $2.0 million per occurrence.(2) | |
| Excess Casualty | Up to $2.0 million per occurrence.(3) | |
| Property | Up to $5.0 million per event.(4) |
(1) Except for Life Sciences quota share carve out, which is up to $2.0 million per occurrence.
(2) Total exposure to any one claim is generally $1.0 million.
(3) For policies with an occurrence limit up to $10.0 million, the excess casualty treaty is set such that our retention is no more than $2.0 million.
(4) The property catastrophe reinsurance treaty has a limit of $55.0 million with one reinstatement.
We use catastrophe modeling software to analyze the risk of severe losses from hurricanes and earthquakes on our exposure. We utilize the model in our risk selection, pricing, and to manage our overall portfolio probable maximum loss (“PML”) accumulations. A PML is an estimate of the amount we would expect to pay in any one catastrophe event within a given annual probability of occurrence (i.e. a return period or loss exceedance probability).
In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, we write a small book of excess property insurance, but we do not write primary property insurance. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment has a surplus share reinsurance treaty in effect that was specifically designed to cover property risks. The surplus share treaty along with facultative reinsurance helps ensure that our net retained limit per risk will be $5.0 million or less.
Based upon the modeling of our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted segments, it would take an event at the 1 in 1000 year PML to exhaust our $60.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance. In the event of a catastrophe loss exhausting our $60.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance, we estimate our pre-tax cost would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, including reinstatement premiums payable and net retentions. In addition to this retention, we would retain any losses in excess of our reinsurance coverage limits.
On September 27, 2021, James River entered into the Commercial Auto LPT with Aleka to reinsure substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier. See “Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on the Legacy Commercial Auto Book” below for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
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The following is a summary of our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2022:
| Line of Business | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Workers’ Compensation | Quota share coverage for 65.5% of the first $1.0 million.(1)(2)Excess of loss coverage for $29.0 million in excess of $1.0 million.(1)(2) | |
| Auto Programs | Quota share coverage for 62.5-90% of limits up to $1.5 million liability and $7.5 million physical damage per occurrence. | |
| General Liability & Professional Liability – Programs | Quota share coverage for 62.5%-100% of limits up to $3.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Umbrella and Excess Casualty - Programs | Quota share coverage for at least 65% of limits up to $10.0 million per occurrence, and 75% of excess of loss coverage for $5.0 million in excess of $10.0 million. | |
| Property | ||
| Property within Package - Programs | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $40.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Excess Property | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $16.9 million. | |
| Catastrophe Coverage | Excess of Loss coverage for $59.0 million in excess of $1.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Aviation Programs | Quota share coverage for 80% of limits up to $20 million liability and $2.5 million hull per occurrence, each aircraft; and excess of loss coverage for up to $8.7 million excess of $300,000 of our 20% share of the quota share each occurrence. |
(1) Excluding one program which has quota share coverage for 84% of the first $1.0 million per occurrence and excess of loss coverage for $49.0 million in excess of $1.0 million per occurrence.
(2) Includes any residual market pools.
Our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment purchases reinsurance for at least 50% of the exposed limits on specialty admitted property-casualty business. The segment enters into reinsurance contracts for the individual risk workers’ compensation business as well as fronting and program business. While the segment focuses on casualty business, incidental property risk is incurred in the fronting and program business. The segment is covered for $59.0 million in excess of $1.0 million per occurrence to manage its property exposure to an approximate 1 in 1,000 year PML.
In our Casualty Reinsurance segment, we also have limited property catastrophe exposure on treaties in run-off, primarily through auto physical damage coverage. In the aggregate, we believe our pre-tax group-wide PML from a 1 in 1,000 year property catastrophe event would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, inclusive of reinstatement premiums payable.
On February 23, 2022, JRG Re entered into the Casualty Re LPT with FRL to reinsure the majority of the segment risk, which closed on March 31, 2022. See “Strategic Actions – Loss Portfolio Transfers - Casualty Re Loss Portfolio Transfer” above for further information on this retrocession agreement.
We also had a contingency clash reinsurance treaty to cover both the Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments in the event of a claim incident involving more than one of our insureds in addition to Extra Contractual and Excess Policy Limits protection. The treaty covered $10.0 million in excess of a $2.0 million retention for loss occurrences within the treaty term. This coverage was put into runoff effective July 1, 2022. As of December 31, 2022, our average net retained limit per risk is $2.5 million.
Effective January 1, 2020, we purchased an additional $10.0 million in claims made coverage for excess policy limits and extra contractual obligations exposures above the clash and contingency treaty for the period 2014 to present. This treaty had one reinstatement and expired on December 31, 2022.
The Company’s insurance segments remain liable to policyholders if its reinsurers are unable to meet their contractual obligations under applicable reinsurance agreements. We establish an allowance for credit losses for our current estimate of uncollectible reinsurance recoverables. At December 31, 2022, the allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables was $612,000. To minimize exposure to significant losses from reinsurance insolvencies, the Company evaluates the financial condition of its reinsurers and monitors concentrations of credit risk. The Company generally seeks to purchase reinsurance from reinsurers with A.M. Best financial strength ratings of “A-” (Excellent) or better. The Company’s reinsurance contracts generally require reinsurers that are not authorized as reinsurers under U.S. state insurance regulations or that experience rating downgrades from rating agencies below specified levels to fund their share of the Company’s ceded outstanding losses and loss adjustment expense reserves, typically through the use of irrevocable and unconditional letters of credit. In fronting arrangements, which the Company conducts through its Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, we are subject to credit risk
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with regard to insurance companies who act as reinsurers for us in such arrangements. We customarily require a collateral trust arrangement to secure the obligations of the insurance entity for whom we are fronting.
At December 31, 2022, we had reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses of $1,520.1 million (net of a $612,000 allowance for credit losses) and reinsurance recoverables on paid losses of $114.2 million, and all material recoverable amounts were from companies with A.M. Best ratings of “A-" (Excellent) or better, or are collateralized by the reinsurer for our benefit through letters of credit or funds on deposit in trust accounts.
The following table sets forth our most significant reinsurers by amount of reinsurance recoverables and the amount of reinsurance recoverables pertaining to each such reinsurer as well as its A.M. Best rating as of December 31, 2022:
| Reinsurer | Reinsurance Recoverable as of December 31, 2022 | A.M. Best Rating December 31, 2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation | $ | 340,393 | A+ | |||
| Fortitude Re (Casualty Re LPT) | 244,657 | A | ||||
| Aleka Insurance Company (Commercial Auto LPT) | 132,049 | Unrated(1) | ||||
| Berkley Insurance Company | 130,860 | A+ | ||||
| Hannover Ruck SE | 50,764 | A+ | ||||
| Safety National Casualty | 46,769 | A++ | ||||
| Endurance Assurance Corporation | 45,300 | A+ | ||||
| American European Insurance Company | 38,891 | B(2) | ||||
| Munich Reinsurance America | 33,699 | A+ | ||||
| Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company | 25,583 | A+ | ||||
| Top 10 Total | 1,088,965 | |||||
| Other | 431,148 | |||||
| Total | $ | 1,520,113 |
(1) This reinsurer is unrated. All material reinsurance amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
(2) This reinsurer is below A-. All material reinsurance recoverable amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book
James River previously issued a set of commercial auto insurance contracts to Rasier (the “Rasier Commercial Auto Policies”) under which James River pays losses and loss adjustment expenses on the contracts. James River has indemnity agreements with Rasier (non-insurance entities) (collectively, the “Indemnity Agreements”) and is contractually entitled to reimbursement for the portion of the losses and loss adjustment expenses paid on behalf of Rasier under the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies and other expenses incurred by James River. On September 27, 2021, James River entered into a loss portfolio transfer reinsurance agreement (the “Commercial Auto LPT”) with Aleka to reinsure substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier under the Indemnity Agreements. Under the terms of the Commercial Auto LPT, effective as of July 1, 2021, James River ceded to Aleka approximately $345.1 million of commercial auto liabilities relating to Rasier Commercial Auto Policies written in the years 2013-2019, which amount constituted the reinsurance premium. For the year ended December 31, 2022, due to adverse paid loss trends on the legacy Rasier business, the Company recognized adverse prior year development of $46.7 million on the reserves subject to the Commercial Auto LPT, bringing the cumulative amount ceded under the Commercial Auto LPT to $391.8 million at December 31, 2022.
Each of Rasier and Aleka are required to post collateral under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT:
•Pursuant to the Indemnity Agreements, Rasier is required to post collateral equal to 102% of James River's estimate of the amounts that are recoverable or may be recoverable under the indemnity agreements, including, among other things, case loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, IBNR loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, extra contractual obligations and excess policy limits liabilities. The collateral is provided through a collateral trust arrangement (the “Indemnity Trust”) in favor of James River by Aleka. In connection with the execution of the Commercial Auto LPT, James River returned $691.3 million to the Indemnity Trust, representing the remaining balance of the amount withdrawn in October 2019, as was permitted under the indemnification agreements with Rasier and the associated trust agreement. At December 31, 2022, the balance in the Indemnity Trust was $267.0 million, and, together with the balance of the Loss Fund Trust (as defined below) attributable to the
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Indemnity Agreements as described below, the total balance of collateral securing Rasier’s obligations under the Indemnity Agreements was $336.2 million.
•Pursuant to the Commercial Auto LPT, Aleka is required to post collateral equal to 102% of James River's estimate of Aleka's obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT, calculated in accordance with standard actuarial principles and based on reserves recorded in our statutory financial statements. The collateral is provided through a collateral trust arrangement (the “LPT Trust”) established in favor of James River by Aleka. At December 31, 2022, the balance in the LPT Trust was $121.9 million, and, together with the balance of the Loss Fund Trust (as defined below) attributable to the Commercial Auto LPT as described below, the total balance of collateral securing Aleka’s obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT was $150.0 million. At December 31, 2022, the total reinsurance recoverables under the Commercial Auto LPT was $145.2 million (including $132.0 million of unpaid recoverables and $13.2 million of paid recoverables).
In connection with the execution of the Commercial Auto LPT, James River and Aleka entered into an administrative services agreement (the “Administrative Services Agreement”) with a third party claims administrator (the “Administrator”) pursuant to which the Administrator handles the claims on the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for the remaining life of those claims. The claims paid by the Administrator are reimbursable by James River, and pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement, James River established a loss fund trust account for the benefit of the Administrator (the “Loss Fund Trust”) to collateralize its claims payment reimbursement obligations. James River funds the Loss Fund Trust using funds withdrawn from the Indemnity Trust, funds withdrawn from the LPT Trust, and its own funds, in each case in an amount equal to the pro rata portion of the required Loss Fund Trust balance attributable to the Indemnity Agreements, the Commercial Auto LPT and James River’s existing third party reinsurance agreements, respectively. At December 31, 2022, the balance in the Loss Fund Trust was $103.2 million, including $69.2 million representing collateral supporting Rasier’s obligations under the Indemnity Agreements and $28.2 million representing collateral supporting Aleka’s obligations under the Commercial Auto LPT. Funds posted to the Loss Fund Trust are classified as restricted cash equivalents on the Company's balance sheet.
While the Commercial Auto LPT brings economic finality to substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies, the Company has credit exposure to Rasier and Aleka under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT if the estimated losses and expenses of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies grow at a faster pace than the growth in our collateral balances. In addition, we have credit exposure if our estimates of future losses and loss adjustment expenses and other amounts recoverable under the Indemnity Agreements and the Commercial Auto LPT, which are the basis for establishing the collateral balances, are lower than actual amounts paid or payable. The amount of our credit exposure in any of these instances could be material. To mitigate these risks, we closely and frequently monitor our exposure compared to our collateral held, and we request additional collateral in accordance with the terms of the Commercial Auto LPT and Indemnity Agreements when our analysis indicates that we have uncollateralized exposure.
Ratings
The A.M. Best financial strength rating for our group’s regulated insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a stable outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s opinion of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our operating insurance and reinsurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders. On March 4, 2021, A.M. Best announced that it reduced the outlook on our regulated insurance subsidiaries to negative from stable on the “A” (Excellent) financial strength rating on such entities following our announcement of $86.0 million of adverse development on reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in the fourth quarter of 2020 principally related to our commercial auto business in our Excess and Surplus Lines segment. On May 7, 2021, following the Company's announcement of $168.7 million of further adverse development in the first quarter of 2021 on reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, inclusive of $170.0 million of unfavorable development in our commercial auto business, A.M. Best announced a downgrade of our financial strength rating to “A-” (Excellent) and maintained a negative outlook on our regulated insurance subsidiaries. The Company's outlook was upgraded to stable by A.M. Best in the third quarter of 2021 following the closing of the Commercial Auto LPT which reinsures substantially all of the legacy commercial auto business.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our regulated subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries allow our subsidiaries to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in their marketing plans.
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Series A Preferred Shares
The Company closed on the issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022 for an aggregate purchase price of $150.0 million, or $1,000 per share, in a private placement. The Series A Preferred Shares are convertible into the Company’s common shares at the option of the holder at any time, or at the Company’s option under certain circumstances. Dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares accrue quarterly at the initial rate of 7% of the Liquidation Preference per annum, which may be paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at the Company’s election.
Equity
The Company issued 97,171 common shares in the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 related to vesting of restricted share units (“RSUs”), increasing the total common shares outstanding from 37,373,066 at December 31, 2021 to 37,470,237 at December 31, 2022.
Share Based Compensation Expense
For the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, the Company recognized $8.1 million, $6.7 million and $7.6 million, respectively, of share based compensation expense. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $11.2 million of unrecognized share based compensation expense expected to be charged to earnings over a weighted-average period of 1.8 years.
Equity Incentive Plans
Options
The following table summarizes the option activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | ||||||||||||||
| Outstanding: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning of year | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 463,324 | $ | 32.25 | 643,851 | $ | 30.41 | ||||||||||
| Granted | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Exercised | — | $ | — | (126,798) | $ | 22.26 | (180,527) | $ | 25.70 | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | — | $ | — | (48,552) | $ | 40.42 | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| End of year | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 463,324 | $ | 32.25 | ||||||||||
| Exercisable, end of year | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 463,324 | $ | 32.25 |
All of the outstanding options vested over three years and have a contractual life of seven years from the original date of grant.
RSUs
The following table summarizes the RSU activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
| Unvested, beginning of year | 292,135 | $ | 45.89 | 399,856 | $ | 43.59 | 340,368 | $ | 41.50 | ||||||||||
| Granted | 560,680 | $ | 20.61 | 161,971 | $ | 47.82 | 272,608 | $ | 45.11 | ||||||||||
| Vested | (147,530) | $ | 45.16 | (194,157) | $ | 42.74 | (165,344) | $ | 41.49 | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | (39,827) | $ | 25.41 | (75,535) | $ | 45.98 | (47,776) | $ | 44.57 | ||||||||||
| Unvested, end of year | 665,458 | $ | 25.98 | 292,135 | $ | 45.89 | 399,856 | $ | 43.59 |
Outstanding RSUs granted to employees generally vest ratably over a three year vesting period. RSUs granted to non-employee directors have a one year vesting period.
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Material Cash Requirements
We believe the cash generating capability of our operations, together with our revolving credit facilities, and ability to raise capital through future equity offerings, will be adequate to meet our short and long-term cash requirements and provide the financial strength necessary to support our business growth.
The following table illustrates our material cash requirements by due date as of December 31, 2022:
| Payments Due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2023 | 2024-2025 | 2026-2027 | Thereafter | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 2,768,995 | $ | 908,204 | $ | 1,280,366 | $ | 380,623 | $ | 199,802 | ||||||||
| Long-term debt: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior debt | 222,300 | — | 185,800 | — | 36,500 | |||||||||||||
| Junior subordinated debt | 104,055 | — | — | — | 104,055 | |||||||||||||
| Operating lease obligations | 9,613 | 3,935 | 5,181 | 497 | — | |||||||||||||
| Interest on debt obligations | 159,458 | 23,020 | 31,019 | 19,696 | 85,723 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,264,421 | $ | 935,159 | $ | 1,502,366 | $ | 400,816 | $ | 426,080 |
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represent management’s estimate of the ultimate cost of settling losses. As more fully discussed in “—Critical Accounting Policies—Reserves for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses” above, the estimation of losses is based on various complex and subjective judgments. Actual losses paid may differ, perhaps significantly, from the reserve estimates reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Similarly, the timing of payment of our estimated losses is not fixed and there may be significant changes in actual payment activity. The assumptions used in estimating the likely payments due by period are based on our historical claims payment experience and industry payment patterns, but due to the inherent uncertainty in the process of estimating the timing of such payments, there is a risk that the amounts paid in any such period can be significantly different from the amounts disclosed above.
The amounts in the above table represent our gross estimates of known liabilities as of December 31, 2022 and do not include any allowance for claims for future events within the time period specified. Accordingly, it is highly likely that the total amounts paid out in the time periods shown will be greater than those indicated in the table.
Interest on debt obligations was calculated using the LIBOR rate as of December 31, 2022 with the assumption that interest rates would remain flat over the remainder of the period that the debt was outstanding.
The Company owns investments in limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios including publicly traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, private equity general partnership interests, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and tranches of distressed home loans. At December 31, 2022, the Company’s Excess and Surplus Lines segment has outstanding commitments to invest another $5.3 million in these limited partnerships.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
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Underwriting Performance Ratios
The following table provides the underwriting performance ratios of the Company inclusive of the business subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers. There is no economic impact to the Company over the life of a loss portfolio transfer contract so long as any additional losses subject to the contract are within the limit of the loss portfolio transfer and the counterparty performs under the contract. Retroactive reinsurance accounting is not indicative of our current and ongoing operations. Management believes that providing loss ratios and combined ratios on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers gives the users of our financial statements useful information in evaluating our current and ongoing operations.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 65.9 | % | 106.2 | % | 76.7 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 2.8 | % | — | % | — | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 68.7 | % | 106.2 | % | 76.7 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 85.1 | % | 125.0 | % | 97.7 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 2.8 | % | — | % | — | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 87.9 | % | 125.0 | % | 97.7 | % | ||
| Casualty Reinsurance: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 73.2 | % | 164.0 | % | 88.1 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 3.2 | % | — | % | — | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 76.4 | % | 164.0 | % | 88.1 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 104.7 | % | 187.6 | % | 113.7 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 3.2 | % | — | % | — | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 107.9 | % | 187.6 | % | 113.7 | % | ||
| Consolidated: | ||||||||
| Loss Ratio | 68.5 | % | 113.9 | % | 78.9 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 2.6 | % | — | % | — | % | ||
| Loss Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 71.1 | % | 113.9 | % | 78.9 | % | ||
| Combined Ratio | 93.5 | % | 136.9 | % | 105.6 | % | ||
| Impact of retroactive reinsurance | 2.6 | % | — | % | — | % | ||
| Combined Ratio including impact of retroactive reinsurance | 96.1 | % | 136.9 | % | 105.6 | % |
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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
See “Key Metrics” above for description of why management believes the following Non-GAAP measures provide useful information about our financial condition and results of operation.
Reconciliation of Underwriting Profit
We define underwriting profit as net earned premiums and gross fee income (in specific instances when the Company is not retaining insurance risk) less losses and loss adjustment expenses on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting for loss portfolio transfers and other operating expenses. Other operating expenses include the underwriting, acquisition, and insurance expenses of the operating segments and, for consolidated underwriting profit, the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies.
The following table reconciles the underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments by individual segment to consolidated income (loss) before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 83,051 | $ | (121,478) | $ | 9,752 | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 4,234 | 9,667 | 4,185 | |||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | (6,383) | (117,526) | (18,364) | |||||||
| Total underwriting profit (loss) of the operating segments | 80,902 | (229,337) | (4,427) | |||||||
| Other operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment | (31,260) | (27,609) | (29,418) | |||||||
| Underwriting profit (loss)(1) | 49,642 | (256,946) | (33,845) | |||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | (20,091) | — | — | |||||||
| Net investment income | 71,111 | 56,865 | 73,368 | |||||||
| Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments | (28,318) | 15,564 | (16,030) | |||||||
| Other income | 981 | 353 | 1,153 | |||||||
| Other expenses | (5,997) | (2,585) | (2,138) | |||||||
| Interest expense | (17,578) | (8,922) | (10,033) | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (363) | (538) | |||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | $ | 49,387 | $ | (196,034) | $ | 11,937 |
(1) Underwriting profit (loss) includes gross fee income of $23.6 million, $22.7 million, and $20.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively.
Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Operating Income (Loss)
Adjusted net operating income is defined as income available to common shareholders excluding a) the impact of loss portfolio transfers accounted for as retroactive reinsurance, b) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, c) certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to a purported class action lawsuit, various strategic initiatives, and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, and d) severance costs associated with terminated employees. Adjusted net operating income should not be viewed as a substitute for net income calculated in accordance with GAAP, and our definition of adjusted net operating income may not be comparable to that of other companies.
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Our income (loss) available to common shareholders for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 reconciles to our adjusted net operating income (loss) as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income Before Taxes | Net Income | Loss Before Taxes | Net Loss | Income Before Taxes | Net Income | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) available to common shareholders | $ | 40,637 | $ | 22,223 | $ | (196,034) | $ | (172,799) | $ | 11,937 | $ | 4,824 | ||||||||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses - retroactive reinsurance | 20,091 | 16,786 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Net realized and unrealized investment losses (gains) | 28,318 | 25,014 | (15,564) | (13,292) | 16,030 | 14,840 | ||||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | 5,519 | 5,519 | 2,214 | 1,846 | 1,967 | 1,554 | ||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted net operating income (loss) | $ | 94,565 | $ | 69,542 | $ | (209,384) | $ | (184,245) | $ | 29,934 | $ | 21,218 |
Tangible Equity and Tangible Equity per Share
Tangible equity is defined as shareholders' equity plus mezzanine Series A Preferred Shares and the unrecognized deferred retroactive reinsurance gain on loss portfolio transfers less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization. Tangible equity per share represents tangible equity divided by the sum of total common shares outstanding plus the common shares resulting from an assumed conversion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Shares into common shares (at the current conversion price). Our definitions of tangible equity and tangible equity per share may not be comparable to that of other companies, and they should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity and shareholders’ equity per share calculated in accordance with GAAP.
The following table reconciles shareholders’ equity to tangible equity as of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity | Equity per share | Equity | Equity per share | Equity | Equity per share | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | $ | 553,766 | $ | 14.78 | $ | 725,362 | $ | 19.41 | $ | 795,608 | $ | 25.96 | ||||||||||
| Series A redeemable preferred shares | 144,898 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred reinsurance gain | 20,091 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Less: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | 181,831 | 181,831 | 181,831 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 35,676 | 36,039 | 36,402 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tangible equity | $ | 501,248 | $ | 11.63 | $ | 507,492 | $ | 13.58 | $ | 577,375 | $ | 18.84 | ||||||||||
| Common shares outstanding | 37,470,237 | 37,373,066 | 30,649,261 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common shares from assumed conversion of Series A Preferred Shares | 5,640,158 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common shares outstanding after assumed conversion of Series A Preferred Shares | 43,110,395 | 37,373,066 | 30,649,261 |
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FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001620459-22-000015.
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements and involves numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should read this discussion and analysis together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
James River Group Holdings, Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company. We own and operate a group of specialty insurance and reinsurance companies with the objective of generating compelling returns on tangible equity while limiting underwriting and investment volatility. We seek to accomplish this by earning profits from insurance and reinsurance underwriting and generating meaningful risk-adjusted investment returns, while managing our capital.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, approximately 70.4% of our group-wide gross written premiums originated from the U.S. E&S lines market including business assumed by our Casualty Reinsurance segment. We also have a specialty admitted insurance business in the United States. We intend to concentrate substantially all of our underwriting in casualty insurance and reinsurance, and for the year ended December 31, 2021, we derived 96.9% of our group-wide gross written premiums from casualty insurance and reinsurance. We focus on writing business in specialty markets where our underwriters have particular expertise and where we have long-standing distribution relationships; maintaining a strong balance sheet with appropriate reserves; monitoring reinsurance recoverables carefully; managing our investment portfolio actively without taking undue risk; using technology to monitor trends in our business; responding rapidly to market opportunities and challenges; and actively managing our capital.
We report our business in four segments: Excess and Surplus Lines, Specialty Admitted Insurance, Casualty Reinsurance and Corporate and Other.
The Excess and Surplus Lines segment offers E&S commercial lines liability and property insurance in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through James River Insurance and its wholly-owned subsidiary, James River Casualty. James River Insurance and James River Casualty are both non-admitted carriers. Non-admitted carriers writing in the E&S market are not bound by most of the rate and form regulations imposed on standard market companies, allowing them flexibility to change the coverage terms offered and the rate charged without the time constraints and financial costs associated with the rate and form filing process. In 2021, the average account in this segment (excluding commercial auto policies) generated annual gross written premiums of approximately $23,000. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment distributes its products primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. Members of our management team have participated in this market for over three decades and have long-standing relationships with the wholesale agents who place E&S lines accounts. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment produced 55.3% of our gross written premiums and 67.3% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment focuses on niche classes within the standard insurance markets, such as workers’ compensation coverage for building trades, healthcare employees, light manufacturing and other light-to-medium hazard risks in select U.S. states and fronting business, where we retain a small percentage of the risk and seek to earn fee income by allowing other carriers and producers to use our licensure, ratings, expertise and infrastructure. Through Falls Lake National and its subsidiaries, this segment has admitted licenses and the authority to write excess and surplus lines insurance in 50 states and the District of Columbia and distributes through a variety of sources, including independent retail agents, program administrators and MGAs. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment produced 32.6% of our gross written premiums and 11.3% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The Casualty Reinsurance segment provides proportional and working layer casualty reinsurance to third parties and to our U.S.-based insurance subsidiaries. Typically, we structure our reinsurance contracts (also known as treaties) as quota share arrangements, with loss mitigating features, such as commissions that adjust based on underwriting results. On a net premium volume basis, treaties with loss mitigation features including sliding scale ceding commissions represented 58.9% of the net premiums written by our Casualty Reinsurance segment during 2021. We typically do not assume large individual risks in our Casualty Reinsurance segment, nor do we write property catastrophe reinsurance. Most of the underlying policies assumed by our Casualty Reinsurance segment have a $1.0 million per occurrence limit, and we typically assume only a portion of that exposure. We do not assume stand-alone third-party property business at our Casualty Reinsurance segment, but we do have a small amount of assumed business with ancillary property exposure. 65.7% of gross premiums written by our Casualty Reinsurance segment during 2021 were general liability accounts. The Casualty Reinsurance segment distributes through reinsurance brokers. The Casualty Reinsurance segment produced 12.1% of our gross written premiums and 21.4% of our net written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2021.
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The Casualty Reinsurance segment writes third party business through one entity, JRG Re. Through December 31, 2017, we had intercompany reinsurance agreements under which we ceded 70% of the net written premiums of our U.S. subsidiaries (after taking into account third-party reinsurance) to JRG Re. Effective January 1, 2018, we generally discontinued ceding 70% of our U.S.-written premiums to JRG Re and instead ceded 70% of our U.S.-written premiums to Carolina Re, a Bermuda-domiciled, wholly-owned subsidiary of James River Group, Inc. Carolina Re is a Class 3A reinsurer that made an irrevocable election to be taxed as a U.S. domestic corporation under Section 953(d) of the Code effective January 1, 2018. Carolina Re is also the cedent on a stop loss reinsurance treaty with JRG Re. Business in the Casualty Reinsurance segment is ceded under proportional, or quota-share, reinsurance treaties that provide for an arm’s length ceding commission. We exclude the effects of intercompany reinsurance agreements from the presentation of our segment results, consistent with the way we manage the Company. At December 31, 2021, 41.2% of our invested assets were held at JRG Re.
The Corporate and Other segment consists of the management and treasury activities of our holding companies, equity compensation for the group, and interest expense associated with our debt.
The A.M. Best Company (“A.M. Best”) financial strength rating for our group’s regulated insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a stable outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s evaluation of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our operating insurance and reinsurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our regulated subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries allow our subsidiaries to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in their marketing plans.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We identified the accounting estimates below as critical to the understanding of our financial position and results of operations. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those estimates that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and which require us to exercise significant judgment. We use significant judgment concerning future results and developments in applying these critical accounting estimates and in preparing our consolidated financial statements. These judgments and estimates affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of material contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ materially from the estimates and assumptions used in preparing the consolidated financial statements. We evaluate our estimates regularly using information that we believe to be relevant. For a detailed discussion of our accounting policies, see the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K.
Reserve for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represents our estimated ultimate cost of all reported and unreported losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred and unpaid at the balance sheet date. We do not discount this reserve. We estimate the reserve using individual case-basis valuations of reported claims and statistical analysis. We believe that the use of judgment is necessary to arrive at a best estimate for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses given the long-tailed nature of the business we write and the limited operating experience of the fronting and program business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment and the commercial auto business in our Excess and Surplus lines segment. In applying this judgment, we frequently establish reserves that differ from our internal actuaries’ estimate. We seek to establish reserves that will ultimately prove to be adequate. If we have indications that claims frequency or severity exceeds our initial expectations, we generally increase our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses. Conversely, when claims frequency and severity trends are more favorable than initially anticipated, we generally reduce our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses once we have sufficient data to confirm the validity of the favorable trends.
Our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments generally are notified of losses by our insureds or their brokers. Based on the information provided, we establish case reserves by estimating the ultimate losses from the claim, including administrative costs associated with the ultimate settlement of the claim. Our claims department personnel use their knowledge of the specific claim along with internal and external experts, including underwriters and legal counsel, to estimate the expected ultimate losses.
Our Casualty Reinsurance segment generally establishes case reserves based on reports received from ceding companies or their brokers. For excess of loss contracts, we are typically notified of insurance losses on specific contracts, and we record case reserves based on the estimated ultimate losses on each claim. For proportional contracts, we typically receive aggregated claims information and record case reserves based on that information.
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We also use statistical analysis to estimate the cost of losses and loss adjustment expenses that have been incurred but not reported to us. Those estimates are based on our historical information, industry information and estimates of future trends that may affect the frequency of claims and changes in the average cost of claims (severity) that may arise in the future.
The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at December 31, 2021 was $2,748.5 million. Of this amount, 59.6% relates to IBNR. The Company’s gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Gross Reserves at December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 665,113 | $ | 958,522 | $ | 1,623,635 | 59.0 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 296,802 | 389,841 | 686,643 | 56.8 | % | ||||||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 148,376 | 289,819 | 438,195 | 66.1 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 1,110,291 | $ | 1,638,182 | $ | 2,748,473 | 59.6 | % |
The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses prior to the $631,000 allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables at December 31, 2021 was $1,399.2 million. Of this amount, 64.4% relates to IBNR. The Company’s net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses by segment are summarized as follows:
| Net Reserves at December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | IBNR | Total | IBNR % of Total | ||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 311,035 | $ | 558,454 | $ | 869,489 | 64.2 | % | |||||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 42,346 | 62,385 | 104,731 | 59.6 | % | ||||||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 144,610 | 280,384 | 424,994 | 66.0 | % | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 497,991 | $ | 901,223 | $ | 1,399,214 | 64.4 | % |
Our Reserve Committees consist of our Chief Actuary, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Accounting Officer. Additionally, the presidents, chief financial officers and chief actuaries of each of our three insurance segments are also members of the Reserve Committee for their respective segments. The Reserve Committees meet quarterly to review the actuarial recommendations made by each chief actuary and use their best judgment to determine the best estimate to be recorded for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses on our quarterly balance sheet.
We engage an independent internationally recognized actuarial consulting firm to review our reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in the third and fourth quarters of each year. This independent actuarial consulting firm prepares its own estimate of our reserve for loss and loss adjustment expenses, and we compare their estimate to the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses reviewed and approved by the Reserve Committee in order to gain additional comfort on the adequacy of our reserves.
The Reserve Committee believes that using judgment to supplement the actuarial recommendations is necessary to arrive at a best estimate given the nature of the business that we write. In particular, this approach attempts to address the limited operating experience of the Casualty Reinsurance segment, and program business in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment.
The process of estimating the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses requires a high degree of judgment and is subject to a number of variables. In establishing the quarterly actuarial recommendation for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries estimate an initial expected ultimate loss ratio for each of our product lines by accident year (or for our Casualty Reinsurance segment, on a contract by contract basis). Input from our underwriting and claims departments, including premium pricing assumptions and historical experience, are considered by our internal actuaries in estimating the initial expected loss ratios. Our actuaries generally utilize five actuarial methods in their estimation process for the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses. These five methods utilize, to varying degrees, the initial expected loss ratio, detailed statistical analysis of past claims reporting and payment patterns, claims frequency and severity, paid loss experience, industry loss experience, and changes in market conditions, policy forms, exclusions, and exposures. The five actuarial methods that we use in our reserve estimation process are:
Expected Loss Method
The Expected Loss method multiplies earned premiums by an initial expected loss ratio. In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment and for our Workers’ Compensation book in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, the initial expected loss ratio
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is estimated based on adjusting book of business prior year experience to current cost and rate level. In our Programs business within the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment and in our Casualty Reinsurance segment, the expected loss ratio is based on the actuarial pricing of the individual account. Alternatively, when company experience lacks historical depth, initial expected loss ratios can be determined using loss ratios implied by industry loss costs for the class or reported industry loss ratios.
Incurred Loss Development Method
The Incurred Loss Development method uses historical loss reporting patterns by accident year or treaty year to estimate future loss reporting patterns. In this method, our actuaries review historical loss reporting patterns to develop incurred loss development factors that are applied to current reported losses to calculate ultimate losses.
Paid Loss Development Method
The Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Incurred Loss Development method, but it uses historical loss payment patterns to estimate future loss payment patterns. In this method, our actuaries apply historical loss payment patterns to develop paid loss development factors that are applied to current paid losses to calculate expected ultimate losses.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been reported and the portion that has yet to be reported. The portion that has yet to be reported is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unreported at the valuation date. This technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and reported losses lack historical depth.
Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development Method
The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Paid Loss Development method is similar to the Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development method, except this method divides the projection of ultimate losses into the portion that has already been paid and the portion that has yet to be paid. The portion that has yet to be paid is estimated as the product of premiums earned for the accident year, the initial expected ultimate loss ratio and an estimate of the percentage of ultimate losses that are unpaid at the valuation date. This approach assumes that the paid experience has no effect on the subsequent paid loss emergence of the business. Again, this technique is particularly valuable when there is a low volume of business being reviewed and paid losses lack historical depth.
Different reserving methods are appropriate in different situations, and our actuaries use their judgment and experience to determine the weighting of the methods detailed above to use for each accident year and each line of business and, for our Casualty Reinsurance segment, on a contract by contract basis. For example, the current accident year has very little incurred and paid loss development data on which to base reserve projections. As a result, we rely heavily on the Expected Loss Method in estimating reserves for the current accident year. We generally set our initial expected loss ratio for the current accident year consistent with our pricing assumptions. We believe that this is a reasonable and appropriate reserving assumption for the current accident year since our pricing assumptions are actuarially driven and since we expect to make an acceptable return on the new business that we write. If actual loss emergence is better than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience favorable development, and if it is worse than our initial expected loss ratio assumptions, we will experience adverse development. Conversely, sufficient incurred and paid loss development is available for our oldest accident years, so more weight is given to the Incurred Loss Development method and the Paid Loss Development method than the Expected Loss method. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson Incurred Loss Development and Paid Loss Development methods blend features of the Expected Loss method and the Incurred and Paid Loss Development methods. The Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods are typically used for the more recent prior accident years.
In applying these methods to develop an estimate of the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our actuaries use judgment to determine three key parameters for each accident year and line of business: the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the five actuarial methods to be used for each accident year and line of business. For the Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments, the actuary performs a study on each of these parameters annually and makes recommendations for the initial expected loss ratios, the incurred and paid loss development factors and the weighting of the five actuarial methods by accident year and line of business. Members of the Reserve Committee review and approve the parameter review actuarial recommendations, and absent any developments requiring an earlier review, these approved parameters are used in the reserve estimation process for the next four quarters at which time a new parameter study is performed. For the Casualty Reinsurance segment, periodic assessments are made on a contract by contract basis. Method weights are generally less rigid for the Casualty Reinsurance segment given the heterogeneous nature of the various contracts, and the potential for significant changes in mix of business within individual treaties.
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The table below quantifies the impact of extreme reserve deviations from our expected value at December 31, 2021. The total carried net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses is displayed alongside 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles of likely ultimate net reserve outcomes. The estimates of these percentiles are a result of a reserve variability analysis using a simulation approach.
| Sensitivity | 5th Pct. | 50th Pct. | Carried | 95th Pct. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 1,267,685 | $ | 1,394,915 | $ | 1,399,214 | $ | 1,561,522 | |||||||
| Changes in reserves | (131,529) | (4,299) | — | 162,308 |
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the highest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to increase losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $162.3 million, reduce after-tax net income by $148.8 million, reduce shareholders’ equity by $148.8 million and reduce shareholders’ tangible equity by $148.8 million, in each case at or for the period ended December 31, 2021.
The impact of recording the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at the lowest value from the sensitivity analysis above would be to reduce losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred by $131.5 million, increase after-tax net income by $121.1 million, increase shareholders’ equity by $121.1 million, and increase tangible equity by $121.1 million, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2021. Such changes in the net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses would not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, but would affect cash flow and investment income in future periods as the incremental or reduced amount of losses are paid and investment assets adjusted to reflect the level of paid claims.
Loss reserve estimates are subject to a high degree of variability due to the inherent uncertainty of ultimate claims settlement values. In recording our best estimate of our reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses, our Reserve Committee often selects an amount that is different from the actuarial recommendation due to the inherent variation associated with our reserve estimates and the possibility that there are unforeseen or incorrectly valued liabilities in the actuarial recommendations. We believe that the insurance that we write is subject to above-average variation in reserve estimates. The Excess and Surplus Lines market is subject to high policyholder turnover and changes in underlying mix of exposures. This turnover and change in underlying mix of exposures can cause actuarial estimates based on prior experience to be less reliable than estimates for more stable, admitted books of business. As a casualty insurer, losses on our policies often take a number of years to develop, making it difficult to estimate the ultimate losses associated with this business. Judicial and regulatory bodies have frequently interpreted insurance contracts in a manner that expands coverage beyond that which was contemplated at the time that the policy was issued. In addition, many of our policies are issued on an occurrence basis, and insureds suffering a loss frequently seek coverage beyond the policies’ original intent. The difficulty in pinpointing actual ultimate losses and loss adjustment expenses (“LAE”) is illustrated by the fact that at December 31, 2021, 64.2% of our net reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment is for claims that have not been reported.
Our reserves are driven by a number of important assumptions, including litigation and regulatory trends, legislative activity, climate change, social and economic patterns and claims inflation assumptions. Our reserve estimates reflect current inflation in legal claims’ settlements and assume we will not be subject to losses from significant new legal liability theories. Our reserve estimates also assume that we will not experience significant losses from mass torts and that we will not incur losses from future mass torts not known to us today. While it is not possible to predict the impact of changes in the litigation environment, if new mass torts or expanded legal theories of liability emerge, our cost of claims may differ substantially from our reserves. Our reserve estimates assume that there will not be significant changes in the regulatory and legislative environment. The impact of potential changes in the regulatory or legislative environment is difficult to quantify in the absence of specific, significant new regulation or legislation. In the event of significant new regulation or legislation, we will attempt to quantify its impact on our business but no assurance can be given that our attempt to quantify such inputs will be accurate or successful.
IBNR reserve estimates are inherently less precise than case reserve estimates. A 5% change in net IBNR reserves at December 31, 2021 would equate to a $45.1 million change in the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses at such date, a $39.7 million change in after-tax net income, a 5.5% change in shareholders’ equity and a 7.8% change in tangible equity, in each case at or for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Although we believe that our reserve estimates are reasonable, it is possible that our actual loss experience may not conform to our assumptions. Specifically, our actual ultimate loss ratio could differ from our initial expected loss ratio or our actual reporting and payment patterns could differ from our expected reporting and payment patterns, which are based on our own data and industry data. Accordingly, the ultimate settlement of losses and the related loss adjustment expenses may vary significantly from the estimates included in our financial statements. We regularly review our estimates and adjust them as necessary as experience develops or as new information becomes known to us. Such adjustments are included in current operations.
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We experienced $325.8 million of adverse development in 2021 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2020. This adverse reserve development included $190.7 million of adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, including $200.1 million of adverse development in the commercial auto line of business that was primarily related to the 2019 and prior accident years with Rasier LLC and its affiliates (collectively, “Rasier”). Rasier's business was new, complex, and rapidly changing, and the Company's underwriting assumptions and the related pricing of this risk did not keep pace with the insured's escalating loss trends. The adverse development for commercial auto was partially offset by $9.4 million of favorable development in other Excess and Surplus Lines underwriting divisions. Favorable reserve development in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment was $2.5 million as losses on our workers’ compensation business written prior to 2020 continued to develop more favorably than we had anticipated. The Casualty Reinsurance segment experienced $137.6 million of adverse development on prior underwriting years. Actual reported and paid losses in the Casualty Reinsurance segment significantly exceeded expectations in 2021, particularly in the fourth quarter of 2021, causing us to refine some of the assumptions used to determine our best estimate of ultimate losses for this segment. Specifically, we responded to this highly elevated loss emergence by making significant adjustments to our assumed tail factors, other development factors, initial expected loss ratios, and weights given to various actuarial methods. In particular, we gave significantly more weight to incurred loss development methods and Bornhuetter – Ferguson incurred loss development methods than had been done previously. These actuarial refinements resulted in material deterioration in ultimate loss selections for underwriting years 2014 through 2018.
We experienced $92.2 million of adverse development in 2020 on the reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses held at December 31, 2019. This adverse reserve development included $59.4 million of adverse development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment including $91.4 million of adverse development in the commercial auto line of business that was primarily related to the 2018 and prior accident years with Rasier. The adverse development for commercial auto was partially offset by $32.0 million of favorable development in other Excess and Surplus Lines underwriting divisions that was primarily related to the 2018 and 2019 accident years. The Company also experienced $5.0 million of favorable development on prior accident years in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, as losses on our workers’ compensation business written prior to 2019 continued to develop more favorably than we had anticipated. The Casualty Reinsurance segment experienced $37.8 million of adverse development on prior accident years primarily in accident years 2014 through 2018.
Investment Valuation and Impairment
We carry fixed maturity securities classified as “available-for-sale” at fair value, and unrealized gains and losses on such securities, net of any deferred taxes, are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income. Equity securities (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Certain restricted cash equivalents invested in funds with floating net asset values are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. At December 31, 2021, we do not have any securities classified as “held-to-maturity” or “trading.”
The Company adopted ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments on January 1, 2020. This update changed the impairment model for available-for-sale fixed maturities and requires the Company to determine whether unrealized losses on available-for-sale fixed maturities are due to credit-related factors. An allowance for credit losses is established for any credit-related impairments, limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost. Changes in the allowance for credit losses are recognized in earnings and included in net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Unrealized losses that are not credit-related continue to be recognized in other comprehensive income.
The Company considers the extent to which fair value is below amortized cost in determining whether a credit-related loss exists. The Company also considers the credit quality rating of the security, with a special emphasis on securities downgraded below investment grade. A comparison is made between the present value of expected future cash flows for a security and its amortized cost. If the present value of future expected cash flows is less than amortized cost, a credit loss is presumed to exist and an allowance for credit losses is established. Management may conclude that a qualitative analysis is sufficient to support its conclusion that the present value of the expected cash flows equals or exceeds a security’s amortized cost. As a result of this review, management concluded that there were no credit-related impairments of fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2021 or 2020. Management does not intend to sell the securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
During 2019, three fixed maturity securities from one issuer were determined to be impaired because we intended to sell the securities at a loss. The Company recorded impairment losses on these securities of $271,000. Management concluded that none of the fixed maturity securities with an unrealized loss at December 31, 2019 experienced an other-than-temporary impairment.
In connection with the adoption of ASU 2016-13, the Company elected the fair value option in accounting for bank loan participations effective January 1, 2020. The targeted transition relief offered by ASU 2019-05, Financial Instruments - Credit
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Losses (Topic 326): Targeted Transition Relief was applied to elect the fair value option to account for bank loan participations already held at the January 1, 2020 date of adoption. Under the fair value option, bank loan participations are measured at fair value, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our income statement as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. At adoption on January 1, 2020, the Company applied the amendments on a modified retrospective basis, reducing the carrying value of its bank loan portfolio to fair value through an $8.4 million adjustment with a $7.8 million (net of tax) cumulative effect adjustment to reduce retained earnings.
Losses due to credit-related impairments on bank loan participations are determined based upon consultations and advice from the Company's specialized investment manager and consideration of any adverse situations that could affect the borrower's ability to repay, the estimated value of underlying collateral, and other relevant factors. Management concluded that none of the loans in the Company's bank loan portfolio had credit-related impairments as of December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2020, management concluded that $8.3 million of unrealized losses were due to credit-related impairments.
Prior to the election of the fair value option on January 1, 2020, bank loan participations were generally stated at their outstanding unpaid principal balances net of unamortized premiums or discounts and net of any allowance for credit losses. The allowance for credit losses was maintained at a level considered adequate to absorb estimated probable credit losses. At December 31, 2019, the aggregate allowance for credit losses was $7.2 million on seven impaired loans with a total carrying value of $6.9 million and unpaid principal of $14.3 million.
Fair values are measured in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements. The guidance establishes a framework for measuring fair value and a three-level hierarchy based upon the quality of inputs used to measure fair value. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are: (1) Level 1: quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets, (2) Level 2: inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the instrument and (3) Level 3: inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable for the asset or liability.
The fair values of fixed maturity securities and equity securities have been determined using fair value prices provided by our investment accounting services provider or investment managers, who utilize internationally recognized independent pricing services. The prices provided by the independent pricing services are generally based on observable market data in active markets (e.g. broker quotes and prices observed for comparable securities). Values for U.S. Treasury and publicly-traded equity securities are generally based on Level 1 inputs which use the market approach valuation technique. The values for all other fixed maturity securities (including state and municipal securities and obligations of U.S. government corporations and agencies) generally incorporate significant Level 2 inputs, and in some cases, Level 3 inputs, using the market approach and income approach valuation techniques.
The fair values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents (excluding those invested in funds with floating net asset values), and short-term investments approximate their carrying values due to their short-term maturity.
In the determination of the fair value for bank loan participations and certain high yield bonds, the Company endeavors to obtain data from multiple external pricing sources. External pricing sources may include brokers, dealers, and price data vendors that provide a composite price based on prices from multiple dealers. Such external pricing sources typically provide valuations for normal institutional size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities, and various relationships between securities, as generally recognized by institutional dealers. For investments in which the Company determines that only one external pricing source is appropriate or if only one external price is available, the investment is generally recorded based on such price.
Investments for which external sources are not available or are determined by an investment manager not to be representative of fair value are recorded at fair value as determined by the investment manager. In determining the fair value of such investments, the investment manager considers one or more of the following factors: type of security held, convertibility or exchangeability of the security, redeemability of the security (including the timing of redemptions), application of industry accepted valuation models, recent trading activity, liquidity, estimates of liquidation value, purchase cost and prices received for securities with similar terms of the same issuer or similar issuers. There were no bank loan participations for which external sources were unavailable to determine fair value at December 31, 2021 or 2020.
We review fair value prices provided by our outside investment accounting service provider or our investment managers for reasonableness by comparing the fair values provided to those provided by our investment custodian. We conduct corroborative price testing comparing prices utilized for each security to those from an alternate reputable pricing service. We also review and monitor changes in fair values and unrealized gains and losses. We obtain an understanding of the methods, models, and inputs used by our investment managers and independent pricing services, and controls are in place to validate that prices provided represent fair values. Our control process includes, but is not limited to, initial and ongoing evaluation of the methodologies used, a review of specific securities and an assessment for proper classification within the fair value hierarchy, and obtaining and reviewing internal control reports for our investment accounting services provider and investment managers that obtain fair values from independent pricing services.
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
There were no new accounting standards adopted in 2021 that materially impacted the Company's financial statements.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Company is continually monitoring the impact that the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may be having on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. COVID-19 has adversely affected premium and/or claims volume in some lines of business we write (such as auto and workers' compensation), however, to date it has not caused a decline in gross written premiums or a material increase in total claims for the Company as a whole. While less significant in 2021, we continue to see a reduction in claims frequency in certain lines of business, such as commercial auto and many of our Core Excess and Surplus lines of business, that may be the result of the impacts of COVID-19 on the economy. If these frequency reductions only succeed in eliminating less material matters while meaningful claims persist, potential delays in claims settlement (due to COVID-19 or other reasons) may have a material impact on our ability to accurately set reserves for those lines of business. However, there was no material deterioration in calendar year 2021 reserve levels due to COVID-19 related matters. We are closely monitoring a number of risks that COVID-19 poses to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. For a description of these risks, see “Part I-Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
The following table summarizes our results for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 1,507,299 | $ | 1,257,000 | 19.9 | % | ||||
| Net retention(1) | 49.4 | % | 51.5 | % | ||||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 744,380 | $ | 647,774 | 14.9 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 695,594 | $ | 606,806 | 14.6 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (792,352) | (478,545) | 65.6 | % | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | (160,188) | (162,106) | (1.2) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting loss (2), (3) | (256,946) | (33,845) | 659.2 | % | ||||||
| Net investment income | 56,865 | 73,368 | (22.5) | % | ||||||
| Net realized and unrealized investment gains (losses) | 15,564 | (16,030) | — | % | ||||||
| Other (expenses) income | (2,232) | (985) | 126.6 | % | ||||||
| Interest expense | (8,922) | (10,033) | (11.1) | % | ||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (538) | (32.5) | % | ||||||
| (Loss) income before taxes | (196,034) | 11,937 | — | % | ||||||
| Income tax (benefit) expense | (23,235) | 7,113 | — | % | ||||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | (172,799) | $ | 4,824 | — | % | ||||
| Adjusted net operating (loss) income (4) | $ | (184,245) | $ | 21,218 | — | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 113.9 | % | 78.9 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 23.0 | % | 26.7 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 136.9 | % | 105.6 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio (5) | 67.1 | % | 63.7 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio ex-cat (6) | 66.4 | % | 63.7 | % |
(1) Net retention is defined as the ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums.
(2) Underwriting loss is a non-GAAP measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation to (loss) income before tax and for additional information.
(3) Underwriting loss includes gross fee income of $22.7 million and $20.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(4) Adjusted net operating (loss) income is a non-GAAP measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for reconciliation to net (loss) income and for additional information.
(5) Accident year loss ratio is defined as the ratio of losses and loss adjustment expenses for the current accident year (excluding development on prior accident year reserves) to net earned premiums.
(6) Accident year loss ratio excluding the $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ida in the year ended December 31, 2021.
Underwriting losses of $256.9 million and $33.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, were primarily driven by net adverse reserve development of $325.8 million and $92.2 million in the respective years, including $190.7 million and $59.4 million, respectively, of net adverse reserve development from the Excess and Surplus Lines segment almost entirely related to a previous commercial auto account, and $137.6 million and $37.8 million, respectively, of net adverse reserve development from the Casualty Reinsurance segment. Refer to the discussion of segment underwriting results below for additional details on this adverse reserve development. Underwriting results in the current year were also negatively impacted by $8.1 million of reinstatement premium on certain casualty reinsurance treaties and $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ida in the third quarter of 2021, both in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. The $8.1 million of
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reinstatement premium, including $6.4 million triggered by one claim on a 2019 excess of loss treaty, reduced net written and net earned premium in the current year, and increased the underwriting loss.
The results for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 also include certain non-operating items that are significant to the Company. These items (on a pre-tax basis) include:
• Net realized and unrealized investment gains (losses) of $15.6 million and $(16.0) million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, which included net unrealized gains of $12.0 million and $1.1 million related to changes in unrealized gains and losses in the respective years for equity securities and bank loan participations (pursuant to fair value option election effective January 1, 2020). See “- Investing Results" for more information on these realized and unrealized investment losses.
• Other expenses were $2.2 million and $2.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and include legal and other professional fees related to the Company's May 2021 common share offering, certain legal and professional consulting fees related to various strategic initiatives, and employee severance costs.
We define adjusted net operating (loss) income as net (loss) income excluding net realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments, and certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to various strategic initiatives and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, and severance costs associated with terminated employees. We use adjusted net operating (loss) income as an internal performance measure in the management of our operations because we believe it gives our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Adjusted net operating (loss) income should not be viewed as a substitute for net (loss) income calculated in accordance with GAAP, and our definition of adjusted net operating (loss) income may not be comparable to that of other companies.
Our (loss) income before taxes and net (loss) income for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 reconcile to our adjusted net operating (loss) income as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Loss Before Taxes | Net Loss | Income Before Taxes | Net Income | |||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||
| (Loss) income as reported | $ | (196,034) | $ | (172,799) | $ | 11,937 | $ | 4,824 | ||||||
| Net realized and unrealized (gains) losses on investments | (15,564) | (13,292) | 16,030 | 14,840 | ||||||||||
| Other expenses | 2,214 | 1,846 | 1,967 | 1,554 | ||||||||||
| Adjusted net operating (loss) income | $ | (209,384) | $ | (184,245) | $ | 29,934 | $ | 21,218 |
Combined Ratios
The combined ratio is a measure of underwriting performance and represents the relationship of incurred losses, loss adjustment expenses and other operating expenses to net earned premiums. Our combined ratio for the year ended December 31, 2021 was 136.9%. A combined ratio of less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit, while a combined ratio greater than 100% reflects an underwriting loss. In 2021, the combined ratio included $325.8 million, or 46.8 percentage points, of net adverse reserve development on prior accident years, including $190.7 million of net adverse reserve development from the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, $2.5 million of net favorable reserve development from the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, and $137.6 million of net adverse reserve development from the Casualty Reinsurance segment. The combined ratio for the current year was also negatively impacted by the aforementioned $8.1 million (1.6 points) of reinstatement premium related to casualty treaties and $5.0 million (0.7 points) of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ida in the third quarter of 2021, both in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment.
Our combined ratio for the year ended December 31, 2020 was 105.6%. It included $92.2 million, or 15.2 percentage points, of net adverse reserve development on prior accident years, including $59.4 million of net adverse reserve development from the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, $5.0 million of net favorable development from the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, and $37.8 million of net adverse reserve development from the Casualty Reinsurance segment.
All of the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries are party to an intercompany pooling agreement that distributes the net underwriting results among the group companies based on their approximate pro-rata level of statutory capital and surplus to the total Company statutory capital and surplus. Additionally, each of the Company’s U.S.-domiciled insurance subsidiaries is a party to a quota share reinsurance agreement that in periods prior to January 1, 2018 ceded 70% of their premiums and losses to JRG Re, and starting January 1, 2018, ceded 70% of their premiums and losses to Carolina Re, an entity domiciled in Bermuda that made an irrevocable election to be taxed as a U.S. domestic corporation under Section 953(d)
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of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, effective January 1, 2018. JRG Re also provides aggregate stop loss reinsurance to Carolina Re. We report all segment information in this ‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ prior to the effects of intercompany reinsurance, consistent with the manner in which we evaluate the operating performance of our reportable segments.
Expense Ratios
Our expense ratio was 23.0% and 26.7% for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The decrease reflects a 16.9% increase in the Core E&S net earned premiums of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment including in lines that have meaningful ceding commissions. Our Excess and Surplus Lines segment has significant scale and produces a lower expense ratio than our other operating segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment is our largest segment and makes up 69.9% of consolidated net earned premiums for the year ended December 31, 2021 (68.4% for the year ended December 31, 2020). Gross fee income for the Company increased from $20.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to $22.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 driven by $3.4 million higher fee income in the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment due to new fronting programs and growth in existing fronting programs, and partially offset by the Rasier termination which resulted in a $1.6 million decline of gross fee income in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment. In the Casualty Reinsurance segment, our expense ratio declined from 25.6% for the year ended December 31, 2020 to 23.6% for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Casualty Reinsurance segment typically structures its reinsurance treaties with loss mitigation features including sliding scale ceding commissions. Net adverse reserve development on treaties with such features reduced our commissions in the respective years by $11.8 million or 8.8 percentage points and $10.6 million or 7.9 percentage points. The Casualty Reinsurance expense ratio was also favorably impacted by improved treaty terms and business mix in 2021.
Premiums
Insurance premiums are earned ratably over the terms of our insurance policies, generally twelve months. Reinsurance premiums assumed are earned over the terms of the underlying policies or reinsurance contracts. Contracts and policies written on a “losses occurring” basis cover claims that may occur during the term of the contract or insurance policy, which is typically twelve months. Reinsurance contracts which are written on a “risks attaching” basis cover claims which attach to the underlying insurance policies written during the terms of such contracts. Premiums earned on such contracts usually extend beyond the original term of the reinsurance contract, typically resulting in recognition of premiums earned over a 24-month period in proportion to the level of underlying exposure.
The following table summarizes the change in premium volume by component and business segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 833,657 | $ | 699,143 | 19.2 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 491,561 | 408,691 | 20.3 | % | ||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 182,081 | 149,166 | 22.1 | % | ||||||
| $ | 1,507,299 | $ | 1,257,000 | 19.9 | % | |||||
| Net written premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 501,250 | $ | 450,346 | 11.3 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 83,935 | 59,884 | 40.2 | % | ||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 159,195 | 137,544 | 15.7 | % | ||||||
| $ | 744,380 | $ | 647,774 | 14.9 | % | |||||
| Net earned premiums: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | 486,000 | $ | 415,168 | 17.1 | % | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 75,371 | 57,505 | 31.1 | % | ||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | 134,223 | 134,133 | 0.1 | % | ||||||
| $ | 695,594 | $ | 606,806 | 14.6 | % |
Gross written premiums for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment (which represents 55.3% of our consolidated gross written premiums in 2021) increased 19.2% from the prior year. Renewal rates for Core E&S lines (excluding commercial auto) were up 13.3% compared to 2020 and although policy submissions and quotes were relatively consistent year over year, the strong market conditions led to 13.2% more policies bound in 2021 than in 2020. The change in gross written premiums was notable in several divisions as shown below:
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| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % Change | ||||||||
| Excess Casualty | $ | 285,082 | $ | 213,037 | 33.8 | % | ||||
| General Casualty | 140,608 | 125,433 | 12.1 | % | ||||||
| Manufacturers & Contractors | 139,720 | 122,880 | 13.7 | % | ||||||
| Excess Property | 47,241 | 37,332 | 26.5 | % | ||||||
| Allied Health | 35,192 | 26,918 | 30.7 | % | ||||||
| Small Business | 32,593 | 24,790 | 31.5 | % | ||||||
| All other Core E&S divisions | 118,591 | 118,724 | (0.1) | % | ||||||
| Total Core E&S divisions | 799,027 | 669,114 | 19.4 | % | ||||||
| Commercial Auto | $ | 34,630 | $ | 30,029 | 15.3 | % | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines gross written premium | $ | 833,657 | $ | 699,143 | 19.2 | % |
The components of gross written premiums for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment (which represents 32.6% of our 2021 consolidated gross written premiums) are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Individual risk workers’ compensation premium | $ | 57,396 | $ | 63,949 | (10.2) | % | ||||
| Fronting and program premium | 434,165 | 344,742 | 25.9 | % | ||||||
| Specialty Admitted gross written premium | $ | 491,561 | $ | 408,691 | 20.3 | % |
Our fronting business (excluding our largest fronting relationship) saw growth related to new fronting relationships added since January 1, 2020 that generated $105.2 million and $35.0 million of gross written premium in the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our largest fronted relationship, Atlas General Insurance Services, produced $124.1 million of gross written premium for the year ended December 31, 2021 (down from $125.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020), representing 25.2% of the segment's gross written premium for the year ended December 31, 2021 down from 30.7% for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in individual risk workers' compensation gross written premiums reflects the Company's decision to exit certain northeastern states.
Gross written premiums for the Casualty Reinsurance segment (which represents 12.1% of our consolidated gross written premiums in 2021) increased 22.1% from the prior year. The increase in gross written premiums reflects both new business writings of $26.2 million and higher renewals of $38.9 million largely due to higher subject premium on several treaties, and partially offset by non-renewed treaties with $29.6 million of premium including treaties the Company elected to exit. We rarely write stand-alone property reinsurance. When treaties that include property exposure are written, we utilize property occurrence caps, inuring reinsurance protection and low individual risk limits to minimize exposure.
Net Retention
The ratio of net written premiums to gross written premiums is referred to as our net premium retention. Our net premium retention by segment is as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 60.1 | % | 64.4 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 17.1 | % | 14.7 | % | |
| Casualty Reinsurance | 87.4 | % | 92.2 | % | |
| Total | 49.4 | % | 51.5 | % |
The net premium retention for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment decreased for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the prior year primarily due to growth in written premium in the Excess Casualty underwriting division, which has a higher percentage of ceded premium than our other divisions. The $8.1 million of reinstatement premium in the current year reduced net written premium and the net premium retention.
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The net premium retention for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment increased from 2020 to 2021 driven by the fronting business and higher retentions on some of the newer relationships. The net retention on the segment’s fronting business was 15.7% and 11.9% in the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The net retention on the workers’ compensation business was 27.3% and 29.3% for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The net premium retention for the Casualty Reinsurance segment for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, reflects the impact of one retrocessional treaty/fronting arrangement under which 100% of the premiums are ceded.
Underwriting Results
The following table compares our combined ratios by segment:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | 125.0 | % | 97.7 | % | |
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 87.2 | % | 92.7 | % | |
| Casualty Reinsurance | 187.6 | % | 113.7 | % | |
| Total | 136.9 | % | 105.6 | % |
Excess and Surplus Lines Segment
Results for the Excess and Surplus Lines segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 833,657 | $ | 699,143 | 19.2 | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 501,250 | $ | 450,346 | 11.3 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 486,000 | $ | 415,168 | 17.1 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (516,299) | (318,467) | 62.1 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (91,179) | (86,949) | 4.9 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting (loss) profit(1), (2) | $ | (121,478) | $ | 9,752 | — | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 106.2 | % | 76.7 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 18.8 | % | 21.0 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 125.0 | % | 97.7 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 67.0 | % | 62.4 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio ex-cat (3) | 66.0 | % | 62.4 | % |
(1) Underwriting (Loss) Profit is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation to (loss) income before tax and for additional information.
(2) Underwriting results include gross fee income of $0.0 million and $1.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(3) Accident year loss ratio excluding the $5.0 million of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ida in the year ended December 31, 2021.
The loss ratios of 106.2% and 76.7% for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 include $190.7 million and $59.4 million (39.2 and 14.3 percentage points, respectively) of net adverse development in our loss estimates for prior accident years. The net adverse reserve development for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 included $200.1 million and $91.4 million, respectively, of adverse development on commercial auto business that was almost entirely related to Rasier, a previously canceled account that has been in runoff since 2019. The net adverse reserve development for commercial auto was partially offset by net favorable development on prior accident years in our Core E&S divisions of $9.4 million and $32.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The current year loss ratio also includes $5.0 million (1.0 points) of net catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Ida in the third quarter of 2021. The prior year loss ratio was also
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favorably impacted by a reduction of the 2020 accident year loss ratio for Core E&S due to a significant decline in claims frequency experienced in the year.
In the three months ended March 31, 2021, the reported losses on the terminated Rasier account meaningfully exceeded our expectations. We had expected that reported losses would decline as the account moved further into runoff, but the continued heavy reported loss emergence in the first quarter of 2021 indicated more inherent severity than anticipated. In response, we meaningfully adjusted our actuarial methodology, resulting in a significant strengthening of reserves for this account ($169.9 million of net adverse development was recorded in the first quarter). In prior quarters, our actuarial work for this terminated commercial auto account had been based on industry data, pricing data, experience data, average claims severity data, and blended methodologies. However, the continuation of the highly elevated reported losses in the first quarter of 2021 led us to conclude that using only our own loss experience in our paid and incurred reserve projections rather than the array of inputs that we had used in prior quarters, and giving greater weight to incurred methods, would give us a better estimate of ultimate losses on this account.
On September 27, 2021, James River Insurance Company and James River Casualty Company (together, “James River”) entered into a loss portfolio transfer agreement (the “LPT Agreement”) with Aleka Insurance, Inc. (“Aleka”), a captive insurance company affiliate of Rasier LLC, to reinsure substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment's legacy portfolio of commercial auto policies previously issued to Rasier LLC and its affiliates (collectively, “Rasier”) for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier. Under the terms of the transaction, effective as of July 1, 2021, James River ceded to Aleka approximately $345.1 million of commercial auto liabilities relating to Rasier policies written in the years 2013-2019, which amount constituted the reinsurance premium. The reinsurance coverage is fully collateralized, not subject to an aggregate limit, and subject to certain exclusions. A pre-tax loss of $29.6 million was recognized as adverse loss and loss adjustment reserve development in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment for the third quarter of 2021 associated with the loss portfolio transfer, of which $15.8 million was related to claims handling costs. The $15.8 million claims handling costs constitutes James River’s contribution to the fees of an administrator appointed by James River and Aleka to handle the claims on the Rasier commercial auto policies for the remaining life of those claims, and unallocated loss adjustment expenses required to facilitate the transition of the claims to the administrator.
The expense ratio for this segment decreased from 21.0% in 2020 to 18.8% for 2021 driven by a 16.9% increase in Core E&S net earned premiums including in lines that have meaningful ceding commissions. Gross fee income related to the former Rasier business contributed to a reduction in the expense ratio of 0.4 percentage points for the year ended December 31, 2020 (none for the year ended December 31, 2021).
Underwriting results in the current year were also negatively impacted by $8.1 million of reinstatement premium (2.1 points of combined ratio), including $6.4 million triggered by one claim on a 2019 excess of loss treaty. The reinstatement premium reduced net written and net earned premium in the current year, and increased the underwriting loss.
As a result of the items discussed above, the underwriting results of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment declined from an underwriting profit of $9.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to an underwriting loss of $121.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Specialty Admitted Insurance Segment
Results for the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 491,561 | $ | 408,691 | 20.3 | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 83,935 | $ | 59,884 | 40.2 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 75,371 | $ | 57,505 | 31.1 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (55,875) | (41,928) | 33.3 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (9,829) | (11,392) | (13.7) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting profit(1), (2) | $ | 9,667 | $ | 4,185 | 131.0 | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 74.1 | % | 72.9 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 13.1 | % | 19.8 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 87.2 | % | 92.7 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 77.5 | % | 81.6 | % |
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(1) Underwriting Profit is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation to (loss) income before tax and for additional information.
(2) Underwriting profit includes fee income of $22.7 million and $19.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The loss ratios of 74.1% and 72.9% for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 include $2.5 million and $5.0 million (3.3 and 8.7 percentage points, respectively) of net favorable development on prior accident years. The favorable development in both 2021 and 2020 reflects the fact that actual loss emergence of the workers’ compensation book for prior accident years has been better than expected.
The expense ratio of the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment was 13.1% for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the prior year ratio of 19.8%. The improvement was primarily driven by the growth in our fronting business, which led to 31.1% growth in net earned premiums for the segment and a 17.4% increase in fee income. In addition, the segment benefited from current year adjustments to premium taxes and assessments which together represented a 3.3 percentage point decrease in the segment expense ratio for the current year. In the prior year, underwriting results were favorably impacted by a $1.0 million adjustment to fee income on one fronted program (a reduction in commission expense, representing a 1.8 point reduction in the expense ratio).
As a result of the items discussed above, the underwriting profit of the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment increased $5.5 million or 131.0%, from $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to $9.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Casualty Reinsurance Segment
Results for the Casualty Reinsurance segment are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % Change | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Gross written premiums | $ | 182,081 | $ | 149,166 | 22.1 | % | ||||
| Net written premiums | $ | 159,195 | $ | 137,544 | 15.7 | % | ||||
| Net earned premiums | $ | 134,223 | $ | 134,133 | 0.1 | % | ||||
| Losses and loss adjustment expenses | (220,178) | (118,150) | 86.4 | % | ||||||
| Underwriting expenses | (31,571) | (34,347) | (8.1) | % | ||||||
| Underwriting loss(1) | $ | (117,526) | $ | (18,364) | 540.0 | % | ||||
| Ratios: | ||||||||||
| Loss ratio | 164.0 | % | 88.1 | % | ||||||
| Expense ratio | 23.6 | % | 25.6 | % | ||||||
| Combined ratio | 187.6 | % | 113.7 | % | ||||||
| Accident year loss ratio | 61.5 | % | 59.9 | % |
(1) Underwriting Loss is a non-GAAP Measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation to (loss) income before tax and for additional information.
The Casualty Reinsurance segment focuses on lower volatility, proportional reinsurance which requires larger ceding commissions resulting in a higher commission expense than in our other segments.
The loss ratio of 164.0% for the year ended December 31, 2021 includes $137.6 million, or 102.5 percentage points, of net adverse development in our loss estimates for prior underwriting years. Actual reported and paid losses in the Casualty Reinsurance segment significantly exceeded expectations in 2021, particularly in the fourth quarter of 2021, causing us to refine some of the assumptions used to determine our best estimate of ultimate losses for this segment. Specifically, we responded to this highly elevated loss emergence by making significant adjustments to our assumed tail factors, other development factors, initial expected loss ratios, and weights given to various actuarial methods. In particular, we gave significantly more weight to incurred loss development methods and Bornhuetter – Ferguson incurred loss development methods than had been done previously. These actuarial refinements resulted in material deterioration in ultimate loss selections for underwriting years 2014
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through 2018. The loss ratio of 88.1% for the year ended December 31, 2020 includes $37.8 million, or 28.2 percentage points, of net adverse development in our loss estimates for prior accident years. The 2020 net adverse development was primarily in accident years 2014 through 2018 and was mainly in the general liability and commercial auto lines of business.
The expense ratio of the Casualty Reinsurance segment declined from 25.6% for the year ended December 31, 2020 to 23.6% for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Casualty Reinsurance segment typically structures its reinsurance treaties with loss mitigation features including sliding scale ceding commissions. Net adverse reserve development on treaties with such features reduced our commissions by $11.8 million and $10.6 million (8.8 and 7.9 percentage points, respectively) for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. The Casualty Reinsurance expense ratio was also favorably impacted by improved treaty terms and business mix in 2021.
As a result of the items discussed above, the Casualty Reinsurance segment had an underwriting loss of $117.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to an underwriting loss of $18.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Other Operating Expenses
In addition to the underwriting, acquisition and insurance expenses of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment and the Casualty Reinsurance segment discussed previously, other operating expenses for the Company also includes the expenses of the Corporate and Other segment.
Corporate and Other Segment
Other operating expenses for the Corporate and Other segment include personnel costs associated with the Bermuda and U.S. holding companies, professional fees, and various other corporate expenses that are included in our calculation of our expense ratio and our combined ratio including equity compensation expense for the full Company. Other operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment represent the expenses of both the Bermuda and U.S. holding companies that were not reimbursed by our subsidiaries, including costs associated with our internal quota share, rating agencies and strategic initiatives. These costs vary from period-to-period based on the status of these initiatives.
For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the total operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment were $27.6 million and $29.4 million, representing a 6.1% decrease from the prior year due primarily to lower compensation expenses including bonuses and stock compensation.
Investing Results
Net investment income was $56.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $73.4 million in the prior year. Excluding private investments, our net investment income for the year ended December 31, 2021, decreased 14.8% from the prior year, principally due to lower investment income from restricted cash equivalents, bank loan participations (resulting from a smaller portfolio following sales in the second quarter of the prior year to reduce exposure to this asset class) and lower investment yields. The Company's private investments generated income of $2.2 million and $9.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Income from our renewable energy portfolio in 2020 benefited from a $5.3 million gain on one maturing investment.
Major categories of the Company’s net investment income are summarized as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Fixed maturity securities | $ | 42,968 | $ | 45,070 | ||
| Bank loan participations | 10,571 | 12,150 | ||||
| Equity securities | 4,883 | 4,800 | ||||
| Other invested assets: | ||||||
| Renewable energy investments | (498) | 7,646 | ||||
| Other private investments | 2,698 | 1,535 | ||||
| 2,200 | 9,181 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents, and short-term investments | 260 | 6,619 | ||||
| Gross investment income | 60,882 | 77,820 | ||||
| Investment expense | (4,017) | (4,452) | ||||
| Net investment income | $ | 56,865 | $ | 73,368 |
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The following table summarizes our investment returns:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| Annualized gross investment yield on: | |||||
| Average cash and invested assets | 2.4 | % | 3.2 | % | |
| Average fixed maturity securities | 2.7 | % | 3.0 | % |
Of our total cash and invested assets of $2,320.6 million at December 31, 2021 (excluding restricted cash equivalents), $190.1 million represents the cash and cash equivalents portion of the portfolio. The majority of the portfolio, or $1,677.6 million, is comprised of fixed maturity securities that are classified as available-for-sale and carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses on these securities reported, net of applicable taxes, as a separate component of accumulated comprehensive income or loss. Also included in our investments are $156.0 million of bank loan participations, $108.4 million of equity securities, $136.6 million of short-term investments, and $51.9 million of other invested assets.
In connection with the adoption of ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020, the Company elected the fair value option in accounting for its portfolio of bank loan participations. Under the fair value option, bank loan participations are measured at fair value, and changes in unrealized gains and losses in bank loan participations are reported in our income statement as net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments. Investment income on bank loan participations included in net investment income was $10.6 million and $12.2 million during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments includes gains of $6.7 million and $1.3 million related to changes in unrealized gains and losses on bank loans participations for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Bank loan participations generally provide a higher yield than our portfolio of fixed maturity securities and are primarily senior, secured floating-rate debt rated “BB”, “B”, or “CCC” by Standard & Poor’s or an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, and are therefore below investment grade. Bank loans include assignments of and participations in, performing and non-performing senior corporate debt generally acquired through primary bank syndications and in secondary markets. They consist of, but are not limited to, term loans, the funded and unfunded portions of revolving credit loans, and similar loans and investments. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the fair value of these securities was $156.0 million and $147.6 million, respectively.
The Company invests selectively in private debt and equity opportunities. These investments comprise the Company’s other invested assets and are primarily focused in renewable energy, limited partnerships, and bank holding companies. Equity interests in various renewable energy LLCs generated an investment loss of $1.4 million and income of $2.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The LLCs are managed by an entity for which two of our former directors serve as officers, and the Company’s Non-Executive Chairman has invested in certain of these LLCs. These investments had a carrying value of $26.9 million at December 31, 2021. Investments in loans for renewable energy projects had investment income of $939,000 and $5.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. During 2021, the Company received principle repayments of $3.8 million on the notes receivable. These investments had a carrying value of $5.2 million at December 31, 2021. Two of our former directors are officers of the entities that issued the loans. The Company has invested in several limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios of publicly-traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, equity tranches of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), and tranches of distressed home loans. Income from these partnerships was $2.4 million in 2021 compared to $1.2 million in 2020. Together, these limited partnerships had a carrying value of $15.2 million at December 31, 2021. Income from the Company’s investments in renewable energy LLCs and limited partnerships is recognized under the equity method of accounting. The Company also holds $4.5 million of subordinated notes issued by a bank holding company. Interest income from the notes was $343,000 in each of the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. The Company’s Non-Executive Chairman was previously the Lead Independent Director of the bank holding company and an investor in the bank holding company.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment gains of $15.6 million, including $4.9 million of net realized investment gains on the sale of fixed maturity securities, $833,000 of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans securities, $543,000 of net realized investment losses on the sale of equity securities, $6.7 million of gains for the change in fair value of bank loans, and $5.4 million of gains for the change in fair value of equity securities.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recognized net realized and unrealized investment losses of $16.0 million, including $16.7 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of bank loans, $1.4 million of net realized investment losses on the sale of equity securities, $1.3 million of gains for the change in fair value of bank loans, and $1.0 million of net realized investment gains on the sale of fixed maturity securities.
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In conjunction with its outside investment managers, the Company performs quarterly reviews of all securities within its investment portfolio to determine whether any impairment has occurred.
Management concluded that none of the fixed maturity securities with an unrealized loss at December 31, 2021 or 2020 experienced an other-than-temporary impairment. Management does not intend to sell available-for-sale securities in an unrealized loss position, and it is not “more likely than not” that the Company will be required to sell these securities before a recovery in their value to their amortized cost basis occurs.
At December 31, 2021, our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities had net unrealized gains of $33.7 million representing 2.0% of the amortized cost of the portfolio. Additionally, at December 31, 2021, 99.5% of our fixed maturity security portfolio was rated “BBB-” or better (“investment grade”) by Standard & Poor’s or had an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The average duration of our investment portfolio was 4.0 years at December 31, 2021.
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale fixed maturity securities were as follows:
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | Cost or Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| State and municipal | $ | 323,773 | $ | 333,717 | 19.9 | % | $ | 277,241 | $ | 296,405 | 16.6 | % | |||||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 246,586 | 246,631 | 14.7 | % | 286,104 | 293,848 | 16.5 | % | |||||||||||||
| Corporate | 711,930 | 732,335 | 43.7 | % | 715,145 | 766,822 | 43.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 301,247 | 304,488 | 18.2 | % | 314,911 | 326,719 | 18.3 | % | |||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury securities and obligations guaranteed by the U.S. government | 60,329 | 60,390 | 3.5 | % | 97,489 | 99,848 | 5.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale | $ | 1,643,865 | $ | 1,677,561 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,690,890 | $ | 1,783,642 | 100.0 | % |
The following table sets forth the composition of the Company’s portfolio of fixed maturity securities by rating as of December 31, 2021:
| Standard & Poor’s or Equivalent Designation | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| AAA | $ | 351,866 | 21.0 | % | |||
| AA | 595,253 | 35.5 | % | ||||
| A | 525,176 | 31.2 | % | ||||
| BBB | 197,554 | 11.8 | % | ||||
| Below BBB and unrated | 7,712 | 0.5 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 1,677,561 | 100.0 | % |
At December 31, 2021, our portfolio of available-for-sale fixed maturity securities contained corporate fixed maturity securities with a fair value of $732.3 million. A summary of these securities by industry segment is shown below as of December 31, 2021:
| Industry | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Industrials and other | $ | 169,891 | 23.2 | % | |||
| Consumer Discretionary | 116,362 | 15.9 | % | ||||
| Financial | 190,460 | 26.0 | % | ||||
| Health Care | 80,332 | 11.0 | % | ||||
| Consumer Staples | 59,266 | 8.1 | % | ||||
| Utilities | 116,024 | 15.8 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 732,335 | 100.0 | % |
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Corporate available-for-sale fixed maturity securities include public traded securities and privately placed bonds as shown below as of December 31, 2021:
| Public/Private | Fair Value | % of Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||
| Publicly traded | $ | 652,582 | 89.1 | % | |||
| Privately placed | 79,753 | 10.9 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 732,335 | 100.0 | % |
The amortized cost and fair value of our available-for-sale investments in fixed maturity securities summarized by contractual maturity are as follows:
| December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amortized Cost | Fair Value | % of Total Fair Value | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Due in: | ||||||||||
| One year or less | $ | 86,238 | $ | 86,948 | 5.2 | % | ||||
| After one year through five years | 463,670 | 477,474 | 28.5 | % | ||||||
| After five years through ten years | 310,943 | 314,147 | 18.7 | % | ||||||
| After ten years | 235,181 | 247,873 | 14.7 | % | ||||||
| 1,096,032 | 1,126,442 | 67.1 | % | |||||||
| Residential mortgage-backed | 246,586 | 246,631 | 14.7 | % | ||||||
| Commercial mortgage and asset-backed | 301,247 | 304,488 | 18.2 | % | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,643,865 | $ | 1,677,561 | 100.0 | % |
Other Expenses
Other expenses of $2.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily consist of legal and other professional fees related to the Company’s May 2021 common share offering, certain legal and professional consulting fees related to various strategic initiatives, and employee severance costs. Other expenses of $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 was mostly comprised of employee severance expenses including those related to reductions in claims personnel following the cancellation of Rasier.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $8.9 million and $10.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Sources and Uses of Funds” for information regarding our senior debt facilities and trust preferred securities.
Amortization of Intangibles
The Company recorded $363,000 and $538,000 of amortization of intangibles for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Goodwill and Impairment
We test goodwill and other intangible assets in each operating segment for impairment at least annually. The fair value of the reporting units is determined by weighting the results of a discounted cash flow analysis and a valuation derived from a market-based approach. Intangible assets are valued using various methodologies. The projection of future cash flows is dependent upon assumptions on the future levels of income as well as business trends, prospects and market and economic conditions.
We perform this assessment to determine whether there has been any impairment in the value of goodwill or intangible assets by comparing its fair value to the net carrying value of the reporting units. If the carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value, an impairment loss is recognized and the asset is written down accordingly.
The Company completed its impairment tests and fair value analysis for goodwill and other intangible assets during the fourth quarter of 2021 and 2020. No impairment was present for the years ended December 31, 2021 or 2020.
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Income Tax Expense
Our effective tax rate fluctuates from period to period based on the relative mix of income reported by country and the respective tax rates imposed by each tax jurisdiction. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had an effective tax benefit that was 11.9% of our pre-tax loss for the year. For the year ended December 31, 2020, our effective tax rate was 59.6%. Bermuda had losses in both years due to significant adverse development on U.S. commercial auto reserves ceded from the U.S. to Bermuda under the internal quota share reinsurance and because of the unprofitable underwriting results at JRG Re and the non-deductible Bermuda holding company expenses. The Company does not receive a U.S. tax deduction for losses in Bermuda. For U.S.-sourced income, the Company’s U.S. federal income tax expense differs from the amounts computed by applying the federal statutory income tax rate to income before taxes due primarily to interest income on tax-advantaged state and municipal securities, dividends received income, and excess tax benefits on share based compensation.
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019
For a discussion of our results for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to year ended December 31, 2019, please refer to our 2020 Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 26, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Funds
Our sources of funds consist primarily of premiums written, investment income, reinsurance recoveries, proceeds from sales and redemptions of investments, borrowings on our credit facilities, and the issuance of common shares, and, once closed, the issuance of the Series A Preferred Shares. We use operating cash flows primarily to pay operating expenses, losses and loss adjustment expenses, reinsurance premiums, and income taxes. Cash flow from operations may differ substantially from net income. The potential for a large claim under an insurance or reinsurance contract means that substantial and unpredictable payments may need to be made within relatively short periods of time.
The following table summarizes our cash flows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents provided by (used in): | ||||||||||
| Operating activities (excluding restricted cash equivalents) | $ | (155,631) | $ | 65,414 | $ | 289,858 | ||||
| Investing activities | 35,823 | (175,991) | (263,359) | |||||||
| Financing activities | 147,671 | 65,925 | 7,956 | |||||||
| Change in cash and cash equivalents | 27,863 | (44,652) | 34,455 | |||||||
| Change in restricted cash equivalents (Operating activities) | (757,915) | (339,244) | 1,199,164 | |||||||
| Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | (730,052) | $ | (383,896) | $ | 1,233,619 |
Cash used in operating activities excluding restricted cash equivalents of $155.6 million in 2021 primarily reflects the $317.6 million of reinsurance premium paid to effect the LPT Transaction in the third quarter. In 2020, a decline in cash provided by operations was largely driven by the run-off of Rasier. There were no associated premiums collected in 2020 for the Rasier policies terminated on December 31, 2019, but claim payments associated with the run-off continued in 2020.
Cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 reflects the investments sold/funds withdrawn from our investment portfolio to effect the LPT Transaction in the third quarter. In 2020 and 2019, cash used in investing activities reflects our efforts to enhance the yield in our investment portfolio by investing available cash and cash equivalents into higher yielding fixed maturity securities and bank loan participations. Cash and cash equivalents (excluding restricted cash equivalents) comprised 8.2%, 6.9%, and 9.4% of total cash and invested assets at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Cash provided by financing activities includes dividends paid to shareholders of $43.2 million in 2021, $37.1 million in 2020, and $36.7 million in 2019. On May 10, 2021, the Company closed on a public offering of its common shares. The Company received net proceeds (before expenses) of $192.1 million. The proceeds were used for general corporate purposes. In 2020 and 2019, net draws on our senior credit facilities of $104.0 million and $40.0 million, respectively, were used to help support our growth.
As permitted under the agreements establishing the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust, we have withdrawn collateral from the Indemnity Trust and the LPT Trust to fund the Loss Fund Trust as required under the Administrative Services Agreement.
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Amounts on deposit in the Loss Fund Trust are included in restricted cash equivalents on the Company's consolidated balance sheet. See Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book below.
Dividends
We are organized as a Bermuda holding company with our operations conducted by our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Accordingly, our holding company may receive cash through loans from banks, issuance of equity and debt securities, corporate service fees or dividends received from our subsidiaries and/or other transactions. Our U.S. holding company may receive cash in a similar manner and also through payments from our subsidiaries pursuant to our U.S. consolidated tax allocation agreement.
The payment of dividends by our subsidiaries to us is limited by statute. In general, the laws and regulations applicable to our domestic insurance subsidiaries limit the aggregate amount of dividends or other distributions that they may declare or pay within any 12-month period without advance regulatory approval. Generally, the limitations are based on the greater of statutory net income for the preceding year or 10.0% of statutory surplus at the end of the preceding year. In addition, insurance regulators have broad powers to prevent reduction of statutory surplus to inadequate levels and could refuse to permit the payment of dividends calculated under any applicable formula. See Item 1— “Regulation—U.S. Insurance Regulation—State Regulation” for additional information. The maximum amount of dividends available to the U.S. holding company from our U.S. insurance subsidiaries during 2022 without regulatory approval is $27.2 million.
The Bermuda Insurance Act of 1978 prohibits an insurer from declaring or paying a dividend if it is in breach of its minimum solvency margin, its enhanced capital requirement, or its minimum liquidity ratio, or if the declaration or payment of such dividend would cause such a breach. An insurer can declare or pay dividends without prior regulatory approval up to 25% of the total statutory capital and surplus (as shown on its previous financial year's statutory balance sheet). See Item 1- “Regulation- Bermuda Insurance Regulation- Restrictions on Dividends and Distributions” for additional information. Based on that calculation, the maximum combined amount of dividends and return of capital available to us from our Bermuda insurers without regulatory approval in 2022 is calculated to be approximately $129.7 million. However, any dividend payment is contingent upon continued compliance with Bermuda regulatory requirements, including but not limited to the enhanced solvency requirement calculations.
We expect to close on the issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022. Holders of the Series A Preferred Shares are entitled to a dividend at the initial rate of 7% of the $1,000 per share liquidation preference per annum, paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at our election. On the five-year anniversary of the Closing Date, and each five-year anniversary thereafter, the dividend rate will reset to a rate equal to the five-year U.S. treasury rate plus 5.2%. Dividends will accrue quarterly and will be payable on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of each year, commencing June 30, 2022.
At December 31, 2021, our Bermuda holding company had $157,000 of cash and cash equivalent assets. Our U.S. holding company had $25.9 million of cash and invested assets at December 31, 2021, comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $18.1 million and other invested assets of $7.8 million, which are not subject to regulatory restrictions. Additionally, our U.K. intermediate holding company had no invested assets and cash of less than $10,000 at December 31, 2021.
Credit Agreements
The Company has a $315.0 million senior revolving credit facility (as amended or amended and restated, the “2013 Facility”). The 2013 Facility is comprised of the following at December 31, 2021:
• A $102.5 million secured revolving facility utilized by JRG Re to issue letters of credit for the benefit of third-party reinsureds. This portion of our credit facility is secured by our investment securities. At December 31, 2021, the Company had $34.3 million of letters of credit issued under the secured facility.
• A $212.5 million unsecured revolving facility to meet the working capital needs of the Company. All unpaid principal on the revolver is due at maturity. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears at 3-month LIBOR plus a margin which at December 31, 2021 was 1.625% and is subject to change according to terms in the credit agreement. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company had a drawn balance of $185.8 million outstanding on the unsecured revolver.
The 2013 Facility has been amended from time to time since its inception in 2013. On November 8, 2019, the Company entered into a Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement for the 2013 Facility which, among other things, extended the maturity date of the 2013 Facility until November 8, 2024, increased the amount available under the unsecured revolving credit facility to $212.5 million, lowered the applicable interest rate and letter of credit fees, and modified certain negative covenants to be less restrictive.
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The 2013 Facility contains certain financial and other covenants (including minimum net worth, maximum ratio of total adjusted debt outstanding to total capitalization, and financial strength ratings) with which the Company was in compliance at December 31, 2021.
On August 2, 2017, the Company, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, JRG Re, together as borrowers, entered into a credit agreement (the "2017 Facility") that provides the Company with a revolving line of credit of up to $100.0 million, which may be used for loans and letters of credit made or issued, at the borrowers' option, on a secured or unsecured basis. Obligations under the 2017 Facility carry a variable rate of interest subject to terms in the credit agreement (LIBOR plus a margin of 1.625% at December 31, 2021) and will mature 30 days after notice of termination from the lender. The 2017 Facility contains certain financial and other covenants with which we are in compliance at December 31, 2021. The loans and letters of credit made or issued under the revolving line of credit of the 2017 Facility may be used to finance the borrowers' general corporate purposes. On November 8, 2019, the Company entered into a First Amendment to Credit Agreement which, among other things, lowered the applicable interest rate and modified certain negative covenants to be less restrictive. At December 31, 2021, unsecured loans of $61.5 million and secured letters of credit totaling $20.5 million were outstanding on the 2017 Facility.
On May 26, 2004, we issued $15.0 million of senior debt due April 29, 2034. The senior debt is not redeemable by the holder or subject to sinking fund requirements. Interest accrues quarterly and is payable in arrears at a floating rate per annum equal to the 3-month LIBOR plus 3.85%. This senior debt is redeemable at par prior to its stated maturity at our option in whole or in part. The terms of the senior debt contain certain covenants, with which we are in compliance at December 31, 2021, and which, among other things, restrict our ability to assume senior indebtedness secured by our U.S. holding company's common stock or its subsidiaries' capital stock or to issue shares of its subsidiaries' capital stock.
From May 2004 through January 2008, we sold trust preferred securities through five Delaware statutory trusts sponsored and wholly-owned by the Company or its subsidiaries. Each trust used the net proceeds from the sale of its trust preferred securities to purchase our floating-rate junior subordinated debt.
The following table summarizes the nature and terms of the junior subordinated debt and trust preferred securities outstanding at December 31, 2021 (including the Company’s repurchase of a portion of these trust preferred securities):
| James River Capital Trust I | James River Capital Trust II | James River Capital Trust III | James River Capital Trust IV | Franklin Holdings II (Bermuda) Capital Trust I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | |||||||||
| Issue date | May 26, 2004 | December 15, 2004 | June 15, 2006 | December 11, 2007 | January 10, 2008 | ||||
| Principal amount of trust preferred securities | $7,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 | $54,000 | $30,000 | ||||
| Principal amount of junior subordinated debt | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $55,670 | $30,928 | ||||
| Carrying amount of junior subordinated debt net of repurchases | $7,217 | $15,464 | $20,619 | $44,827 | $15,928 | ||||
| Maturity date of junior subordinated debt, unless accelerated earlier | May 24, 2034 | December 15, 2034 | June 15, 2036 | December 15, 2037 | March 15, 2038 | ||||
| Trust common stock | $217 | $464 | $619 | $1,670 | $928 | ||||
| Interest rate, per annum | Three-Month LIBOR plus 4.0% | Three-Month LIBOR plus 3.4% | Three-Month LIBOR plus 3.0% | Three-Month LIBOR plus 3.1% | Three-Month LIBOR plus 4.0% |
All of the junior subordinated debt is currently redeemable at 100.0% of the unpaid principal amount at our option.
The junior subordinated debt contains certain covenants with which we are in compliance as of December 31, 2021.
At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company's leverage ratio was 31.1% and 30.4%, respectively. The leverage ratio is defined in our senior credit agreements as the ratio of adjusted consolidated debt to total capital. Adjusted consolidated debt treats trust preferred securities as equity capital up to 15% of total capital. Total capital is defined as total debt plus tangible equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive income. The maximum leverage ratio permitted by the agreements is 35.0%. Having debt as part of our capital structure allows us to generate a higher return on equity and greater book value per share results than we could by using equity capital alone.
Ceded Reinsurance
Our insurance segments enter into reinsurance contracts to limit our exposure to potential losses arising from large risks, to protect against the aggregation of several risks in a common loss occurrence, and to provide additional capacity for growth. Our reinsurance is contracted under excess of loss and quota share reinsurance contracts. In excess of loss reinsurance, the reinsurer
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agrees to assume all or a portion of the ceding company’s losses in excess of a specified amount. The premiums payable to the reinsurer are negotiated by the parties based on their assessment of the amount of risk being ceded to the reinsurer because the reinsurer does not share proportionately in the ceding company’s losses. In quota share reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume a specified percentage of the ceding company’s losses arising out of a defined class of business in exchange for a corresponding percentage of premiums. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 our net premium retention was 49.4%, 51.5% and 60.9%, respectively.
The following is a summary of our Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2021:
| Line of Business | Company Retention | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Primary Specialty Casualty, including Professional Liability | Up to $1.0 million per occurrence, subject to a $1.0 million aggregate deductible.(1) | |
| Primary Casualty | Up to $2.0 million per occurrence.(2) | |
| Excess Casualty | Up to $1.0 million per occurrence.(3) | |
| Property | Up to $5.0 million per event.(4) |
(1) Except for Life Sciences quota share carve out, which is up to $2.0 million per occurrence.
(2) Total exposure to any one claim is generally $1.0 million.
(3) For policies with an occurrence limit up to $10.0 million, the excess casualty treaty is set such that our retention is no more than $1.0 million.
(4) The property catastrophe reinsurance treaty has a limit of $40.0 million with one reinstatement.
We use catastrophe modeling software to analyze the risk of severe losses from hurricanes and earthquakes on our exposure. We utilize the model in our risk selection, pricing, and to manage our overall portfolio probable maximum loss (“PML”) accumulations. A PML is an estimate of the amount we would expect to pay in any one catastrophe event within a given annual probability of occurrence (i.e. a return period or loss exceedance probability).
In our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, we write a small book of excess property insurance, but we do not write primary property insurance. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment has a surplus share reinsurance treaty in effect that was specifically designed to cover property risks. The surplus share treaty along with facultative reinsurance helps ensure that our net retained limit per risk will be $5.0 million or less.
Based upon the modeling of our Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted segments, it would take an event at the 1 in 1000 year PML to exhaust our $45.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance. In the event of a catastrophe loss exhausting our $45.0 million property catastrophe reinsurance, we estimate our pre-tax cost would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, including reinstatement premiums and net retentions. In addition to this retention, we would retain any losses in excess of our reinsurance coverage limits.
On September 27, 2021, James River entered into the LPT Agreement with Aleka to reinsure substantially all of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment’s legacy portfolio of commercial auto previously issued to Rasier . See “Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on the Legacy Commercial Auto Book” below for further information on this reinsurance agreement.
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The following is a summary of our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment’s ceded reinsurance in place as of December 31, 2021:
| Line of Business | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|
| Casualty | ||
| Workers’ Compensation | Quota share coverage for 70-85% of the first $1.0 million.(1)(2)Excess of loss coverage for $29.0 million in excess of $1.0 million.(1)(2) | |
| Auto Programs | Quota share coverage for 70-90% of limits up to $1.5 million liability and $5.0 million physical damage per occurrence. | |
| General Liability & Professional Liability – Programs | Quota share coverage for 70%-100% of limits up to $3.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Umbrella and Excess Casualty - Programs | Quota share coverage for at least 95% of limits up to $10.0 million per occurrence, and 87.5% of excess of loss coverage for $5.0 million in excess of $10.0 million. | |
| Property | ||
| Property within Package - Programs | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $40.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Excess Property | Quota share coverage for 100% of limits up to $16.9 million. | |
| Catastrophe Coverage | Excess of Loss coverage for $44.0 million in excess of $1.0 million per occurrence. | |
| Aviation Programs | Quota share coverage for 80% of limits up to $20 million liability and $2.5 million hull per occurrence, each aircraft; and excess of loss coverage for up to $7.3M excess of $200 thousand of our 20% share of the quota share each occurrence. |
(1) Excluding one program which has quota share coverage for 84.5% of the first $1.0 million per occurrence and excess of loss coverage for $49.0 million in excess of $1.0 million per occurrence.
(2) Includes any residual market pools.
Our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment purchases reinsurance for at least 50% of the exposed limits on specialty admitted property-casualty business. The segment enters into reinsurance contracts for the individual risk workers’ compensation business as well as fronting and program business. While the segment focuses on casualty business, incidental property risk is incurred in the fronting and program business. The segment is covered for $44.0 million in excess of $1.0 million per occurrence to manage its property exposure to an approximate 1 in 1,000 year PML.
In our Casualty Reinsurance segment, we also have limited property catastrophe exposure on treaties in run-off, primarily through auto physical damage coverage. In the aggregate, we believe our pre-tax group-wide PML from a 1 in 1,000 year property catastrophe event would not exceed 2.5% of shareholders’ equity, inclusive of reinstatement premiums payable.
We also have a contingency clash reinsurance treaty to cover both the Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments in the event of a claim incident involving more than one of our insureds in addition to Extra Contractual and Excess Policy Limits protection. The treaty covers $10.0 million in excess of a $2.0 million retention for loss occurrences within the treaty term. This coverage has two reinstatements in the event we exhaust any of the coverage. As of December 31, 2021, our average net retained limit per risk is $2.5 million.
Effective January 1, 2020, we purchased an additional $10.0 million in claims made coverage for excess policy limits and extra contractual obligations exposures above the clash and contingency treaty for the period 2014 to present. This treaty has one reinstatement.
The Company’s insurance segments remain liable to policyholders if its reinsurers are unable to meet their contractual obligations under applicable reinsurance agreements. We establish an allowance for credit losses for our current estimate of uncollectible reinsurance recoverables. At December 31, 2021, the allowance for credit losses on reinsurance recoverables was $631,000. To minimize exposure to significant losses from reinsurance insolvencies, the Company evaluates the financial condition of its reinsurers and monitors concentrations of credit risk. The Company generally seeks to purchase reinsurance from reinsurers with A.M. Best financial strength ratings of “A-” (Excellent) or better. The Company’s reinsurance contracts generally require reinsurers that are not authorized as reinsurers under U.S. state insurance regulations or that experience rating downgrades from rating agencies below specified levels to fund their share of the Company’s ceded outstanding losses and loss adjustment expense reserves, typically through the use of irrevocable and unconditional letters of credit. In fronting arrangements, which the Company conducts through its Specialty Admitted Insurance segment, we are subject to credit risk with regard to insurance companies who act as reinsurers for us in such arrangements. We customarily require a collateral trust arrangement to secure the obligations of the insurance entity for whom we are fronting.
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At December 31, 2021, we had reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses of $1,348.6 million (net of a $631,000 allowance for credit losses) and reinsurance recoverables on paid losses of $82.2 million, and all material recoverable amounts were from companies with A.M. Best ratings of “A-" (Excellent) or better, are collateralized by the reinsurer for our benefit through letters of credit or funds on deposit in trust accounts, or represent recoverables from a state residual market for automobile insurance.
The following table sets forth our most significant reinsurers by amount of reinsurance recoverables and the amount of reinsurance recoverables pertaining to each such reinsurer as well as its A.M. Best rating as of December 31, 2021:
| Reinsurer | Reinsurance Recoverable as of December 31, 2021 | A.M. Best Rating December 31, 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation | $ | 324,982 | A+ | |||
| Aleka Insurance Company | 256,452 | Unrated(1) | ||||
| Berkley Insurance Company | 125,424 | A+ | ||||
| Safety National Casualty | 47,916 | A++ | ||||
| Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company | 47,341 | A+ | ||||
| Hannover Ruck SE | 47,335 | A+ | ||||
| Endurance Assurance Corporation | 36,843 | A+ | ||||
| Munich Reinsurance America | 34,612 | A+ | ||||
| American European Insurance Company | 34,349 | B(2) | ||||
| North Carolina Reinsurance Facility | 26,995 | Unrated(3) | ||||
| Top 10 Total | 982,249 | |||||
| Other | 366,379 | |||||
| Total | $ | 1,348,628 |
(1) This reinsurer is unrated. All material reinsurance amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
(2) This reinsurer is below A-. All material reinsurance recoverable amounts from this reinsurer are collateralized.
(3) The North Carolina Reinsurance Facility is a residual market mechanism for automobile insurance in North Carolina.
Amounts Recoverable from an Indemnifying Party and Reinsurer on Legacy Commercial Auto Book
James River previously issued a set of commercial auto insurance contracts to Rasier (the “Rasier Commercial Auto Policies”) under which James River pays losses and loss adjustment expenses on the contracts. James River has indemnity agreements with Rasier (non-insurance entities) (collectively, the “Indemnity Agreements”) and is contractually entitled to reimbursement for the portion of the losses and loss adjustment expenses paid on behalf of Rasier under the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies and other expenses incurred by James River. On September 27, 2021, James River entered into a loss portfolio transfer reinsurance agreement (the “LPT Agreement”) with Aleka to reinsure substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for which James River is not otherwise indemnified by Rasier under the Indemnity Agreements. Under the terms of the LPT Agreement, effective as of July 1, 2021, James River ceded to Aleka approximately $345.1 million of commercial auto liabilities relating to Rasier Commercial Auto Policies written in the years 2013-2019, which amount constituted the reinsurance premium.
Each of Rasier and Aleka are required to post collateral under the Indemnity Agreements and the LPT Agreement, respectively:
•Pursuant to the Indemnity Agreements, Rasier is required to post collateral for the amounts recoverable or that may be recoverable under the Indemnity Agreements, including, among other things, case loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, IBNR loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, extra contractual obligations and excess policy limits liabilities. The collateral is provided through a collateral trust arrangement (the “Indemnity Trust”) in favor of James River by Aleka. In connection with the execution of the LPT Agreement, James River returned $691.3 million to the Indemnity Trust, representing the remaining balance of the amount withdrawn in October 2019, as was permitted under the indemnification agreements with Rasier and the associated trust agreement. At December 31, 2021, the balance in the Indemnity Trust was $584.6 million, and, together with the balance of the Loss Fund Trust (as defined below) attributable to the Indemnity Agreements as described below, the total balance of collateral securing Rasier’s obligations under the Indemnity Agreements was $653.7 million.
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•Pursuant to the LPT Agreement, Aleka is required to post collateral equal to 102% of James River's estimate of Aleka's obligations under the LPT Agreement, calculated in accordance with statutory accounting principles. The collateral is provided through a collateral trust arrangement (the “LPT Trust”) established in favor of James River by Aleka. At December 31, 2021, the balance in the LPT Trust was $251.7 million, and, together with the balance of the Loss Fund Trust (as defined below) attributable to the LPT Agreement as described below, the total balance of collateral securing Aleka’s obligations under the LPT Agreement was $279.9 million. At December 31, 2021, the total reinsurance recoverables under the LPT Agreement was $272.3 million (including $256.5 million of unpaid recoverables and $15.9 million of paid recoverables).
In connection with the execution of the LPT Agreement, James River and Aleka entered into an administrative services agreement (the “Administrative Services Agreement”) with a third party claims administrator (the “Administrator”) pursuant to which the Administrator handles the claims on the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies for the remaining life of those claims. The claims paid by the Administrator are reimbursable by James River, and pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement, James River established a loss fund trust account for the benefit of the Administrator (the “Loss Fund Trust”) to collateralize its claims payment reimbursement obligations. James River funds the Loss Fund Trust using funds withdrawn from the Indemnity Trust, funds withdrawn from the LPT Trust, and its own funds, in each case in an amount equal to the pro rata portion of the required Loss Fund Trust balance attributable to the Indemnity Agreements, the LPT Agreement and James River’s existing third party reinsurance agreements, respectively. At December 31, 2021, the balance in the Loss Fund Trust was $102.0 million, including $69.2 million of which representing collateral supporting Rasier’s obligations under the Indemnity Agreements and $28.2 million of which representing collateral supporting Aleka’s obligations under the under the LPT Agreement. Funds posted to the Loss Fund Trust are classified as restricted cash equivalents on the Company's balance sheet.
While the LPT Agreement brings economic finality to substantially all of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies, the Company has credit exposure to Rasier and Aleka under the Indemnity Agreements and the LPT Agreement if the estimated losses and expenses of the Rasier Commercial Auto Policies grow at a faster pace than the growth in our collateral balances. In addition, we have credit exposure if our estimates of future losses and loss adjustment expenses and other amounts recoverable under the Indemnity Agreements and the LPT agreement, which are the basis for establishing the collateral balances, are lower than actual amounts paid or payable. The amount of our credit exposure in any of these instances could be material. To mitigate these risks, we closely and frequently monitor our exposure compared to our collateral held, and we request additional collateral when our analysis indicates that we have uncollateralized exposure.
Ratings
The A.M. Best financial strength rating for our group’s regulated insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries is “A-” (Excellent) with a stable outlook. This rating reflects A.M. Best’s opinion of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations to policyholders and is not an evaluation directed towards the protection of investors. The rating for our operating insurance and reinsurance companies of “A-” (Excellent) is the fourth highest rating of the thirteen ratings issued by A.M. Best and is assigned to insurers that have, in A.M. Best’s opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders. On March 4, 2021, A.M. Best announced that it reduced the outlook on our regulated insurance subsidiaries to negative from stable on the “A” (Excellent) financial strength rating on such entities following our announcement of $86.0 million of adverse development on reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in the fourth quarter of 2020 principally related to our commercial auto business in our Excess and Surplus Lines segment. On May 7, 2021, following the Company's announcement of $168.7 million of further adverse development in the first quarter of 2021 on reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses in our Excess and Surplus Lines segment, inclusive of $170.0 million of unfavorable development in our commercial auto business, A.M. Best announced a downgrade of our financial strength rating to “A-” (Excellent) and maintained a negative outlook on our regulated insurance subsidiaries. The Company's outlook was upgraded to stable by A.M. Best in the third quarter following the closing of the LPT Agreement which reinsures substantially all of the legacy commercial auto business.
The financial strength ratings assigned by A.M. Best have an impact on the ability of our regulated subsidiaries to attract and retain agents and brokers and on the risk profiles of the submissions for insurance that our subsidiaries receive. We believe the “A-” (Excellent) ratings assigned to our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries allow our subsidiaries to actively pursue relationships with the agents and brokers identified in their marketing plans.
Equity
On May 10, 2021, the Company closed the offering and public sale (the “Offering”) of an aggregate of 6,497,500 of the Company’s common shares at a public offering price of $31.00 per share. The Company received net proceeds (before expenses) from the Offering of $192.1 million, which were used for general corporate purposes. The common shares were offered and sold pursuant to an underwriting agreement entered into by the Company, Barclays Capital, Inc., and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., as representatives of the several underwriters named therein.
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The Company also issued 226,305 common shares in the twelve months ended December 31, 2021 related to outstanding equity incentive plan awards. Of the new shares issued, 93,446 were related to employee stock option exercises and 132,859 were related to vesting of restricted share units (“RSUs”).
As a result of the Offering and the issuances related to equity incentive plan awards, the total common shares outstanding increased from 30,649,261 at December 31, 2020 to 37,373,066 at December 31, 2021.
We expect to close on the issuance and sale of 150,000 Series A Preferred Shares on March 1, 2022 for an aggregate purchase price of $150.0 million, or $1,000 per share, in a private placement. The Series A Preferred Shares are convertible into the Company’s common shares at the option of the holder at any time, or at the Company’s option under certain circumstances. Dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares accrue quarterly at the initial rate of 7% of the $1,000 per share liquidation preference per annum, which may be paid in cash, in-kind in common shares or in Series A Preferred Shares, at the Company’s election.
Share Based Compensation Expense
For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, the Company recognized $6.7 million, $7.6 million and $7.2 million, respectively, of share based compensation expense. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $8.7 million of unrecognized share based compensation expense expected to be charged to earnings over a weighted-average period of 1.8 years.
Equity Incentive Plans
Options
The following table summarizes the option activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | Shares | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | ||||||||||||||
| Outstanding: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning of year | 463,324 | $ | 32.25 | 643,851 | $ | 30.41 | 1,115,324 | $ | 29.02 | ||||||||||
| Granted | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||||
| Exercised | (126,798) | $ | 22.26 | (180,527) | $ | 25.70 | (459,415) | $ | 26.87 | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | (48,552) | $ | 40.42 | — | $ | — | (12,058) | $ | 36.84 | ||||||||||
| End of year | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 463,324 | $ | 32.25 | 643,851 | $ | 30.41 | ||||||||||
| Exercisable, end of year | 287,974 | $ | 35.26 | 463,324 | $ | 32.25 | 590,340 | $ | 29.34 |
All of the outstanding options vested over three years and have a contractual life of seven years from the original date of grant.
RSUs
The following table summarizes the RSU activity:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | Shares | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
| Unvested, beginning of year | 399,856 | $ | 43.59 | 340,368 | $ | 41.50 | 300,142 | $ | 39.22 | ||||||||||
| Granted | 161,971 | $ | 47.82 | 272,608 | $ | 45.11 | 197,078 | $ | 42.56 | ||||||||||
| Vested | (194,157) | $ | 42.74 | (165,344) | $ | 41.49 | (134,407) | $ | 37.99 | ||||||||||
| Forfeited | (75,535) | $ | 45.98 | (47,776) | $ | 44.57 | (22,445) | $ | 41.32 | ||||||||||
| Unvested, end of year | 292,135 | $ | 45.89 | 399,856 | $ | 43.59 | 340,368 | $ | 41.50 |
The vesting period of RSUs granted to employees have ranged from one to five years and vest ratably over the respective vesting period, and the majority vest in three years. All RSUs granted to date to non-employee directors had a one year vesting period.
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Material Cash Requirements
We believe the cash generating capability of our operations, together with our revolving credit facilities, and ability to raise capital through future equity offerings, will be adequate to meet our short and long-term cash requirements and provide the financial strength necessary to support our business growth.
The following table illustrates our material cash requirements by due date as of December 31, 2021:
| Payments Due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Less than 1 year | 1–3 years | 3–5 years | More than 5 years | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses | $ | 2,748,473 | $ | 901,473 | $ | 1,270,877 | $ | 377,802 | $ | 198,321 | ||||||||
| Long-term debt: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior debt | 262,300 | — | 185,800 | — | 76,500 | |||||||||||||
| Junior subordinated debt | 104,055 | — | — | — | 104,055 | |||||||||||||
| Operating lease obligations | 13,759 | 4,146 | 6,560 | 2,963 | 90 | |||||||||||||
| Interest on debt obligations | 76,912 | 8,945 | 17,246 | 8,692 | 42,029 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,205,499 | $ | 914,564 | $ | 1,480,483 | $ | 389,457 | $ | 420,995 |
The reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses represent management’s estimate of the ultimate cost of settling losses. As more fully discussed in “—Critical Accounting Policies—Reserves for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses” above, the estimation of losses is based on various complex and subjective judgments. Actual losses paid may differ, perhaps significantly, from the reserve estimates reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Similarly, the timing of payment of our estimated losses is not fixed and there may be significant changes in actual payment activity. The assumptions used in estimating the likely payments due by period are based on our historical claims payment experience and industry payment patterns, but due to the inherent uncertainty in the process of estimating the timing of such payments, there is a risk that the amounts paid in any such period can be significantly different from the amounts disclosed above.
The amounts in the above table represent our gross estimates of known liabilities as of December 31, 2021 and do not include any allowance for claims for future events within the time period specified. Accordingly, it is highly likely that the total amounts paid out in the time periods shown will be greater than those indicated in the table.
Interest on debt obligations was calculated using the LIBOR rate as of December 31, 2021 with the assumption that interest rates would remain flat over the remainder of the period that the debt was outstanding.
The Company owns investments in limited partnerships that invest in concentrated portfolios including publicly-traded small cap equities, loans of middle market private equity sponsored companies, private equity general partnership interests, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and tranches of distressed home loans. At December 31, 2021, the Company’s Excess and Surplus Lines segment has outstanding commitments to invest another $5.3 million in these limited partnerships.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
Reconciliation of Underwriting Profit
We believe that the disclosure of underwriting profit by individual segment and of the Company as a whole is useful to investors, analysts, rating agencies and other users of our financial information in evaluating our performance because our objective is to consistently earn underwriting profits. We evaluate the performance of our segments and allocate resources based primarily on underwriting profit. Our definition of underwriting profit may not be comparable to that of other companies.
The following table reconciles the underwriting (loss) profit by individual segment and for the entire Company to consolidated income before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Underwriting (loss) profit of the operating segments: | ||||||||||
| Excess and Surplus Lines | $ | (121,478) | $ | 9,752 | $ | 19,157 | ||||
| Specialty Admitted Insurance | 9,667 | 4,185 | 5,913 | |||||||
| Casualty Reinsurance | (117,526) | (18,364) | (7,161) | |||||||
| Total underwriting (loss) profit of the operating segments | (229,337) | (4,427) | 17,909 | |||||||
| Other operating expenses of the Corporate and Other segment | (27,609) | (29,418) | (27,664) | |||||||
| Underwriting loss(1) | (256,946) | (33,845) | (9,755) | |||||||
| Net investment income | 56,865 | 73,368 | 75,652 | |||||||
| Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments | 15,564 | (16,030) | (2,919) | |||||||
| Other income | 353 | 1,153 | 1,137 | |||||||
| Other expenses | (2,585) | (2,138) | (1,055) | |||||||
| Interest expense | (8,922) | (10,033) | (10,596) | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | (363) | (538) | (597) | |||||||
| (Loss) income before income taxes | $ | (196,034) | $ | 11,937 | $ | 51,867 |
(1) Underwriting loss includes gross fee income of $22.7 million, $20.9 million, and $24.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.
Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Operating (Loss) Income
We define adjusted net operating (loss) income as net (loss) income excluding net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, and certain non-operating expenses such as professional service fees related to various strategic initiatives and the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, and severance costs associated with terminated employees. We use adjusted net operating (loss) income as an internal performance measure in the management of our operations because we believe it gives our management and other users of our financial information useful insight into our results of operations and our underlying business performance. Adjusted net operating (loss) income should not be viewed as a substitute for net (loss) income calculated in accordance with GAAP, and our definition of adjusted net operating (loss) income may not be comparable to that of other companies.
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Our (loss) income before taxes and net (loss) income for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 reconcile to our adjusted net operating (loss) income as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Loss Before Taxes | Net Loss | Income Before Taxes | Net Income | Income Before Taxes | Net Income | ||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| (Loss) income as reported | $ | (196,034) | $ | (172,799) | $ | 11,937 | $ | 4,824 | $ | 51,867 | $ | 38,339 | |||||||||
| Net realized and unrealized losses (gains) on investments | (15,564) | (13,292) | 16,030 | 14,840 | 2,919 | 3,761 | |||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | 2,214 | 1,846 | 1,967 | 1,554 | 1,055 | 834 | |||||||||||||||
| Adjusted net operating (loss) income | $ | (209,384) | $ | (184,245) | $ | 29,934 | $ | 21,218 | $ | 55,841 | $ | 42,934 |
Tangible Equity and Tangible Equity per Share
Key financial measures that we use to assess our longer term financial performance include the percentage growth in our tangible equity per share and our return on tangible equity. We believe tangible equity is a good measure to evaluate the strength of our balance sheet and to compare returns relative to this measure. For the year ended December 31, 2021, our tangible equity per share decreased by 27.9%. Absent the $43.1 million of shareholder dividends in 2021, our tangible equity per share decreased by 21.5%.
We define tangible equity as the sum of shareholders’ equity less goodwill and intangible assets (net of amortization). Our definition of tangible equity may not be comparable to that of other companies, and it should not be viewed as a substitute for shareholders’ equity calculated in accordance with GAAP. The following table reconciles shareholders’ equity to tangible equity as of December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 and reconciles tangible equity to pre-dividend tangible equity as of December 31, 2021:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity | Equity per share | Equity | Equity per share | Equity | Equity per share | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | $ | 725,362 | $ | 19.41 | $ | 795,608 | $ | 25.96 | $ | 778,581 | $ | 25.59 | ||||||||||
| Less: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | 181,831 | 4.87 | 181,831 | 5.93 | 181,831 | 5.98 | ||||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 36,039 | 0.96 | 36,402 | 1.19 | 36,940 | 1.21 | ||||||||||||||||
| Tangible equity | $ | 507,492 | $ | 13.58 | $ | 577,375 | $ | 18.84 | $ | 559,810 | $ | 18.40 | ||||||||||
| Dividends to shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2021 | 43,091 | 1.20 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pre-dividend tangible equity | $ | 550,583 | $ | 14.78 |
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