Exhibit A

March 31, 2015

The Board of Directors of PICO Holdings Inc.
c/o John Hart
7979 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 300
La Jolla, CA 92037

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board,

River Road Asset Management LLC ("RRAM") is a value-oriented institutional
equity manager with approximately $7.8 billion in assets under management (as of
12/31/14). Our clients are located in 11 countries and represent some of the
world's largest and most respected corporations, endowments, and government
agencies. RRAM, ON BEHALF OF ITS CLIENTS, CURRENTLY OWNS APPROXIMATELY 2.0
MILLION COMMON SHARES OF PICO, WHICH REPRESENTS AN 8.8% OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN
THE COMPANY. Prior to establishing our current ownership position in 2012, we
were significant shareholders of PICO from early 2006 through mid-2008.

In our letter to the Board dated February 23, 2015, RRAM OFFERED SEVERAL IDEAS
SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND THE BOARD SHOULD PURSUE TO UNLOCK AND MAXIMIZE THE VALUE
OF PICO SHARES. To wit, we suggested the following:

     o    Monetize the firm's investment in NorthStar
     o    Monetize the firm's investment in UCP
     o    Use a significant portion of the asset sale proceeds to repurchase
          shares (assuming shares remain undervalued) and/or pay a special
          one-time cash dividend
     o    Conduct a strategic review to determine if PICO should remain an
          independent, publicly-traded company

Consistent with several of our recommendations, ON MARCH 16, 2015, PICO:
     o    Announced the HIRING OF AN INVESTMENT BANK TO PURSUE "A REVIEW OF
          FINANCIAL AND STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES" FOR NORTHSTAR.
     o    Acknowledged that the share price of UCP "does not reflect its
          intrinsic value" and as the controlling shareholder, PICO ENCOURAGED
          UCP MANAGEMENT TO "EVALUATE OPTIONS FOR UNLOCKING SHAREHOLDER VALUE IN
          A MANNER THAT WOULD BE IN THE INTEREST OF ALL SHAREHOLDERS."
     o    Commented THE BOARD INTENDS TO RETURN VALUE TO SHAREHOLDERS THROUGH
          STOCK REPURCHASES, following the potential NorthStar monetization and
          assuming PICO shares remain undervalued.

RRAM WISHES TO EXPRESS OUR STRONG SUPPORT for the actions described above. We
certainly agree with management's acknowledgement that PICO'S SHARE PRICE DOES
NOT REFLECT THE FIRM'S INTRINSIC VALUE, AND WE BELIEVE THESE ACTIONS WILL BE
POSITIVE STEPS TOWARD UNLOCKING THE VALUE OF PICO.

One of the key tenets of the RRAM investment philosophy is seeking equity
investments that are "undiscovered, underfollowed, or misunderstood." In PICO's
case, we believe "undiscovered" is the most appropriate description given that
the company has no sell-side research coverage, typically does not conduct
conference calls or attend investor conferences, nor provides much detail in its
press releases. While we understand why PICO doesn't attract sell-side coverage
or attend investor conferences, RRAM WOULD LIKE TO SEE PICO PROVIDE MORE DETAIL
IN SEC FILINGS TO HELP INVESTORS VALUE THE ASSETS OF VIDLER WATER. If
transactions for NorthStar and UCP are consummated, investor attention will
certainly shift to the difficult-to-value assets of PICO subsidiary Vidler
Water.

RRAM'S FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH MIRRORS PICO MANAGEMENT'S COMMENTS ON THE Q4
CONFERENCE CALL THAT VIDLER WATER "COULD HAVE A VALUE OF APPROXIMATELY 2.2 TIMES
CARRYING COST." We believe this estimate is conservative based on our analysis
of each asset. For example, the current market value of Vidler's interest in
Fish Springs Ranch ("FSR") significantly exceeds its book value.

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PICO's 10-K states that Vidler has a 51% partnership interest in FSR, whose
primary assets are ownership of 7,984 acre-feet (AF) of fully permitted,
transferable water credits plus 5,000 AF of water credits without regulatory
approval for importation. Vidler financed the construction of the FSR pipeline
to the partnership, which entitles Vidler to fully recover the pipeline
construction costs and accrued interest prior to partnership distributions. This
will only occur when FSR generates revenue from the sale of water credits.
Vidler has exclusive rights to the FSR pipeline, which has an estimated total
capacity of 18,000 to 20,000 AF/year (according to PICO management).

Based on local market comparisons in the Reno area, RRAM believes the fully
permitted deliverable water rights have a current market value of $35,000 per
AF. This estimate is based on several factors, including private market
transactions from several years ago, available water prices (with delivery and
infrastructure cost adjustments) from the Truckee Meadow Water Authority, and
assumptions on average home prices and water scarcity in the area. We have also
calculated Vidler's current "recovery" costs at ~$140 MM (which will rise each
year until monetization). If the partnership was able to fully monetize FSR at
current market prices, the Vidler proceeds would be:

7,984 AF x $35,000 = ~$280 MM in proceeds less $140 MM Vidler cost recovery
= $140 MM distribution to partnership x Vidler 50% interest = $70 MM
Net proceeds to Vidler: $140 MM + $70 MM = $210 MM

THE ~$210 MM PRE-TAX VALUATION OF FSR (~$9.10 PER PICO SHARE) COMPARES TO FSR'S
CURRENT BOOK VALUE OF ~$85 MM (~$3.70 PER PICO SHARE). The after-tax valuation
could roughly be the same given PICO has over $130 MM in NOLs. Our
mark-to-market valuation doesn't assign any value for the 5,000 AF of water
credits without current regulatory approval for importation or the excess
capacity Vidler could potentially rent to third parties. Given the significant
projected growth in the Reno-Tahoe area due to the construction of the $5
billion gigafactory of Tesla Motors and lack of available water supply, these
assets should continue to appreciate. THIS EXAMPLE ILLUSTRATES THE DIFFICULTY OF
VALUING ONE WATER ASSET, not to mention Vidler's Tule Desert, Carson/Lyon,
Arizona Recharge Facility, Phoenix AMA Water Storage, Dodge Flat, Colorado, and
Harquahala Valley assets - all of which we believe are worth a premium to their
respective book values.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR PROGRESS ON MANAGEMENT'S STATED INITIATIVES.
Given that President & CEO John Hart recently purchased nearly 50,000 shares of
PICO in the open market, we expect the Board to follow John's lead. WE IMPLORE
THE BOARD TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PICO'S CURRENT SHARE PRICE AND EXECUTE A
REPURCHASE PROGRAM, PRIOR TO THE ANNOUNCED OUTCOME OF NORTHSTAR'S STRATEGIC
REVIEW. Further, as a significant investor in PICO, we stand ready to take
additional actions to help unlock the firm's value if the Board fails to
successfully execute upon its initiatives and properly consider our additional
recommendations.

Sincerely,

R. ANDREW BECK          JAMES C. SHIRCLIFF, CFA         J. JUSTIN AKIN
President & CEO,        Chief Investment  Officer,      Portfolio Manager
Senior Portfolio        Senior Portfolio
Manager                 Manager



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