Liability for Unpaid Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses | 12. Liability for Unpaid Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses Consolidated Activity Activity in the liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses is summarized as follows: Years Ended December 31, (Dollars in thousands) 2023 2022 2021 Balance at beginning of period $ 832,404 $ 759,904 $ 662,811 Less: Ceded reinsurance receivables 73,021 94,443 82,158 Net balance at beginning of period 759,383 665,461 580,653 Incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses related to: Current year 279,609 367,298 376,306 Prior years 9,544 ( 8,070 ) 8,658 Total incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses 289,153 359,228 384,964 Paid losses and loss adjustment expenses related to: Current year 72,717 103,442 149,092 Prior years 198,049 161,864 151,064 Total paid losses and loss adjustment expenses 270,766 265,306 300,156 Net balance at end of period 777,770 759,383 665,461 Plus: Ceded reinsurance receivables 72,829 73,021 94,443 Balance at end of period $ 850,599 $ 832,404 $ 759,904 When analyzing loss reserves and prior year development, the Company considers many factors, including the frequency and severity of claims, loss trends, case reserve settlements that may have resulted in significant development, and any other additional or pertinent factors that may impact reserve estimates. During 2023, the Company increased its prior accident year loss reserves by $ 9.5 million , which consisted of a $ 29.9 million increase related to Penn-America and a $ 20.3 million decrease related to Non-Core Operations. The $ 29.9 million increase in prior accident year loss reserves related to Penn-America primarily consisted of the following: • General Liability: A $ 28.6 million increase mainly reflects higher than expected claims severity in accident years 2018 through 2022, partially offset by decreases in the 1998, 2000 through 2010, 2012 and 2014 through 2017 accident years. • Property: A $ 1.3 million increase primarily recognizes higher than expected claims severity in the 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022 accident years, partially offset by decreases in the 2015 and 2021 accident years. The $ 20.3 million decrease in prior accident year loss reserves related to Non-Core Operations primarily consisted of the following: • Property: A $ 0.8 million increase mainly recognizes higher than expected claims severity in the 2021 and 2022 accident years, partially offset by decreases in the 2016, 2018 and 2020 accident years. • General Liability: A $ 10.2 million increase primarily recognizes higher than expected claims severity in accident years prior to 1990 and 2019 through 2022, partially offset by decreases in the 1995, 2013, 2014 and 2016 through 2018 accident years. • Reinsurance: A $ 31.2 million decrease in total is comprised of a $ 17.7 million decrease in the property lines in the 2013 through 2021 accident years; a $ 7.2 million decrease was recognized in professional lines in the 2017 and 2019 through 2021 accident years, partially offset by increases in the 2016 and 2022 accident years; and a $ 6.3 million decrease in general liability mainly in the 2012 and 2019 through 2022 accident years. During 2022, the Company decreased its prior accident year loss reserves by $ 8.1 million , which consisted of a $ 2.8 million increase related to Penn-America and a $ 10.9 million decrease related to Non-Core Operations. The $ 2.8 million increase in prior accident year loss reserves related to Penn-America primarily consisted of the following: • General Liability: A $ 6.0 million increase mainly reflects higher than expected claims severity in accident years prior to 1990, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2010 and 2016 through 2020 accident years, partially offset by decreases in the 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011 through 2015 accident years. • Property: A $ 3.2 million decrease primarily recognizes lower than expected claims severity in the 2010, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2021 accident years, partially offset by increases in the 2011, 2015 and 2018 accident years. The $ 10.9 million decrease in prior accident year loss reserves related to Non-Core Operations primarily consisted of the following: • Property: A $ 1.4 million increase mainly reflects higher than expected claims severity in the 2016 through 2018 and 2020 accident years, partially offset by decreases in the 2019 and 2021 accident years. • General Liability: A $ 2.4 million decrease primarily recognizes lower than expected claims severity in the 1992, 2001 through 2003, 2007 through 2012 and 2014 through 2017 accident years, partially offset by increases in accident years prior to 1990 and 2018 through 2021 accident years. • Professional: A $ 2.1 million decrease primarily in 2008 through 2010 and 2012 through 2015 accident years. • Reinsurance: A $ 7.6 million decrease in total is comprised of a $ 6.3 million decrease in the property lines primarily in the 2017 through 2021 accident years, partially offset by an increase in the 2016 accident year; a $ 3.6 million decrease was recognized in professional lines in the 2016 accident year; and a $ 2.3 million increase in general liability mainly in the 2019 through 2021 accident years. During 2021, the Company increased its prior accident year loss reserves by $ 8.7 million , which consisted of a $ 1.8 million increase related to Penn-America and a $ 6.8 million increase related to Non-Core Operations. The $ 1.8 million increase in prior accident year loss reserves related to Penn-America primarily consisted of the following: • General Liability: A $ 1.2 million reduction primarily reflects lower than expected claims severity in the 2004 through 2009, 2014 through 2016, 2018 and 2020 accident years, partially offset by increases in the 2017 and 2019 accident years. • Property: A $ 3.0 million increase primarily recognizes higher than expected claims severity mainly in the 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2020 accident years, partially offset by a decrease in the 2011, 2015, 2017, and 2019 accident years. • Professional Liability: A $ 0.1 million increase mainly in the 2018 accident years mainly reflecting higher than anticipated claims severity. The $ 6.8 million increase of prior accident year loss reserves related to Non-Core Operations primarily consisted of the following: • Property: A $ 11.3 million increase in total which is primarily due to case incurred emergence on a Property Brokerage claim in the 2018 accident year reflecting a higher estimated ultimate for Hurricane Michael. In addition, there were increases in the 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020 accident years which reflects higher than expected claims severity; the increases were partially offset by a decrease in the 2017 accident year. • General Liability: A $ 1.6 million decrease primarily reflects lower than expected claims severity in accident years prior to 1990, 2000 through 2002, 2011, 2012 and 2014 through 2017 accident years, partially offset by increases in the 1992, 2007, 2009 and 2018 through 2020 accident years. • Professional Liability: A $ 0.1 million decrease primarily in the 2018 accident year. • Reinsurance: A $ 2.8 million decrease in total is comprised of a $ 1.7 million decrease in the property lines primarily in the 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020 accident years, partially offset by an increase in the 2019 accident year and a $ 1.1 million decrease was recognized in professional lines mainly in the 2015 accident year, reflecting that the inception-to-date case incurred remained zero for this claims-made segment in this year. Prior to 2001, the Company underwrote multi-peril business insuring general contractors, developers, and sub-contractors primarily involved in residential construction that has resulted in significant exposure to construction defect (“CD”) claims. The Company’s reserves for CD claims are established based upon Management’s best estimate in consideration of known facts, existing case law, and generally accepted actuarial methodologies. However, due to the inherent uncertainty concerning this type of business, the ultimate exposure for these claims may vary significantly from the amounts currently recorded. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022 , gross reserves for CD claims were $ 30.4 million and $ 34.8 million, respectively, and net reserves for CD claims were $ 28.8 million and $ 33.4 million, respectively. The Company has exposure to asbestos and environmental (“A&E”) claims. The asbestos exposure primarily arises from the sale of product liability insurance, and the environmental exposure arises from the sale of general liability and commercial multi-peril insurance. In establishing the liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses related to A&E exposures, management considers facts currently known and the current state of the law and coverage litigation. Liabilities are recognized for known claims (including the cost of related litigation) when sufficient information has been developed to indicate the involvement of a specific insurance policy, and management can reasonably estimate its liability. In addition, liabilities have been established to cover additional exposures on both known and unasserted claims. Estimates of the liabilities are reviewed and updated regularly. Case law continues to evolve for such claims, and uncertainty exists about the outcome of coverage litigation and whether past claim experience will be representative of future claim experience. Included in net unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses as of December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 were IBNR reserves of $ 17.3 million, $ 18.9 million, and $ 20.1 million, respectively, and case reserves of approximately $ 3.8 million, $ 2.8 million, and $ 1.9 million, respectively, for known A&E-related claims. The following table shows the Company’s gross reserves for A&E losses: Years Ended December 31, (Dollars in thousands) 2023 2022 2021 Gross reserve for A&E losses and loss adjustment expenses – beginning of period $ 37,142 $ 39,153 $ 47,593 Plus: Change in incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses 1,419 2,658 ( 7,500 ) Less: Payments 1,730 4,669 940 Gross reserves for A&E losses and loss adjustment expenses – end of period $ 36,831 $ 37,142 $ 39,153 The following table shows the Company’s net reserves for A&E losses: Years Ended December 31, (Dollars in thousands) 2023 2022 2021 Net reserve for A&E losses and loss adjustment expenses – beginning of period $ 21,647 $ 21,985 $ 28,679 Plus: Change in incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses ( 1 ) 1,962 ( 6,500 ) Less: Payments 539 2,300 194 Net reserves for A&E losses and loss adjustment expenses – end of period $ 21,107 $ 21,647 $ 21,985 Establishing reserves for A&E and other mass tort claims involves more judgment than other types of claims due to factors including, but not limited to, inconsistent court decisions, an increase in bankruptcy filings as a result of asbestos-related liabilities, and judicial interpretations that often expand theories of recovery and broaden the scope of coverage. The insurance industry continues to receive a substantial number of asbestos-related bodily injury claims, with an increasing focus being directed toward other parties, including installers of products containing asbestos rather than against asbestos manufacturers. This shift has resulted in significant insurance coverage litigation implicating applicable coverage defenses or determinations, if any, including but not limited to, determinations as to whether or not an asbestos-related bodily injury claim is subject to aggregate limits of liability found in most comprehensive general liability policies. As of December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 , the survival ratio on a gross basis for the Company’s open A&E claims was 15.1 years, 16.9 years, and 33.3 years, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 , the survival ratio on a net basis for the Company’s open A&E claims was 20.9 years, 22.8 years, and 63.5 years, respectively. The survival ratio, which is the ratio of gross or net reserves to the 3-year average of annual paid claims, is a financial measure that indicates how long the current amount of gross or net reserves are expected to last based on the current rate of paid claims. Line of Business Categories The following is information, presented by lines of business with similar characteristics including similar payout patterns, about incurred and paid claims development as of December 31, 2023, net of reinsurance, as well as cumulative claim frequency and the total of incurred-but-not-reported liabilities included within the net incurred claims amounts. The years included represent the number of years for which claims incurred typically remain outstanding but need not exceed 10 years including the most recent report period presented. The information about incurred and paid claims development for the years ended December 31, 2014 to 2022, is presented as required supplementary unaudited information. Penn-America Property and Casualty Methodologies Penn-America’s internal actuarial reserve reviews were completed for loss and allocated loss adjustment expenses (“ALAE”) separately for property excluding catastrophe experience, property catastrophes, and casualty reserve categories. The internal actuarial reserve reviews were completed with data through December 2023. Actuarial methodologies, such as the Loss Development and Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods, were employed to develop estimates of ultimate loss & ALAE for most reserve categories. Additional actuarial methodologies were employed to develop estimates of ultimate loss & ALAE for mass tort and constructions defect reserve categories due to the unique characteristics of the exposures involved. Management’s ultimate selections considered the internal actuarial review and a third-party actuarial review completed during the fourth quarter of 2023. Case incurred is subtracted from the management selected ultimates to obtain the booked IBNR reserves. These methodologies are consistent with last year. Penn-America’s cumulative claim frequency has been calculated at the claim level and includes claims closed without payment. Penn-America – Property (Dollars in thousands) Incurred Claims and Allocated Claims Adjustment Expenses, For the Years Ended December 31, As of December 31, 2023 Accident 2021 2022 2023 IBNR (1) Cumulative Number (unaudited) (unaudited) 2021 $ 81,703 $ 80,477 $ 79,278 $ 2,476 3,599 2022 80,485 81,232 6,979 3,040 2023 72,862 12,067 2,339 Total $ 233,372 (1) Incurred-but-not-reported liabilities plus expected development on reported claims Penn-America – Property (Dollars in thousands) Cumulative Paid Claims and Allocated Claims Adjustment Expenses, For the Years Ended December 31, Accident 2021 2022 2023 (unaudited) (unaudited) 2021 $ 49,041 $ 72,804 $ 74,982 2022 48,646 71,530 2023 50,543 Total 197,055 All outstanding liabilities before 2021, net of reinsurance 4,560 Liabilities for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses, net of reinsurance $ 40,877 The following is required supplementary information about average historical claims duration as of December 31, 2023: Average Annual Percentage Payout of Incurred Claims by Age, Year 1 2 3 Penn-America - Property 63.7 % 29.1 % 2.7 % Penn-America – Casualty (Dollars in thousands) Incurred Claims and Allocated Claim Adjustment Expenses, Net of Reinsurance For the Years Ended December 31, As of December 31, 2023 Accident 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 IBNR (1) Cumulative (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) 2014 $ 43,587 $ 42,841 $ 41,817 $ 41,530 $ 41,038 $ 39,516 $ 37,336 $ 37,034 $ 35,944 $ 35,632 $ 747 1,744 2015 47,299 46,306 47,055 46,958 48,462 45,968 45,439 45,254 43,764 1,389 1,774 2016 45,684 45,230 44,758 43,055 42,798 42,237 42,291 42,166 1,505 1,630 2017 46,050 45,970 44,720 44,078 45,071 45,581 45,212 2,031 1,645 2018 48,830 48,450 47,783 47,175 47,726 47,721 2,812 1,993 2019 59,512 59,384 61,055 63,139 69,013 6,184 2,315 2020 72,149 71,693 75,412 86,132 12,837 2,429 2021 96,705 96,268 108,042 33,181 2,998 2022 123,985 129,796 72,604 2,947 2023 122,770 100,176 1,564 Total $ 730,248 (1) Incurred-but-not-reported liabilities plus expected development on reported claims Penn-America – Casualty (Dollars in thousands) Cumulative Paid Claims and Allocated Claims Adjustment Expenses, Net of Reinsurance For the Years Ended December 31, Accident 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) 2014 $ 2,103 $ 10,583 $ 17,457 $ 24,113 $ 29,152 $ 31,725 $ 33,669 $ 34,020 $ 34,255 $ 34,639 2015 2,903 11,999 20,459 28,579 34,932 37,850 39,078 40,596 41,655 2016 3,478 11,130 17,314 28,601 33,734 36,472 38,597 39,466 2017 4,412 10,286 19,818 26,834 31,766 36,672 39,833 2018 3,575 11,622 17,714 27,571 34,019 41,133 2019 4,818 12,015 24,082 38,153 51,672 2020 3,795 14,672 33,882 55,914 2021 5,639 20,405 44,663 2022 10,346 29,358 2023 7,378 Total 385,711 All outstanding liabilities before 2014, net of reinsurance 6,948 Liabilities for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses, net of reinsurance $ 351,485 The following is required supplementary information about average historical claims duration as of December 31, 2023: Average Annual Percentage Payout of Incurred Claims by Age, Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Penn-America - Casualty 6.9 % 16.0 % 18.7 % 20.9 % 14.1 % 9.2 % 5.1 % 2.2 % 1.5 % 1.1 % Non-Core Operations Property and Casualty Methodologies Non-Core Operations’ internal actuarial reserve reviews were completed for loss and allocated loss adjustment expenses (“ALAE”) separately for property excluding catastrophe experience, property catastrophes, and casualty reserve categories. The internal actuarial reserve reviews were completed with data through December 2023. Actuarial methodologies, such as the Loss Development and Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods, were employed to develop estimates of ultimate loss & ALAE. Management’s ultimate selections considered the internal actuarial review and a third-party actuarial review completed during the fourth quarter of 2023. Case incurred is subtracted from the management selected ultimates to obtain the booked IBNR reserves. These methodologies are consistent with last year. Non-Core Operations includes business acquired in the purchase of American Reliable, which occurred on January 1, 2015. The acquisition included the purchase of the business of the legal entity as well as additional books of business written by other Assurant entities. In addition, ceding arrangements subsequent to the date of the acquisition are not consistent with years prior to the acquisition. As a result, it is not practical, nor would it be consistent, to include information for years prior to 2015 in the development tables for Non-Core Operations. It also includes experience for reinsurance contracts which the Company does not have direct access to claim frequency information, so claim frequency information will not be provided for Non-Core Operations as it is not available for all the experience contained within this category. Non-Core Operations – Property (Dollars in thousands) Incurred Claims and Allocated Claims Adjustment Expenses, For the Years Ended December 31, As of December 31, 2023 Accident 2020 2021 2022 2023 IBNR (1) Cumulative Number (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) 2020 $ 161,353 $ 164,648 $ 166,076 $ 160,082 $ 4,502 — 2021 111,042 108,443 109,047 4,530 — 2022 44,668 47,558 1,689 — 2023 10,105 1,882 — Total $ 326,792 (1) Incurred-but-not-reported liabilities plus expected development on reported claims Non-Core Operations – Property (Dollars in thousands) Cumulative Paid Claims and Allocated Claims Adjustment Expenses, For the Years Ended December 31, Accident 2020 2021 2022 2023 (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) 2020 $ 125,136 $ 148,167 $ 153,421 $ 155,690 2021 84,333 100,865 102,420 2022 35,635 43,468 2023 7,802 Total 309,380 All outstanding liabilities before 2020, net of reinsurance 34,927 Liabilities for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses, net of reinsurance $ 52,339 The following is required supplementary information about average historical claims duration as of December 31, 2023. Average Annual Percentage Payout of Incurred Claims by Age, Year 1 2 3 4 Non-Core Operations - Property 76.9 % 15.3 % 2.4 % 1.4 % Non-Core Operations – Casualty (Dollars in thousands) Incurred Claims and Allocated Claims Adjustment Expenses, Net of Reinsurance For the Years Ended December 31, As of December 31, 2023 Accident 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 IBNR (1) Cumulative (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) 2015 $ 31,802 $ 33,731 $ 35,350 $ 36,534 $ 35,081 $ 32,297 $ 30,885 $ 29,905 $ 29,820 $ 585 — 2016 33,548 33,246 32,042 29,685 30,308 30,047 26,130 29,460 1,374 — 2017 32,645 32,097 31,138 32,040 31,077 31,260 26,168 1,947 — 2018 29,798 30,168 31,126 34,749 35,067 34,131 2,701 — 2019 36,892 36,933 40,469 41,398 37,619 9,286 — 2020 55,088 56,041 57,890 53,765 19,119 — 2021 76,971 79,396 81,538 43,560 2022 109,182 114,189 83,462 — 2023 66,102 58,333 — Total $ 472,792 (1) Incurred-but-not-reported liabilities plus expected development on reported claims Non-Core Operations – Casualty (Dollars in thousands) Cumulative Paid Claims and Allocated Claims Adjustment Expenses, Net of Reinsurance For the Years Ended December 31, Accident 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) 2015 $ 3,979 $ 11,470 $ 17,615 $ 23,354 $ 26,144 $ 27,005 $ 28,231 $ 28,379 $ 28,445 2016 4,164 9,782 14,495 18,196 19,383 22,005 23,539 25,791 2017 2,633 7,230 11,915 18,263 20,183 21,912 22,904 2018 2,063 6,769 13,320 19,773 23,041 25,403 2019 2,406 7,814 15,271 21,877 25,553 2020 3,346 12,074 18,816 27,235 2021 4,820 11,121 23,355 2022 4,517 14,607 2023 4,000 Total 197,293 All outstanding liabilities before 2015, net of reinsurance 32,413 Liabilities for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses, net of reinsurance $ 307,912 The following is required supplementary information about average historical claims duration as of December 31, 2023: Average Annual Percentage Payout of Incurred Claims Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Non-Core Operations - Casualty 8.0 % 15.3 % 17.3 % 18.0 % 8.0 % 6.3 % 4.4 % 4.1 % 0.2 % The reconciliation of the net incurred and paid claims development tables to the liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 is as follows: Net outstanding liabilities Penn-America – Property $ 40,877 Penn-America – Casualty 351,485 Non-Core Operations – Property 52,339 Non-Core Operations – Casualty 307,912 Liabilities for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses, net of reinsurance 752,613 Reinsurance recoverable on unpaid claims Penn-America – Property 3,592 Penn-America – Casualty 22,693 Non-Core Operations – Property 22,100 Non-Core Operations – Casualty 24,446 Total reinsurance recoverable on unpaid claims 72,831 Other outstanding liabilities Penn-America Ceded Allowance — Unallocated claims adjustment expenses 11,654 Loss Clearing ( 881 ) Non-Core Operations Ceded Allowance 8,992 Unallocated claims adjustment expenses 7,016 Other ( 1,626 ) Total other outstanding liabilities 25,155 Total gross liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses $ 850,599 |