CLEARWATER, Fla., Aug. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HRTG) (“Heritage” or the “Company”), a property and casualty insurance holding company, today reported second quarter 2019 financial results.

Second Quarter 2019 Highlights

• Net income for the quarter was $0.7 million, or $0.02 per diluted share.
• Record personal lines new business premium and growth rates. Non-Florida states generated 64% of all personal lines new business premium.
• Premiums-in-force were $922.5 million, down 0.9% year-over-year, reflecting strong new business sales across our platform, offset by strategic derisking in Florida’s Tri-County.
• Began writing commercial residential business in New Jersey. Heritage is actively writing personal residential business in twelve states, commercial residential business in two states and has licenses in sixteen states.
• Favorable prior year reserve development of $1.3 million, representing fourth consecutive quarter of favorable prior year reserve development.
• Net current accident quarter weather losses of $21.5 million – mostly stemming from Florida and North Carolina – including $13.4 million of net current accident quarter catastrophe losses.  In the prior year quarter, net current accident quarter weather and catastrophe losses were $9.4 million.
• Repurchased 157,640 shares for $2.3 million at a 1% discount to first quarter 2019 book value per share, resulting in total capital returned to shareholders of $4.1 million, including $0.06 per share regular quarterly dividend.

Bruce Lucas, the Company’s Chairman and CEO, said, “Our second quarter operating results were very strong as we continue to diversify away from Florida, especially the Tri-County region which is highly prone to fraud.  Non-Florida states contributed 64% of all personal lines new business premium in the quarter.  Premium growth in these states has been rapidly accelerating and reached an all-time high in the quarter.  Tri-County claims metrics continue to improve and our percentages of Tri-County claims and litigation have reached an all-time low.  Year-over-year, we reduced our Tri-County total insured value (TIV) by $6.2 billion, but maintained relatively flat premiums-in-force, mainly because of our acceleration in growth outside of Florida.”

Results of Operations

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the three & six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 (amounts in thousands, except percentages and per share amounts):

Ratios

Ceded premium ratio represents ceded premiums earned as a percentage of gross premiums earned.

Net loss ratio represents net losses and loss adjustment expenses (LAE) as a percentage of net premiums earned.

Net expense ratio represents policy acquisition costs (PAC) and general and administrative expenses (G&A) as a percentage of net premiums earned. Ceding commission income is reported as a reduction of policy acquisition costs and G&A expenses.

Net combined ratio represents the sum of net losses and LAE, PAC and G&A expenses as a percentage of net premiums earned. The net combined ratio is a key measure of underwriting performance traditionally used in the property and casualty insurance industry. A net combined ratio under 100% generally reflects profitable underwriting results.

Quarterly Financial Results

Second quarter 2019 net income was $0.7 million compared to $2.4 million in the prior year quarter. The decrease primarily reflects a higher net loss ratio stemming from higher catastrophe and non-catastrophe weather losses in the current year quarter.   

Gross premiums written were $254.8 million in second quarter 2019, down 3.3% from $263.7 million in the prior year quarter. The decrease reflects an 11.9% exposure management driven decline in Florida, particularly in the Tri-County region, partly offset by 8.4% growth outside Florida.  Premiums-in-force were $922.5 million, down 0.9% year-over-year, with the decrease stemming from a 16.3% decline in Tri-County, Florida, partly offset by 6.3% growth outside Florida and 0.8% growth in non-Tri-County, Florida.

Gross premiums earned were $230.0 million in second quarter 2019, down 0.4% from $231.0 million in the prior year quarter. The decrease stems from the same items impacting gross premiums written.

The ceded premium ratio was 50.4% in second quarter 2019, down 1.5 points from 51.9% in the prior year quarter. The decrease is primarily attributable to NBIC-related reinsurance synergies and a reduction in NBIC’s gross quota share reinsurance program, which decreased from 18.8% to 8.0% as of June 1, 2018 and was eliminated as of June 1, 2019. NBIC’s gross quota share reduction was partly offset by additional catastrophe excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage and an increase in NBIC’s net quota share reinsurance program from 49.5% to 52.0% as of December 31, 2018.

The net loss ratio was 65.1% in second quarter 2019, up 5.8 points from 59.3% in the prior year quarter. The increase largely relates to higher catastrophe and non-catastrophe weather losses in the current year quarter, partly offset by better reserve development and a lower ceded premium ratio.

The net expense ratio was 39.9% in second quarter 2019, up 0.5 points from 39.4% in the prior year quarter. The increase primarily stems from the favorable impact of NBIC-related purchase accounting on the prior year quarter and reduced ceding commission income in the current year quarter associated with a reduction to NBIC’s overall quota share reinsurance programs, partly offset by a lower ceded premium ratio.

The net combined ratio was 105.0% in second quarter 2019, up 6.3 points from 98.7% in the prior year quarter. The increase stems from higher net loss and expense ratios, as described above.

Book Value Analysis

Book value per share increased 3.9% from year-end 2018 to $14.99 at June 30, 2019.

Conference Call Details:

Friday, August 2, 2019 – 8:30 a.m. EDT
Participant Dial-in Numbers Toll Free: 1-888-346-3095
Participant International Dial In: 1-412-902-4258
Canada Toll Free: 1-855-669-9657

Webcast:

To listen to the live webcast, please go to http://investors.heritagepci.com/. This webcast will be archived and accessible on the Company’s website.

 

About Heritage
Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. is a super-regional property and casualty insurance holding company. Through its insurance subsidiaries and a large network of experienced agents, the Company writes over $900 million of gross personal and commercial residential premium across its multi-state footprint.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release and related presentation that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those discussed herein. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “estimate,” “or “continue” or the other negative variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. This release includes forward-looking statements relating to (i) expectations related to positive financial effects in the second quarter of 2019 as well as long-term profitiability, (ii) our expectations and strategy related to declining in business in tri-county Florida, (iii) anticipated continued improvement in our loss trends, (iv) (expected positive impact of geographic diversification and strategic partnerships, (v) expectations related to our capital management strategy, including anticipated share repurchases and (vi) anticipated reductions in ceded premiums in the third quarter of 2019 and the related full-quarter effects of such reductions. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ from those expressed or implied herein include, without limitation: our ability to comply with our obligations under the new credit facilities, including the financial and other covenants contained therein, the success of the Company’s marketing initiatives; inflation and other changes in economic conditions (including changes in interest rates and financial markets); the impact of new federal and state regulations that affect the property and casualty insurance market; the costs of reinsurance and the collectability of reinsurance; assessments charged by various governmental agencies; pricing competition and other initiatives by competitors; our ability to grow our business outside of Florida; our ability to obtain regulatory approval for requested rate changes and new licenses, and the timing thereof; legislative and regulatory developments; the outcome of litigation pending against us, including the terms of any settlements; risks related to the nature of our business; dependence on investment income and the composition of our investment portfolio; the adequacy of our liability for losses and loss adjustment expense; our ability to build and maintain relationships with insurance agents; claims experience; ratings by industry services; catastrophe losses; reliance on key personnel; weather conditions (including the severity and frequency of storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and hail); changes in loss trends; acts of war and terrorist activities; court decisions and trends in litigation; and other matters described from time to time by us in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 12, 2019. The Company undertakes no obligations to update, change or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, additional or subsequent developments or otherwise.

Investor Contact:
Arash Soleimani, CFA, CPA
Executive Vice President
727.871.0206
Email:  asoleimani@heritagepci.com

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SOURCE Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.