The following summarizes Bankers Fidelity’s earned premiums for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 and the comparable periods in 2009 (in thousands):
Premium revenue at Bankers Fidelity increased $1.5 million, or 10.6%, during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, and $3.0 million, or 10.7%, during the six month period ended June 30, 2010, over the comparable periods in 2009, primarily due to successful marketing initiatives, recruiting of new agents, and effective utilization of the company’s proprietary lead program. Premiums from the Medicare supplement line of business increased $1.0 million, or 9.7%, during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, and $2.0 million, or 9.8%, during the six month period ended June 30, 2010, while premiums from the life insurance line of business increased $0.2 million and $0.5 million, respectively, during the same comparable periods. The other health products premiums increased during the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010, over the comparable periods in 2009 due primarily to an increase in sales of short-term care products and increased business activities with group associations.
The following summarizes Bankers Fidelity’s operating expenses for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 and the comparable periods in 2009 (in thousands):
Benefits and losses increased $1.5 million, or 14.8%, during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, and $1.9 million, or 9.2%, during the six month period ended June 30, 2010, over the comparable periods in 2009. As a percentage of premiums, benefits and losses increased to 75.6% in the three month period ended June 30, 2010 from 72.8% in the three month period ended June 30, 2009. For the six month period ended June 30, 2010, this ratio decreased to 73.6% from 74.6% in the comparable period in 2009. The increase in the 2010 second quarter loss ratio was primarily due to increased claims in the Medicare supplement line of business, reserve increases on new life business and the continued aging of the older life business; however, for the six month period ended June 30, 2010, the company had more favorable loss experience in the Medicare supplement line of business as compared to the same period in 2009, resulting in the decrease in the 2010 year to date loss ratio.
Commissions and other expenses increased $0.3 million, or 7.1%, during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, and $0.8 million, or 9.2%, during the six month period ended June 30, 2010, over the comparable periods in 2009. The increase in commissions and other expenses for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 was primarily due to increases in both underwriting and data processing expense. Also contributing to the increase in commissions and other expenses for the 2010 year to date period were increases in agency related expenses which resulted from the company’s increased marketing initiatives. As a percentage of premiums, these expenses decreased to 31.2% in the three month period ended June 30, 2010 from 32.2% in the three month period ended June 30, 2009. For the six month period ended June 30, 2010, this ratio decreased to 31.3% from 31.7% in the comparable period in 2009. The decrease in the 2010 expense ratios was primarily attributable to the increase in earned premiums coupled with a relatively consistent level of fixed expenses.
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INVESTMENT INCOME AND REALIZED GAINS (LOSSES)
Investment income decreased $0.1 million, or 4.9%, during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, and $0.3 million, or 5.7%, during the six month period ended June 30, 2010, from the comparable periods in 2009. The decrease in investment income for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 was primarily due to a decrease in interest rates. The average yield on the Company’s invested assets decreased in the six month period ended June 30, 2010 as compared to same period in 2009. Also during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, a large number of securities held by the Company were redeemed by the issuers in accordance with the contractual terms thereof, the proceeds from which the Company was not able to reinvest at equivalent rates.
The Company had net realized investment gains of $13,000 during the six month period ended June 30, 2010, compared to net realized investment losses of $13,000 in the six month period ended June 30, 2009. The Company recorded a realized loss of $0.1 million due to other than temporary impairments in its investment in redeemable preferred securities of General Motors Corporation and certain other invested assets in the three month period ended June 30, 2009. There were no impairments recorded during the six month period ended June 30, 2010. Management continually evaluates the Company’s investment portfolio and, as may be determined to be appropriate, makes adjustments for impairments and/or will divest investments.
INTEREST EXPENSE
Interest expense decreased slightly during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, and $0.1 million, or 8.5%, during the six month period ended June 30, 2010, from the comparable periods in 2009. The decrease in interest expense for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 was due to a decrease in the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), as the interest rates on the Company’s trust preferred obligations and outstanding bank debt are based on LIBOR.
OTHER EXPENSES
Other expenses (commissions, underwriting expenses, and other expenses) decreased $1.1 million, or 10.8%, during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, and $1.4 million, or 7.3%, during the six month period ended June 30, 2010, from the comparable periods in 2009. The decrease in other expenses for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 was primarily attributable to a $0.6 million decrease in compensation accruals and a reduction in profit sharing commissions at American Southern. During the three month period ended June 30, 2010, profit sharing commissions at American Southern decreased $0.5 million from the three month period ended June 30, 2009 due to the inversely higher loss ratios. For the six month period ended June 30, 2010, profit sharing commissions decreased $0.9 million from the comparable period of 2009. The majority of American Southern’s business is structured in a way that agents are compensated based upon the loss ratios of the business they submit to the company. In periods where the loss ratio increases, commissions and underwriting expenses will decrease, and conversely, in periods where the loss ratio decreases, commissions and underwriting expenses will increase. In addition, during the three month period ended June 30, 2010, the Company terminated its qualified pension plan and distributed the accumulated benefits to participating employees. In connection with the termination and final settlement of the qualified pension plan, the Company incurred a non-recurring charge of $0.3 million. In the three month period ended June 30, 2009, the Company incurred a similar non-recurring charge of $0.4 million due to the termination of its SERP. On a consolidated basis, as a percentage of earned premiums, other expenses decreased to 36.7% in the three month period ended June 30, 2010 from 43.7% in the three month period ended June 30, 2009. For the six month period ended June 30, 2010, this ratio decreased to 38.3% from 43.1% in the comparable period in 2009. The decrease in the expense ratio for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 was primarily due to the decrease in compensation accruals and the reduction in profit sharing commissions described above. Also contributing to the decrease in the expense ratio was the increase in earned premiums coupled with a relatively consistent level of fixed expenses.
INCOME TAXES
The primary differences between the Company’s effective tax rate and the federal statutory income tax rate for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 and 2009, respectively, resulted from the dividends-received deduction (“DRD”). The current estimated DRD is adjusted as underlying factors change. The actual current year DRD can vary from the estimates based on, but not limited to, actual distributions from these investments as well as appropriate levels of taxable income.
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LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The primary cash needs of the Company are for the payment of claims and operating expenses, maintaining adequate statutory capital and surplus levels, and meeting debt service requirements. Current and expected patterns of claim frequency and severity may change from period to period but generally are expected to continue within historical ranges. The Company’s primary sources of cash are written premiums, investment income and the sale and maturity of its invested assets. The Company believes that, within each operating company, total invested assets will be sufficient to satisfy all policy liabilities and that cash inflows from investment earnings, future premium receipts and reinsurance collections will be adequate to fund the payment of claims and expenses as needed.
Cash flows at the Parent are derived from dividends, management fees, and tax sharing payments, as described below, from the subsidiaries. The cash needs of the Parent are for the payment of operating expenses, the acquisition of capital assets and debt service requirements. At June 30, 2010, the Parent had approximately $24.0 million of unrestricted cash and investments. The Company believes that traditional funding sources of the Parent, combined with current cash and investments, should provide sufficient liquidity for the Company and/or the Parent for the foreseeable future.
The Parent’s insurance subsidiaries reported statutory net income of $2.7 million for the six month period ended June 30, 2010 compared to statutory net income of $3.6 million for the six month period ended June 30, 2009. Statutory results are impacted by the recognition of all costs of acquiring business. In a scenario in which the Company is growing, statutory results are generally lower than results determined under generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Statutory results for the Company’s property and casualty operations may differ from the Company’s results of operations under GAAP due to the deferral of acquisition costs for financial reporting purposes. The Company’s life and health operations’ statutory results may differ from GAAP results primarily due to the deferral of acquisition costs for financial reporting purposes, as well as the use of different reserving methods.
Over 90% of the invested assets of the Parent’s insurance subsidiaries are invested in marketable securities that can be converted into cash, if required; however, the use of such assets by the Company is limited by state insurance regulations. Dividend payments to a parent corporation by its wholly owned insurance subsidiaries are subject to annual limitations and are restricted to the greater of 10% of statutory surplus or statutory earnings before recognizing realized investment gains of the individual insurance subsidiaries. At June 30, 2010, American Southern had $38.4 million of statutory surplus and Bankers Fidelity had $32.2 million of statutory surplus.
The Parent provides certain administrative and other services to each of its insurance subsidiaries. The amounts charged to and paid by the subsidiaries include reimbursements for various shared services and other expenses incurred directly on behalf of the subsidiaries by the Parent. In addition, there is in place a formal tax-sharing agreement between the Parent and its insurance subsidiaries. It is anticipated that this agreement will provide the Parent with additional funds from profitable subsidiaries due to the subsidiaries’ use of the Parent’s tax loss carryforwards, which totaled approximately $6.2 million at June 30, 2010.
In addition to these internal funding sources, the Company maintains its revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”). On June 29, 2010, the Company and Wells Fargo, successor-by-merger to Wachovia Bank, National Association (“Wachovia”) entered into the third amendment (the “Amendment”) to the Credit Agreement with Wachovia (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”). The Amendment provides for, among other things, the extension of the term of the Credit Agreement to June 30, 2011 (the “Extension Period”); availability under the revolving credit facility during the Extension Period of up to $5.0 million; and an Applicable Margin (as defined therein) on LIBOR based borrowings thereunder of 2.00%. In accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement, the Company is able to, subject to the terms and conditions thereof, borrow or reborrow up to $5.0 million thereunder. The interest rate on amounts outstanding under the Credit Agreement is, at the option of the Company, equivalent to either (a) the base rate (which equals the higher of the Prime Rate or 0.5% above the Federal Funds Rate, each as defined) or (b) LIBOR determined on an interest period of 1-month, 2-months, 3-months or 6-months plus 2.00%. Interest on amounts outstanding is payable quarterly. The Credit Agreement requires the Company to comply with certain covenants, including, among others, ratios that relate funded debt to both total capitalization and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, as well as the maintenance of minimum levels of tangible net worth. The Company must also comply with limitations on capital expenditures, certain payments, additional debt obligations, equity repurchases and certain redemptions, as well as minimum risk-based capital levels. Upon the occurrence of an event of default, Wells Fargo may terminate the Credit Agreement and declare all amounts outstanding due and payable in full. During the six month period ended June 30, 2010, there was no balance outstanding under this Credit Agreement and the Company was in compliance with all terms of the Credit Agreement.
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The Company has two statutory trusts which exist for the exclusive purpose of issuing trust preferred securities representing undivided beneficial interests in the assets of the trusts and investing the gross proceeds of the trust preferred securities in junior subordinated deferrable interest debentures (“Junior Subordinated Debentures”). The outstanding $41.2 million of Junior Subordinated Debentures have a maturity of thirty years from their original date of issuance, are callable, in whole or in part, only at the option of the Company, five years after their respective dates of issue and quarterly thereafter, and have an interest rate of three-month LIBOR plus an applicable margin. The margin ranges from 4.00% to 4.10%. At June 30, 2010, the effective interest rate was 4.54%. The obligations of the Company with respect to the issuances of the trust preferred securities represent a full and unconditional guarantee by the Parent of each trust’s obligations with respect to the trust preferred securities. Subject to certain exceptions and limitations, the Company may elect from time to time to defer Junior Subordinated Debenture interest payments, which would result in a deferral of distribution payments on the related trust preferred securities. The Company has not made such an election.
During 2006, the Company entered into a zero cost rate collar with Wachovia to hedge future interest payments on a portion of the Junior Subordinated Debentures. The notional amount of the collar was $18.0 million with an effective date of March 6, 2006. The collar has a LIBOR floor rate of 4.77% and a LIBOR cap rate of 5.85% and adjusts quarterly on the 4th of each March, June, September and December through termination on March 4, 2013. The Company began making payments to Wells Fargo, as successor-by-merger to Wachovia, under the zero cost rate collar on June 4, 2008. As a result of interest rates remaining below the LIBOR floor rate of 4.77%, these payments to Wells Fargo under the zero cost rate collar have continued. While the Company may be exposed to counterparty risk should Wells Fargo fail to perform, based on the current level of interest rates, and coupled with the current macroeconomic outlook, the Company believes that its current exposure to nonperformance risks is minimal.
The Company intends to pay its obligations under the Credit Agreement, if any, and the Junior Subordinated Debentures using existing cash balances, dividend and tax sharing payments from the operating subsidiaries, or from potential future financing arrangements.
At June 30, 2010, the Company had 70,000 shares of Series D Preferred Stock (“Series D Preferred Stock”) outstanding. All of the shares of Series D Preferred Stock are held by an affiliate of the Company’s Chairman Emeritus. The outstanding shares of Series D Preferred Stock have a stated value of $100 per share; accrue annual dividends at a rate of $7.25 per share (payable in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock at the option of the board of directors of the Company) and are cumulative. In certain circumstances, the shares of the Series D Preferred Stock may be convertible into an aggregate of approximately 1,754,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, subject to certain adjustments and provided that such adjustments do not result in the Company issuing more than approximately 2,703,000 shares of common stock without obtaining prior shareholder approval; and are redeemable solely at the Company’s option. The Series D Preferred Stock is not currently convertible. At June 30, 2010, the Company had accrued, but unpaid, dividends on the Series D Preferred Stock totaling $0.3 million.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $0.5 million in the six month period ended June 30, 2010, compared to net cash used in operating activities of $5.5 million in the six month period ended June 30, 2009. Cash and short-term investments increased from $20.1 million at December 31, 2009 to $47.2 million at June 30, 2010. The increase in cash and short-term investments during the six month period ended June 30, 2010 was primarily due to a large number of called securities exceeding investment purchases. During the six month period ended June 30, 2009, the Company distributed accumulated benefits of $2.8 million resulting from the termination of its SERP and paid a $1.8 million final settlement to Columbia Mutual Insurance Company in connection with the 2008 sale of its regional property and casualty operations.
The Company believes that the dividends, fees, and tax-sharing payments it receives from its subsidiaries and, if needed, additional borrowings from financial institutions will enable the Company to meet its liquidity requirements for the foreseeable future. Management is not aware of any current recommendations by regulatory authorities, which, if implemented, would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s liquidity, capital resources or operations.
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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
As a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K, we have elected to comply with certain scaled disclosure reporting obligations, and therefore are not required to provide the information requested by this Item.
Item 4T. Controls and Procedures
An evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act). Based on that evaluation, our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report. We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management necessarily applies its judgment in assessing the costs and benefits of such controls and procedures, which, by their nature, can provide only reasonable assurance regarding management’s control objectives. The Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures can prevent all possible errors or fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. There are inherent limitations in all control systems, including the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple errors or mistakes. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of one or more persons. The design of any system of controls is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and, while our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to be effective under circumstances where they should reasonably be expected to operate effectively, there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Because of the inherent limitations in any control system, misstatements due to possible errors or fraud may occur and may not be detected.
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains and references certain information that constitutes forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the federal securities laws. Those statements, to the extent they are not historical facts, should be considered forward-looking statements, and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made based upon management’s current assessments of various risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions made in accordance with the “safe harbor” provisions of the federal securities laws. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of such risks and uncertainties, including those identified in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and the other filings made by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
On May 2, 1995, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an initial plan that allowed for the repurchase of shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Repurchase Plan”). As amended since its original adoption, the Repurchase Plan currently allows for repurchases of up to an aggregate of 2.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, as determined by an authorized officer of the Company. Such purchases can be made from time to time in accordance with applicable securities laws and other requirements.
Other than pursuant to the Repurchase Plan, no purchases of common stock of the Company were made by or on behalf of the Company during the periods described below.
The table below sets forth information regarding repurchases by the Company of shares of its common stock on a monthly basis during the three month period ended June 30, 2010.
| | | | | |
Period
| Total Number of Shares Purchased
| Average Price Paid per Share
| Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs
| Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
|
April 1 - April 30, 2010 | 750 | $ 1.78 | 750 | 468,254 |
May 1 - May 31, 2010 | 3,559 | 1.71 | 3,559 | 464,695 |
June 1 - June 30, 2010 | 1,700
| 1.47
| 1,700
| 462,995 |
Total | 6,009
| $ 1.65
| 6,009
| |
Item 6. Exhibits
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
ATLANTIC AMERICAN CORPORATION
(Registrant)
Date: August 6, 2010 | By: /s/ John G. Sample, Jr. John G. Sample, Jr. Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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EXHIBIT INDEX