UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended JUNE 30, 2007

OR

o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________________to __________________

 

Commission File Number: 0-10956

 

EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Iowa

 

42-6234555

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

717 Mulberry Street, Des Moines, Iowa

 

50309

(Address of principal executive office)

 

(Zip Code)

 

(515) 345-2902

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

 

x  Yes  

o  No

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

 

Large accelerated filer   o

Accelerated filer   x

Non-accelerated filer   o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

 

o  Yes  

x  No

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

 

Class

 

Outstanding at July 31, 2007

Common stock, $1.00 par value

 

13,763,708

 

Total pages

81  

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

PAGE

PART I

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1.

Financial Statements

3

 

Item 2.

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

18

 

Item 3.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

37

 

Item 4.

Controls and Procedures

37

 

PART II

OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 2.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

38

 

Item 4.

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

38

 

Item 6.

Exhibits

39

 

Signatures

40

 

Index to Exhibits

41

 

 


PART I.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

ITEM 1.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

(Unaudited)

 

 

June 30,

 

December 31,

 

2007

 

2006

ASSETS

 

 

 

Investments:

 

 

 

Fixed maturities:

 

 

 

Securities held-to-maturity, at amortized cost

 

 

 

(fair value $5,699,881 and $5,768,918) 

$              5,650,710 

 

$            5,679,960 

Securities available-for-sale, at fair value

 

 

 

(amortized cost $623,884,205 and $706,273,867) 

628,439,837 

 

716,927,579 

Fixed maturity securities on loan:

 

 

 

Securities available-for-sale, at fair value

 

 

 

(amortized cost $172,538,354 and $89,841,454) 

169,033,208 

 

88,909,477 

Equity securities available-for-sale, at fair value

 

 

 

(cost $81,977,014 and $77,089,044) 

125,703,328 

 

112,527,480 

Other long-term investments, at cost 

119,495 

 

552,202 

Short-term investments, at cost 

64,319,647 

 

76,722,652 

Total investments 

993,266,225 

 

1,001,319,350 

 

 

 

 

Balances resulting from related party transactions with

 

 

 

Employers Mutual:

 

 

 

Reinsurance receivables 

41,136,830 

 

37,805,569 

Prepaid reinsurance premiums 

4,315,675 

 

4,807,822 

Deferred policy acquisition costs 

33,581,444 

 

33,662,408 

Defined benefit retirement plan, prepaid asset 

7,266,199 

 

7,836,958 

Other assets 

4,792,323 

 

2,410,120 

 

 

 

 

Cash 

147,470 

 

196,274 

Accrued investment income 

11,201,248 

 

11,363,814 

Accounts receivable (net of allowance for uncollectible

 

 

 

accounts of $0 and $0) 

405,296 

 

205,046 

Income taxes recoverable 

1,439,884 

 

1,888,935 

Deferred income taxes 

13,569,323 

 

12,403,141 

Goodwill 

941,586 

 

941,586 

Securities lending collateral 

174,174,619 

 

91,317,719 

Total assets 

$       1,286,238,122 

 

$     1,206,158,742 

 

 

See accompanying Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

3

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

(Unaudited)

 

 

June 30,

 

December 31,

 

2007

 

2006

LIABILITIES

 

 

 

Balances resulting from related party transactions with

 

 

 

Employers Mutual:

 

 

 

Losses and settlement expenses 

$          544,739,596 

 

$        548,547,982 

Unearned premiums 

154,729,067 

 

155,653,799 

Other policyholders' funds 

8,067,869 

 

7,320,536 

Surplus notes payable 

36,000,000 

 

36,000,000 

Indebtedness to related party 

1,442,492 

 

18,621,351 

Employee retirement plans 

18,424,753 

 

17,700,372 

Other liabilities 

15,940,070 

 

22,702,661 

 

 

 

 

Securities lending obligation 

174,174,619 

 

91,317,719 

Total liabilities 

953,518,466 

 

897,864,420 

 

 

 

 

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 

 

 

 

Common stock, $1 par value, authorized 20,000,000

 

 

 

shares; issued and outstanding, 13,761,408

 

 

 

shares in 2007 and 13,741,663 shares in 2006 

13,761,408 

 

13,741,663 

Additional paid-in capital 

107,595,222 

 

107,016,563 

Accumulated other comprehensive income 

24,748,542 

 

24,934,903 

Retained earnings 

186,614,484 

 

162,601,193 

Total stockholders' equity 

332,719,656 

 

308,294,322 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity 

$       1,286,238,122 

 

$     1,206,158,742 

 

 

See accompanying Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

4

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

 

(Unaudited)

 

All balances presented below, with the exception of net investment income, realized investment gains and income tax expense (benefit), are the result of related party transactions with Employers Mutual.

 

 

Three months ended

 

Six months ended

 

June 30,

 

June 30,

 

2007

 

2006

 

2007

 

2006

REVENUES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Premiums earned 

$ 99,498,684 

 

$ 98,217,921 

 

$ 194,005,069 

 

$ 193,710,119 

Investment income, net 

11,654,573 

 

11,368,427 

 

23,642,540 

 

23,146,873 

Realized investment gains 

216,851 

 

2,187,894 

 

1,513,291 

 

4,032,769 

Other income 

151,024 

 

224,333 

 

270,901 

 

332,893 

 

111,521,132 

 

111,998,575 

 

219,431,801 

 

221,222,654 

LOSSES AND EXPENSES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Losses and settlement expenses 

56,414,112 

 

60,111,798 

 

109,890,072 

 

108,529,827 

Dividends to policyholders 

2,794,606 

 

1,739,425 

 

3,736,715 

 

2,731,143 

Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs 

22,493,487 

 

22,494,421 

 

44,271,628 

 

43,991,550 

Other underwriting expenses 

9,014,918 

 

10,240,598 

 

18,980,811 

 

19,671,195 

Interest expense 

278,100 

 

278,100 

 

556,200 

 

556,200 

Other expense 

549,692 

 

628,716 

 

1,133,052 

 

1,078,453 

 

91,544,915 

 

95,493,058 

 

178,568,478 

 

176,558,368 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income before income tax expense 

19,976,217 

 

16,505,517 

 

40,863,323 

 

44,664,286 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INCOME TAX EXPENSE (BENEFIT)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current 

6,417,931 

 

5,526,842 

 

13,237,331 

 

14,862,847 

Deferred 

(432,141)

 

(835,851)

 

(1,065,836)

 

(1,276,946)

 

5,985,790 

 

4,690,991 

 

12,171,495 

 

13,585,901 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income 

$ 13,990,427 

 

$ 11,814,526 

 

$   28,691,828 

 

$   31,078,385 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income per common share

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-basic and diluted 

$            1.02 

 

$            0.86 

 

$              2.09 

 

$              2.27 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividend per common share 

$            0.17 

 

$            0.16 

 

$              0.34 

 

$              0.32 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average number of common shares outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-basic and diluted 

13,761,285 

 

13,718,236 

 

13,756,816 

 

13,690,586 

 

 

See accompanying Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

5

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

Three months ended June 30,

 

Six months ended June 30,

 

 

2007

 

2006

 

2007

 

2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income 

 

$ 13,990,427 

 

$ 11,814,526 

 

$ 28,691,828 

 

$ 31,078,385 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change in unrealized holding gains (losses) on

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

investment securities, before deferred income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tax expense (benefit) 

 

(4,409,799)

 

(11,667,837)

 

1,129,920 

 

(14,164,206)

Deferred income tax expense (benefit) 

 

(1,543,428)

 

(4,083,742)

 

395,474 

 

(4,957,472)

 

 

(2,866,371)

 

(7,584,095)

 

734,446 

 

(9,206,734)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reclassification adjustment for realized 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

investment gains included in net income,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

before income tax expense 

 

(216,851)

 

(2,187,894)

 

(1,513,291)

 

(4,032,769)

Income tax expense 

 

(75,898)

 

(765,763)

 

(529,652)

 

(1,411,469)

 

 

(140,953)

 

(1,422,131)

 

(983,639)

 

(2,621,300)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjustment for amounts recognized in net 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

periodic benefit cost for pension plans, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

before deferred income tax expense:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net actuarial loss 

 

15,106 

 

 

30,212 

 

Prior service cost 

 

33,227 

 

 

66,454 

 

 

 

48,333 

 

 

96,666 

 

Deferred income tax expense 

 

16,917 

 

 

33,834 

 

 

 

31,416 

 

 

62,832 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other comprehensive loss 

 

(2,975,908)

 

(9,006,226)

 

(186,361)

 

(11,828,034)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total comprehensive income 

 

$ 11,014,519 

 

$   2,808,300 

 

$ 28,505,467 

 

$ 19,250,351 

 

 

See accompanying Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

6

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

(Unaudited)

 

 

Six months ended June 30,

 

2007

 

2006

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

Net  income 

$        28,691,828 

 

$     31,078,385 

 

 

 

 

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash

 

 

 

used in operating activities:

 

 

 

Balances resulting from related party transactions

 

 

 

with Employers Mutual:

 

 

 

Losses and settlement expenses 

(3,808,386)

 

(3,732,489)

Unearned premiums 

(924,732)

 

(6,486,920)

Other policyholders' funds 

747,333 

 

444,394 

Indebtedness to related party  

(17,178,859)

 

(21,451,805)

Employee retirement plans 

1,391,806 

 

2,029,903 

Reinsurance receivables 

(3,331,261)

 

5,666,949 

Prepaid reinsurance premiums 

492,147 

 

160,447 

Commission payable 

(6,357,965)

 

(5,101,480)

Interest payable 

(556,200)

 

(556,200)

Prepaid assets 

(2,432,563)

 

(1,841,532)

Deferred policy acquisition costs 

80,964 

 

1,452,562 

Stock-based compensation plans 

11,908 

 

97,371 

Other, net 

298,481 

 

(317,392)

 

 

 

 

Accrued investment income 

162,566 

 

(143,145)

Accrued income tax:

 

 

 

Current 

449,049 

 

(1,722,163)

Deferred 

(1,065,836)

 

(1,276,946)

Realized investments gains 

(1,513,291)

 

(4,032,769)

Accounts receivable 

(200,250)

 

(444,960)

Amortization of premium/discount on securities 

471,703 

 

401,977 

 

(33,263,386)

 

(36,854,198)

Net cash used in operating activities 

$        (4,571,558)

 

$      (5,775,813)

 

 

7

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS, CONTINUED

 

(Unaudited)

 

 

Six months ended June 30,

 

2007

 

2006

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

Maturities of fixed maturity securities

 

 

 

held-to-maturity 

$               29,828 

 

$            75,320 

Purchases of fixed maturity securities

 

 

 

available-for-sale 

(66,578,729)

 

(15,903,170)

Disposals of fixed maturity securities

 

 

 

available-for-sale 

65,946,369 

 

14,374,251 

Purchases of equity securities

 

 

 

available-for-sale 

(22,593,773)

 

(23,428,331)

Disposals of equity securities

 

 

 

available-for-sale 

19,071,934 

 

22,512,082 

Purchases of other long-term investments 

 

(300,000)

Disposals of other long-term investments 

432,708 

 

1,667,609 

Net sales of short-term investments 

12,403,005 

 

9,363,828 

Net cash provided by investing activities 

8,711,342 

 

8,361,589 

 

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

Balances resulting from related party transactions

 

 

 

with Employers Mutual:

 

 

 

Issuance of common stock through Employers

 

 

 

Mutual's incentive stock option plans 

489,949 

 

1,730,513 

Dividends paid to Employers Mutual 

(2,645,999)

 

(2,490,352)

 

 

 

 

Dividends paid to public stockholders 

(2,032,538)

 

(1,894,965)

Net cash used in financing activities 

(4,188,588)

 

(2,654,804)

 

 

 

 

NET DECREASE IN CASH 

(48,804)

 

(69,028)

Cash at the beginning of the year 

196,274 

 

333,048 

 

 

 

 

Cash at the end of the quarter 

$             147,470 

 

$          264,020 

 

 

See accompanying Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

8

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

NOTES TO INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

(Unaudited)

 

1.

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

 

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the interim financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the interim periods reported are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year.

 

The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2006 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements.

 

Certain amounts previously reported in prior years’ consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.

 

In reading these financial statements, reference should be made to the Company’s 2006 Form 10-K or the 2006 Annual Report to Shareholders for more detailed footnote information.

 

2.

NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

 

In February 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (SFAS) No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments” – an Amendment of FASB Statement Nos. 133 and 140. SFAS 155 simplifies the accounting for certain hybrid financial instruments by permitting fair value re-measurement for any hybrid financial instrument that contains an embedded derivative that otherwise would require bifurcation, and eliminates a restriction on passive derivative instruments that a qualifying special-purpose entity may hold. The Company adopted SFAS 155 effective January 1, 2007. Adoption of this statement had no effect on the operating results of the Company.

 

In June 2006, the FASB issued Interpretation (FIN) No. 48 “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” to clarify the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise's financial statements in accordance with SFAS 109 “Accounting for Income Taxes.” FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. FIN 48 also provides guidance for de-recognition of tax positions, financial statement classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. The Company adopted FIN 48 effective January 1, 2007. Adoption of FIN 48 had no effect on the operating results of the Company, as an assessment of the Company’s current tax positions indicated no uncertainties that would warrant different recognition and valuation from that applied in the Company’s tax returns.

 

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements,” which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The provisions of SFAS 157 are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating what impact, if any, this statement will have on its financial statements.

 

9

 


                In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, “The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities.” SFAS 159 permits reporting entities to choose, at specified election dates, to measure eligible items at fair value (the “fair value option”). The unrealized gains and losses on items for which the fair value option has been elected will be reported in earnings. As it relates to the Company’s financial reporting, the Company would be permitted to elect fair value recognition of fixed maturity and equity investments currently classified as either available-for-sale or held-to-maturity, and report the unrealized gains and losses from these investments in earnings going forward. Electing the fair value option for an existing held-to-maturity security will not call into question the intent of an entity to hold other fixed maturity securities to maturity in the future. The provisions of this statement are effective beginning with the first fiscal year that begins after November 15, 2007. The Company is currently evaluating the alternatives permitted by this statement and the impact those alternatives would have on its financial statements.

 

3.

REINSURANCE

 

The effect of reinsurance on premiums written and earned, and losses and settlement expenses incurred, for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 and 2006 is presented below.

 

 

Three months ended June 30,

 

Six months ended June 30,

 

2007

 

2006

 

2007

 

2006

Premiums written

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct 

$   50,025,581 

 

$ 44,395,380 

 

$   98,374,516 

 

$   87,852,063 

Assumed from nonaffiliates 

756,345 

 

932,834 

 

1,568,662 

 

2,107,148 

Assumed from affiliates 

108,704,588 

 

103,977,802 

 

204,193,739 

 

197,422,609 

Ceded to nonaffiliates 

(6,106,441)

 

(6,308,909)

 

(12,447,700)

 

(12,798,517)

Ceded to affiliates 

(50,025,581)

 

(44,395,380)

 

(98,374,516)

 

(87,852,063)

Net premiums written 

$ 103,354,492 

 

$ 98,601,727 

 

$ 193,314,701 

 

$ 186,731,240 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Premiums earned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct 

$   49,596,018 

 

$ 49,041,921 

 

$   97,563,565 

 

$   93,988,022 

Assumed from nonaffiliates 

781,259 

 

1,086,769 

 

1,725,459 

 

2,304,177 

Assumed from affiliates 

105,176,378 

 

103,662,749 

 

205,219,453 

 

204,364,908 

Ceded to nonaffiliates 

(6,458,953)

 

(6,531,597)

 

(12,939,843)

 

(12,958,966)

Ceded to affiliates 

(49,596,018)

 

(49,041,921)

 

(97,563,565)

 

(93,988,022)

Net premiums earned 

$   99,498,684 

 

$ 98,217,921 

 

$ 194,005,069 

 

$ 193,710,119 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Losses and settlement expenses incurred

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct 

$   18,744,436 

 

$ 23,348,843 

 

$   46,392,431 

 

$   40,400,300 

Assumed from nonaffiliates 

579,637 

 

893,518 

 

980,361 

 

1,800,233 

Assumed from affiliates 

59,654,870 

 

61,171,060 

 

116,370,879 

 

111,956,411 

Ceded to nonaffiliates 

(3,820,395)

 

(1,952,780)

 

(7,461,168)

 

(5,226,817)

Ceded to affiliates 

(18,744,436)

 

(23,348,843)

 

(46,392,431)

 

(40,400,300)

Net losses and settlement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

expenses incurred 

$   56,414,112 

 

$ 60,111,798 

 

$ 109,890,072 

 

$ 108,529,827 

 

 

10

 


                For 2006, premiums written assumed from affiliates and net premiums written reflect an adjustment for the reduction in Employers Mutual’s participation in the Mutual Reinsurance Bureau (MRB) pool. The board of directors of the MRB pool approved the admission of Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company and Country Mutual Insurance Company as new assuming companies to the pool effective January 1, 2006. This reduced Employers Mutual’s participation in the pool from a one-third share to an approximate one-fifth share (Country Mutual is only assuming property exposures). The premiums written assumed from affiliates and net premiums written amounts for the six months ended June 30, 2006 include a negative $3,440,024 portfolio adjustment related to this change in participation.

 

4.

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

 

The Company has no stock-based compensation plans of its own; however, Employers Mutual has several stock plans which utilize the common stock of the Company. Employers Mutual can provide the common stock required under its plans by: 1) using shares of common stock that it currently owns; 2) purchasing common stock on the open market; or 3) directly purchasing common stock from the Company at the current fair value. Employers Mutual has historically purchased common stock from the Company for use in its stock incentive plans.

 

Employers Mutual maintains two separate incentive stock option plans for the benefit of officers and key employees of Employers Mutual and its subsidiaries and affiliates. A total of 1,000,000 shares were reserved for issuance under the 1993 Employers Mutual Casualty Company Incentive Stock Option Plan (1993 Plan), and a total of 1,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock were reserved for the 2003 Employers Mutual Casualty Company Incentive Stock Option Plan (2003 Plan).

 

The 1993 Plan and the 2003 Plan provide for awards of incentive stock options and both plans have a ten year time limit for granting options. Options can no longer be granted under the 1993 Plan and no additional options will be granted under the 2003 Plan as Employers Mutual recently implemented a new stock incentive plan. Options granted under the 1993 Plan and 2003 Plan have vesting periods of two, three, four or five years with options becoming exercisable in equal annual cumulative increments. Option prices cannot be less than the fair value of the common stock on the date of grant.

 

On June 1, 2007, the Company registered 2,000,000 shares for use in the 2007 Employers Mutual Casualty Company Stock Incentive Plan (2007 Plan). The 2007 Plan provides for the awarding of performance shares, performance units, and other stock-based awards, in addition to qualified (incentive) and non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and restricted stock units. The 2007 Plan provides for a ten year time limit for granting awards. Officers, key employees and non-employee directors of Employers Mutual and its subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as certain agents, may participate in the Plan.

 

The Senior Executive Compensation and Stock Option Committee (the “Committee”) of Employers Mutual’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) grants the awards and is the administrator of the plans. The Company’s Compensation Committee must consider and approve all awards granted to the Company’s executive officers.

 

11

 


                The Company recognized compensation expense of $46,243 and $42,362 for the three months and $108,455 and $97,371 for the six months (gross and net of tax) ended June 30, 2007 and 2006, respectively, related to the 2003 Plan. The Company recognized negative compensation expense of $10,057 ($6,537 net of tax) and $96,547 ($62,756 net of tax) during the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007, respectively, related to a stock appreciation rights agreement that is being accounted for as a liability-classified award. During the first six months of 2007, 117,250 options were granted under the 2003 Plan to eligible participants at a price of $25.455 and 23,181 options were exercised under the plans at prices ranging from $9.25 to $24.60. A summary of the activity under Employers Mutual’s incentive stock option plans for the six months ended June 30, 2007 is as follows:

 

 

Six months ended June 30, 2007

 

 

 

Weighted-

 

Weighted-

 

 

 

 

 

average

 

average

 

Aggregate

 

 

 

exercise

 

remaining

 

intrinsic

 

Options

 

price

 

term

 

value

Outstanding, beginning of year 

741,718 

 

$      19.23 

 

 

 

 

Granted 

117,250 

 

25.46 

 

 

 

 

Exercised 

(23,181)

 

13.73 

 

 

 

 

Forfeited 

 

-   

 

 

 

 

Expired 

 

-   

 

 

 

 

Outstanding, June 30, 2007 

835,787 

 

20.26 

 

7.06 

 

$    4,036,904 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercisable, June 30, 2007 

371,243 

 

$      17.30 

 

5.44 

 

$    2,868,796 

 

 

The weighted average fair value of options granted during the six months ended June 30, 2007 and 2006 amounted to $3.78 and $3.93, respectively. The fair value of each option grant was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model and the following assumptions:

 

 

2007

 

2006

Dividend yield 

2.67%

 

2.60%

Expected volatility 

22.2% - 31.4%

 

18.5% - 23.5%

Weighted-average volatility 

25.66%

 

22.60%

Risk-free interest rate 

4.32% - 5.01%

 

4.45% - 4.72%

Expected term (years) 

0.25 - 6.25 

 

0.25 - 6.20 

 

 

The expected term of the options granted in 2007 was estimated using historical data that was adjusted to remove the effect of option exercises prior to the normal vesting period due to the retirement of the option holder. The expected term of options granted to individuals who are, or will be, eligible to retire prior to the completion of the normal vesting period has been adjusted to reflect the potential accelerated vesting period. This produced a weighted-average expected term of 2.97 years.

 

The expected volatility in the price of the underlying shares for the 2007 option grant was computed by using the historical average high and low monthly prices of the Company’s common stock for a period covering 6.25 years, which approximates the average term of the options and produced an expected volatility of 24.2 percent. The expected volatility of options granted to individuals who are, or will be, eligible to retire prior to the completion of the normal vesting period was computed by using the historical average high and low daily, weekly, or monthly prices for the period approximating the expected term of those options. This produced expected volatility ranging from 22.2 percent to 31.4 percent.

 

12

 


5.       SEGMENT INFORMATION

 

The Company’s operations consist of a property and casualty insurance segment and a reinsurance segment. The property and casualty insurance segment writes both commercial and personal lines of insurance, with a focus on medium-sized commercial accounts. The reinsurance segment provides reinsurance for other insurers and reinsurers. The segments are managed separately due to differences in the insurance products sold and the business environment in which they operate.

 

 

Summarized financial information for the Company’s segments is as follows:

 

 

Property and

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three months ended

casualty 

 

 

 

Parent

 

 

June 30, 2007

insurance  

 

Reinsurance

 

company

 

Consolidated

Premiums earned 

$   79,803,159 

 

$   19,695,525 

 

$                      - 

 

$      99,498,684 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underwriting gain 

3,722,141 

 

5,059,420 

 

 

8,781,561 

Net investment income 

8,667,075 

 

2,926,302 

 

61,196 

 

11,654,573 

Realized investment gains 

184,283 

 

32,568 

 

 

216,851 

Other income 

151,024 

 

 

 

151,024 

Interest expense 

193,125 

 

84,975 

 

 

278,100 

Other expenses 

176,329 

 

171,008 

 

202,355 

 

549,692 

Income (loss) before income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tax expense (benefit) 

$   12,355,069 

 

$     7,762,307 

 

$         (141,159)

 

$      19,976,217 

 

 

 

Property and

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three months ended

casualty 

 

 

 

Parent

 

 

June 30, 2006

insurance  

 

Reinsurance

 

company

 

Consolidated

Premiums earned 

$   79,895,345 

 

$   18,322,576 

 

$                      - 

 

$      98,217,921 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underwriting gain 

2,634,354 

 

997,325 

 

 

3,631,679 

Net investment income 

8,428,243 

 

2,875,891 

 

64,293 

 

11,368,427 

Realized investment gains 

1,852,727 

 

335,167 

 

 

2,187,894 

Other income 

207,499 

 

16,834 

 

 

224,333 

Interest expense 

193,125 

 

84,975 

 

 

278,100 

Other expenses 

466,678 

 

(2,015)

 

164,053 

 

628,716 

Income (loss) before income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tax expense (benefit) 

$   12,463,020 

 

$     4,142,257 

 

$           (99,760)

 

$      16,505,517 

 

 

13

 


 

Property and

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six months ended

casualty 

 

 

 

Parent

 

 

June 30, 2007

insurance  

 

Reinsurance

 

company

 

Consolidated

Premiums earned 

$ 159,007,479 

 

$   34,997,590 

 

$                      - 

 

$    194,005,069 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underwriting gain 

11,924,384 

 

5,201,459 

 

 

17,125,843 

Net investment income 

17,561,611 

 

5,947,671 

 

133,258 

 

23,642,540 

Realized investment gains 

1,326,276 

 

187,015 

 

 

1,513,291 

Other income 

270,901 

 

 

 

270,901 

Interest expense 

386,250 

 

169,950 

 

 

556,200 

Other expenses 

473,226 

 

175,800 

 

484,026 

 

1,133,052 

Income (loss) before income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tax expense (benefit) 

$   30,223,696 

 

$   10,990,395 

 

$         (350,768)

 

$      40,863,323 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets 

$ 987,101,931 

 

$ 295,694,244 

 

$   332,958,628 

 

$ 1,615,754,803 

Eliminations 

 

 

(328,957,189)

 

(328,957,189)

Reclassifications 

 

(1,058,309)

 

498,817 

 

(559,492)

Net assets 

$ 987,101,931 

 

$ 294,635,935 

 

$       4,500,256 

 

$ 1,286,238,122 

 

 

Property and

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six months ended

casualty 

 

 

 

Parent

 

 

June 30, 2006

insurance  

 

Reinsurance

 

company

 

Consolidated

Premiums earned 

$ 157,638,116 

 

$   36,072,003 

 

$                      - 

 

$    193,710,119 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underwriting gain 

16,794,989 

 

1,991,415 

 

 

18,786,404 

Net investment income 

17,092,187 

 

5,945,722 

 

108,964 

 

23,146,873 

Realized investment gains 

3,383,768 

 

649,001 

 

 

4,032,769 

Other income 

316,059 

 

16,834 

 

 

332,893 

Interest expense 

386,250 

 

169,950 

 

 

556,200 

Other expenses 

726,585 

 

 

351,868 

 

1,078,453 

Income (loss) before income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tax expense (benefit) 

$   36,474,168 

 

$     8,433,022 

 

$         (242,904)

 

$      44,664,286 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets 

$ 827,294,803 

 

$ 264,453,957 

 

$   278,703,929 

 

$ 1,370,452,689 

Eliminations 

 

 

(272,795,791)

 

(272,795,791)

Reclassifications 

(101,648)

 

(2,402,759)

 

(343,679)

 

(2,848,086)

Net assets 

$ 827,193,155 

 

$ 262,051,198 

 

$       5,564,459 

 

$ 1,094,808,812 

 

 

14

 


                The following table displays the net premiums earned of the property and casualty insurance segment and the reinsurance segment for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 and 2006, by line of insurance.

 

 

Three months ended June 30,

 

Six months ended June 30,

 

2007

 

2006

 

2007

 

2006

Property and casualty insurance segment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commercial lines:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automobile 

$   17,851,571 

 

$   17,741,165 

 

$   35,691,542 

 

$   35,281,236 

Property 

15,452,299 

 

15,137,083 

 

30,754,633 

 

30,165,479 

Workers' compensation 

15,570,672 

 

16,127,402 

 

30,707,239 

 

30,492,645 

Liability 

17,673,490 

 

16,890,986 

 

35,442,460 

 

33,606,033 

Other 

2,129,900 

 

2,021,761 

 

4,229,021 

 

3,944,429 

Total commercial lines 

68,677,932 

 

67,918,397 

 

136,824,895 

 

133,489,822 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personal lines:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automobile 

5,879,395 

 

6,340,386 

 

11,732,477 

 

12,816,706 

Property 

5,084,905 

 

5,482,378 

 

10,127,436 

 

11,024,990 

Liability 

160,927 

 

154,184 

 

322,671 

 

306,598 

Total personal lines 

11,125,227 

 

11,976,948 

 

22,182,584 

 

24,148,294 

Total property and casualty insurance 

$   79,803,159 

 

$   79,895,345 

 

$ 159,007,479 

 

$ 157,638,116 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reinsurance segment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro rata reinsurance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property and casualty 

$     2,718,633 

 

$     2,569,137 

 

$     4,780,320 

 

$     6,061,651 

Property 

5,884,419 

 

4,301,373 

 

8,481,398 

 

6,794,488 

Crop 

136,147 

 

111,103 

 

105,432 

 

57,501 

Casualty 

297,111 

 

276,435 

 

709,937 

 

698,192 

Marine/Aviation 

175,419 

 

1,556,498 

 

122,774 

 

3,534,023 

Total pro rata reinsurance 

9,211,729 

 

8,814,546 

 

14,199,861 

 

17,145,855 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excess-of-loss reinsurance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property 

7,690,630 

 

6,502,434 

 

14,938,367 

 

12,690,875 

Casualty 

2,793,004 

 

3,005,775 

 

5,864,388 

 

6,236,617 

Surety 

162 

 

(179)

 

(5,026)

 

(1,344)

Total excess-of-loss reinsurance 

10,483,796 

 

9,508,030 

 

20,797,729 

 

18,926,148 

Total reinsurance 

$   19,695,525 

 

$   18,322,576 

 

$   34,997,590 

 

$   36,072,003 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consolidated 

$   99,498,684 

 

$   98,217,921 

 

$ 194,005,069 

 

$ 193,710,119 

 

 

 

15

 


6.       INCOME TAXES

 

The actual income tax expense for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 and 2006 differed from the “expected” tax expense for those periods (computed by applying the United States federal corporate tax rate of 35 percent to income before income tax expense) as follows:

 

 

Three months ended

 

Six months ended

 

June 30,

 

June 30,

 

2007 

 

2006 

 

2007 

 

2006 

Computed "expected" tax

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

expense 

$        6,991,676 

 

$        5,776,931 

 

$      14,302,163 

 

$      15,632,500 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Increases (decreases) in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tax resulting from:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tax-exempt interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

income 

(1,079,300)

 

(1,079,732)

 

(2,172,762)

 

(2,165,343)

Proration of tax-exempt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

interest and dividends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

received deduction 

183,349 

 

176,593 

 

366,338 

 

360,246 

Other, net 

(109,935)

 

(182,801)

 

(324,244)

 

(241,502)

Income tax expense 

$        5,985,790 

 

$        4,690,991 

 

$      12,171,495 

 

$      13,585,901 

 

 

Effective January 1, 2007, the Company adopted FIN 48 “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes.” FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. FIN 48 also provides guidance for de-recognition of tax positions, financial statement classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. Adoption of this interpretation had no effect on the operating results of the Company, as an assessment of the Company’s current tax positions indicated no uncertainties that would warrant different recognition and valuation from that applied in the Company’s tax returns.

 

Management of the Company carefully reviewed all individually significant tax positions during 2007 and concluded that the recording of any obligation related to an uncertain tax position under FIN 48 was not warranted. The Company did not recognize any interest or penalties related to U.S. federal or state income taxes during the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 or 2006. It is the Company’s accounting policy to reflect income tax penalties as other expense, and interest as interest expense.

 

The Company files U.S. federal tax returns, along with various states income tax returns. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal and state income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2003.

 

16

 


7.       EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PLANS

 

The components of net periodic benefit cost for Employers Mutual’s pension and postretirement benefit plans are as follows:

 

 

Three months ended

 

Six months ended

 

June 30,

 

June 30,

 

2007 

 

2006 

 

2007 

 

2006 

Pension plans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service cost 

$   2,129,861 

 

$   2,127,017 

 

$   4,259,722 

 

$   4,254,034 

Interest cost 

2,164,662 

 

2,109,469 

 

4,329,324 

 

4,218,938 

Expected return on plan assets 

(3,224,223)

 

(2,503,819)

 

(6,448,446)

 

(5,007,638)

Amortization of net loss 

47,591 

 

294,765 

 

95,182 

 

589,530 

Amortization of prior service costs 

109,932 

 

110,722 

 

219,864 

 

221,444 

Net periodic pension benefit cost 

$   1,227,823 

 

$   2,138,154 

 

$   2,455,646 

 

$   4,276,308 

 

 

 

Three months ended

 

Six months ended

 

June 30,

 

June 30,

 

2007 

 

2006 

 

2007 

 

2006 

Postretirement benefit plans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service cost 

$   1,207,216 

 

$   1,236,397 

 

$   2,414,432 

 

$   2,472,794 

Interest cost 

1,249,105 

 

1,244,894 

 

2,498,210 

 

2,489,788 

Expected return on plan assets 

(480,932)

 

(335,436)

 

(961,864)

 

(670,872)

Amortization of net loss 

 

170,127 

 

 

340,254 

Net periodic postretirement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

benefit cost 

$   1,975,389 

 

$   2,315,982 

 

$   3,950,778 

 

$   4,631,964 

 

Pension expense allocated to the Company amounted to $378,534 and $757,070 for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007, compared to $657,909 and $1,315,821 for the same periods in 2006.

 

Postretirement benefit expense allocated to the Company amounted to $566,839 and $1,133,676 for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007, compared to $664,007 and $1,328,013 for the same periods in 2006.

 

Employers Mutual plans to contribute approximately $17,000,000 to the pension plan and $4,172,000 to the VEBA trusts in 2007. As of June 30, 2007, Employers Mutual has not made a contribution to the pension plan and has contributed $3,300,000 to the postretirement benefit plans’ VEBA trusts.

 

8.

CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

 

The Company and Employers Mutual and its other subsidiaries are parties to numerous lawsuits arising in the normal course of the insurance business. The Company believes that the resolution of these lawsuits will not have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or its results of operations. The companies involved have established reserves which are believed adequate to cover any potential liabilities arising out of all such pending or threatened proceedings.

 

The participants in the pooling agreement have purchased annuities from life insurance companies, under which the claimant is payee, to fund future payments that are fixed pursuant to specific claim settlement provisions. The Company’s share of loss reserves eliminated by the purchase of these annuities was $1,779,009 at December 31, 2006. The Company has a contingent liability of $1,779,009 should the issuers of these annuities fail to perform under the terms of the annuity. All of the issuing companies maintain strong financial ratings, therefore the Company believes the likelihood of failure of any of the issuing companies is remote. The Company’s share of the amount due from any one life insurance company does not equal or exceed one percent of its subsidiaries’ aggregate policyholders’ surplus.

 

17

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

ITEM 2.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL

 

CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

(Unaudited)

 

COMPANY OVERVIEW

 

EMC Insurance Group Inc., a 56.6 percent owned subsidiary of Employers Mutual Casualty Company (Employers Mutual), is an insurance holding company with operations in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Property and casualty insurance is the most significant segment, representing 82.0 percent of consolidated premiums earned during the first six months of 2007. For purposes of this discussion, the term “Company” is used interchangeably to describe EMC Insurance Group Inc. (Parent Company only) and EMC Insurance Group Inc. and its subsidiaries. Employers Mutual and all of its subsidiaries (including the Company) and an affiliate are referred to as the “EMC Insurance Companies.”

 

The Company’s four property and casualty insurance subsidiaries and two subsidiaries and an affiliate of Employers Mutual are parties to reinsurance pooling agreements with Employers Mutual (collectively the “pooling agreement”). Under the terms of the pooling agreement, each company cedes to Employers Mutual all of its insurance business, with the exception of any voluntary reinsurance business assumed from nonaffiliated insurance companies, and assumes from Employers Mutual an amount equal to its participation in the pool. All premiums, losses, settlement expenses and other underwriting and administrative expenses, excluding the voluntary reinsurance business assumed by Employers Mutual from nonaffiliated insurance companies, are prorated among the parties on the basis of participation in the pool. The aggregate participation of the Company’s property and casualty insurance subsidiaries in the pooling agreement is 30 percent. Employers Mutual negotiates reinsurance agreements that provide protection to the pool and each of its participants, including protection against losses arising from catastrophic events.

 

Operations of the pool give rise to inter-company balances with Employers Mutual, which are settled on a quarterly basis. The investment and income tax activities of the pool participants are not subject to the pooling agreement. The pooling agreement also provides that Employers Mutual will make up any shortfall or difference resulting from an error in its systems and/or computational processes that would otherwise result in the required restatement of the pool participants’ financial statements.

 

The purpose of the pooling agreement is to spread the risk of an exposure insured by any of the pool participants among all the companies. The pooling agreement produces a more uniform and stable underwriting result from year to year for all companies in the pool than might be experienced individually. In addition, each company benefits from the capacity of the entire pool, rather than being limited to policy exposures of a size commensurate with its own assets, and from the wide range of policy forms, lines of insurance written, rate filings and commission plans offered by each of the companies.

 

The Company’s reinsurance subsidiary is a party to a quota share reinsurance retrocessional agreement with Employers Mutual (the “quota share agreement”). Under the terms of the quota share agreement, the reinsurance subsidiary assumes a 100 percent quota share portion of Employers Mutual’s assumed reinsurance business, exclusive of certain reinsurance contracts. This includes all premiums and related losses, settlement expenses, and other underwriting and administrative expenses of this business, subject to a $2,000,000 cap on losses assumed per event. The reinsurance subsidiary pays Employers Mutual a 10.5 percent premium charge as compensation for the $2,000,000 cap per event. The reinsurance subsidiary assumes all foreign currency exchange gains/losses associated with contracts incepting on January 1, 2006 and thereafter that are subject to the quota share agreement. Operations of the quota share agreement give rise to inter-company balances with Employers Mutual, which are settled on a quarterly basis. The investment and income tax activities of the reinsurance subsidiary are not subject to the quota share agreement.

 

18

 


The reinsurance subsidiary does not directly reinsure any of the insurance business written by Employers Mutual or the other pool participants; however, Employers Mutual assumes reinsurance business from the Mutual Reinsurance Bureau (MRB) pool and this pool provides a small amount of reinsurance protection to the EMC Insurance Companies. As a result, the reinsurance subsidiary’s assumed exposures include a small portion of the EMC Insurance Companies’ direct business, after ceded reinsurance protections purchased by the MRB pool are applied. In addition, the reinsurance subsidiary does not reinsure any “involuntary” facility or pool business that Employers Mutual assumes pursuant to state law.

 

In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the interim financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the interim periods reported are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year.

 

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

 

An insurance company’s underwriting results reflect the profitability of its insurance operations, excluding investment income. Underwriting results are calculated by subtracting losses and expenses incurred from premiums earned. An underwriting profit indicates that a sufficient amount of premium income was received to cover the risks insured. An underwriting loss indicates that premium income was not adequate. The combined ratio is a measure utilized by insurance companies to gauge underwriting profitability and is calculated by dividing losses and expenses incurred by premiums earned. A number less than 100 generally indicates an underwriting gain; a number greater than 100 generally indicates an underwriting loss.

 

Insurance companies collect cash in the form of insurance premiums and pay out cash in the form of loss and settlement expense payments. Additional cash outflows occur through the payment of acquisition and underwriting costs such as commissions, premium taxes, salaries and general overhead. During the loss settlement period, which varies by line of business and by the circumstances surrounding each claim and may cover several years, insurance companies invest the cash premiums; thereby earning interest and dividend income. This investment income supplements underwriting results and contributes to net earnings.

 

Additional information regarding issues affecting the insurance industry is presented in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of the Company’s 2006

Form 10-K.

 

MANAGEMENT ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES

 

During the second quarter of 2007 management continued to focus its efforts on developing and implementing strategies to facilitate profitable growth in the increasingly competitive insurance marketplace, and establishing and maintaining adequate and consistent loss and settlement expense reserves. Management also recently reviewed its long-term strategies for Farm and City Insurance Company, which is a subsidiary in the property and casualty insurance segment that ceased writing direct nonstandard risk automobile insurance business in 2004, but continues to participate in the pooling agreement. As a result of this review, management has determined that there are no identified uses for this company at this time and has therefore given preliminary approval to merging Farm and City into one of the other property and casualty insurance segment’s subsidiaries, EMCASCO Insurance Company. Following is a more detailed discussion of these issues. A discussion of other issues being addressed by management is presented in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of the Company’s 2006 Form 10-K.

 

19

 


Developing and implementing strategies to facilitate profitable growth

 

On an overall basis, rate competition continued to increase moderately in the property and casualty insurance marketplace during the first six months of 2007, resulting in an approximate 4.8 percent decline in premium rate levels from June, 2006. Market conditions are expected to remain competitive during the remainder of 2007, which will likely result in a further decline in premium rate levels as the year progresses. As a result, top line growth will need to come from new business writings that are carefully selected and priced adequately, and continued efforts to maintain, or improve, policy retention. Personal lines growth is being generated primarily out of selected territories where it is believed the best profit potential exists. New policy counts have been trending upward recently and this trend continued during the first six months of 2007 as new policy counts increased 9.2 percent in commercial lines and 10.2 percent in personal lines over the first six months of 2006. Retention levels continue to exceed industry averages and remain at approximately 87 percent for commercial lines and 86 percent for personal lines.

 

During the past several years management has developed and implemented several new sophisticated underwriting tools that have not only contributed to the Company’s improved underwriting results, but are expected to facilitate better control and stability of the Company’s underwriting results in the future. Many of these underwriting tools, which are more commonly referred to as predictive modeling capabilities and monitoring tools, were not available during the last soft market and are expected to play a prominent role in the Company’s efforts to manage its operating results during the current soft market.

 

The predictive modeling tools include insurance scoring in the personal lines of business and Underwriting Analysis Tools (UAT) in the commercial lines of business. The UAT allows the Company to segment its book of business based on future profit potential using proprietary predictive models that enable underwriters to make better informed decisions regarding acceptability and appropriate pricing for each individual risk. This information is available in real time to underwriters as they consider a new risk, or renew an existing risk.

 

Management has sophisticated systems in place to monitor its underwriting and pricing practices. These systems allow management to analyze data at a summary level or to drill down to a more detailed level, such as by individual underwriter or individual account. Management can also track the level of utilization of the various tools and monitor how those tools affect underwriting and pricing decisions. The Company’s Rate Comparison System provides underwriters with real-time information about the “true” rate level change for each commercial renewal account by eliminating differences in exposures, coverage, deductibles and/or classifications. The information is available for every renewal and the underwriter has discretion in how it is used; however, the system captures the data for all renewals regardless of how the underwriter processes the renewal.

 

Management is currently exploring the potential benefits of certain data mining software tools. Management believes such software could provide easily accessible, highly insightful summary information that is quickly constructed from the vast amounts of data contained in the Company’s claims system. Such information offers the potential of alerting management of conditions that have affected the Company’s underwriting results in nearly limitless levels of detail. Once alerted, management could act quickly to adjust underwriting practices and/or pricing to address those conditions and thereby mitigate developing adverse trends.

 

These enhanced capabilities are designed to enable management to (1) track the quality of the Company’s book of business at nearly any level of detail, (2) monitor changes in the quality of the Company’s book of business over time, (3) assure that pricing and underwriting decisions are consistent with profit objectives, and (4) develop action plans to address specific book quality and profitability concerns, and quantify the impact of executing those plans.              

Maintaining adequate and consistent loss and settlement expense reserves

 

The Company reported a large amount of favorable development on prior years’ reserves during the first six months of 2007, with the majority of the favorable development occurring in the property and casualty insurance segment. On a direct basis, approximately 62 percent of the favorable development came from case loss reserves and, in aggregate, all of this development is associated with the final settlement of closed claims. Approximately 25 percent of the favorable development came from incurred but not reported (IBNR) reserves, and was partially driven by a decline in IBNR emergence during this period. The remaining favorable development came from settlement expense reserves.

 

20

 


From management’s perspective, investors and potential investors should not place undo emphasis on the composition of the Company’s underwriting results (i.e. the breakdown between the amount of favorable development reported on prior years’ reserves versus the indicated current accident year results) because the Company’s reserving methodology does not lend itself to that type of analysis very well. Management believes that it is important for investors and potential investors to have an appropriate understanding of the Company’s reserving methodology so that they are able to properly interpret the Company’s results of operations and make informed investment decisions. Following is a brief discussion of the Company’s reserving methodology.

 

Management does not use accident year loss picks to establish the Company’s carried reserves. Case loss and IBNR reserves, as well as settlement expense reserves, are established independently of each other and added together to get the Company’s total loss and settlement expense reserve estimate.

 

At December 31, 2006, approximately 62 percent of the property and casualty insurance segment’s carried reserves were represented by case loss reserves, which are the individual reserves established for each reported claim based on the specific facts associated with each claim. Case loss reserves are based on the probable, or most likely, outcome for each claim, with probable outcome defined as what is most likely to be awarded if the case were to be decided by a civil court in the applicable venue or, in the case of a workers’ compensation case, by that state’s Worker’s Compensation Commission. On an individual claim basis, these case reserves represent the Company’s best estimate of exposure. However, when these individual case loss reserves are accumulated, the total is believed to be somewhat conservative because all claims will not be settled at the probable outcome amount.

 

The remaining 38 percent of the property and casualty insurance segment’s carried reserves were comprised of IBNR and settlement expense reserves, which are established through an actuarial process for each line of business. The IBNR and certain settlement expense reserves are allocated to the various accident years using historical claim emergence and settlement payment patterns; other settlement expense reserves are allocated to the various accident years on the basis of loss reserves.

 

The current and more recent accident years have a larger proportion of case, IBNR and settlement expense reserves than earlier accident years. Since the Company’s reserve levels are established somewhat conservatively, the relatively high proportion of reserves in the more recent accident years generates relatively high loss and settlement expense ratios in the early stages of an accident year’s development; however, as those accident years mature, claims are gradually settled, the reserves for those years become smaller, and the loss and settlement expense ratios generally decline.

 

Without a proper understanding of the Company’s reserving methodology, the current and more recent accident year combined ratios could be misinterpreted. For example, the Company reported a 91.2 percent combined ratio for the first six months of 2007. If you add back the large amount of favorable development experienced on prior years’ reserves during this period, it would appear that the 2007 accident year is generating a combined ratio of 107.5 percent through the first six months of the year, which, by the way, is down from 110.3 percent at the end of March. However, the Company’s current actuarial projections indicate that the 2007 accident year combined ratio will continue to decline as the accident year matures and will ultimately reach 98.2 percent.

 

It is management’s intention to continue to apply this reserving methodology on a consistent basis. With reasonably consistent levels of reserve adequacy, management expects earnings from downward development of prior accident year reserves to continue in future years. For that reason, management believes that less emphasis should be placed on the composition of the Company’s underwriting results between current and prior accident years, and more emphasis should be placed on where the Company’s carried reserves fall within the range of actuarial indications. At December 31, 2006, the Company’s actuarial analysis indicated that carried reserves were in the upper quartile of the range of actuarial reserve estimates. At June 30, 2007, the Company’s actuarial analysis indicated that carried reserves remained in the upper quartile of the range of actuarial reserve estimates; however, a moderate decline within the range was indicated.

 

As part of its ongoing effort to enhance the effectiveness of the Company’s reserving approaches, management is exploring the possibility of utilizing bulk case loss reserve adjustments to help maintain a consistent level of reserve adequacy in the future. If implemented, bulk case loss reserve adjustments (both positive and negative) would be established when necessary to keep the estimated adequacy of the Company’s carried case loss reserves at management’s best estimate of the Company’s overall liability. Current reserving practices and monitoring mechanisms were designed to achieve greater consistency in individual case loss reserve adequacy, so the use of a bulk reserve would most likely result in only moderate adjustments to carried reserves on a periodic basis.

 

21

 


Proposed merger of Farm and City Insurance Company into EMCASCO Insurance Company

 

Farm and City Insurance Company was formed in Iowa in 1962 to write nonstandard risk automobile insurance and was purchased by the Company in 1984. Due to changes in the nonstandard risk automobile insurance marketplace, Farm and City stopped writing direct business and implemented non-renewal procedures on all existing business in 2004; however, Farm and City has continued to participate in the pooling agreement and currently receives 1.5 percent of all pool business. Management recently completed a review of the long-term strategies for Farm and City and determined that there are no identified uses for the company at this time. Accordingly, management has given preliminary approval to a merger of Farm and City into one of the other property and casualty insurance segment’s subsidiaries, EMCASCO Insurance Company. If completed, this merger would result in Farm and City’s 1.5 percent pool participation percentage being assumed by EMCASCO Insurance Company and would increase EMCASCO Insurance Company’s pool participation percentage from 12 percent to 13.5 percent. The Company’s aggregate 30 percent pool participation percentage would not change. The goodwill currently carried on the Company’s financial statements stemming from the acquisition of Farm and City would not be impacted by the proposed merger. This merger is subject to approval of the boards of directors of each company and the Iowa Insurance Division. If approved, it is anticipated that this merger would be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007.

 

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

The accounting policies considered by management to be critically important in the preparation and understanding of the Company’s financial statements and related disclosures are presented in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of the Company’s 2006

Form 10-K.

 

 

22

 


RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Segment information and consolidated net income for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 and 2006 are as follows:

 

 

Three months ended

 

Six months ended

 

June 30,

 

June 30,

($ in thousands)

2007

 

2006

 

2007

 

2006

Property and Casualty Insurance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Premiums earned 

$       79,803 

 

$       79,895 

 

$       159,007 

 

$       157,638 

Losses and settlement expenses 

45,736 

 

46,966 

 

87,733 

 

82,606 

Acquisition and other expenses 

30,345 

 

30,296 

 

59,350 

 

58,238 

Underwriting gain 

$         3,722 

 

$         2,633 

 

$         11,924 

 

$         16,794 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss and settlement expense ratio 

57.3%

 

58.8%

 

55.2%

 

52.4%

Acquisition expense ratio 

38.0%

 

37.9%

 

37.3%

 

36.9%

Combined ratio 

95.3%

 

96.7%

 

92.5%

 

89.3%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Losses and settlement expenses (1):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insured events of current year 

$       55,461 

 

$       61,484 

 

$       113,243 

 

$       101,420 

Decrease in provision for insured

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

events of prior years 

(9,725)

 

(14,518)

 

(25,510)

 

(18,814)

Total losses and settlement expenses 

$       45,736 

 

$       46,966 

 

$         87,733 

 

$         82,606 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catastrophe and storm losses 

$         9,417 

 

$         4,759 

 

$         11,852 

 

$           6,698 

 

(1) The allocation of incurred losses and settlement expenses between events associated with the current accident year and events associated with prior accident years for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2006 reflect an adjustment in the factors utilized to allocate the direct IBNR reserve by accident year. For a detailed analysis of this issue, see the discussion under “Losses and settlement expenses – 2006 IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors.”

 

 

Three months ended

 

Six months ended

 

June 30,

 

June 30,

($ in thousands)

2007

 

2006

 

2007

 

2006

Reinsurance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Premiums earned 

$       19,696 

 

$       18,323 

 

$         34,998 

 

$         36,072 

Losses and settlement expenses 

10,678 

 

13,146 

 

22,157 

 

25,924 

Acquisition and other expenses 

3,958 

 

4,179 

 

7,639 

 

8,156 

Underwriting gain 

$         5,060 

 

$            998 

 

$           5,202 

 

$           1,992 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss and settlement expense ratio 

54.2%

 

71.7%

 

63.3%

 

71.9%

Acquisition expense ratio 

20.1%

 

22.9%

 

21.8%

 

22.6%

Combined ratio 

74.3%

 

94.6%

 

85.1%

 

94.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Losses and settlement expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insured events of current year 

$       14,364 

 

$       14,969 

 

$         28,148 

 

$         28,486 

Decrease in provision for insured 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

events of prior years 

(3,686)

 

(1,823)

 

(5,991)

 

(2,562)

Total losses and settlement expenses 

$       10,678 

 

$       13,146 

 

$         22,157 

 

$         25,924 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catastrophe and storm losses 

$            373 

 

$                3 

 

$              409 

 

$              204 

 

 

 

23

 


 

 

Three months ended

 

Six months ended

 

June 30,

 

June 30,

($ in thousands)

2007

 

2006

 

2007

 

2006

Consolidated

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVENUES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Premiums earned 

$       99,499 

 

$       98,218 

 

$       194,005 

 

$       193,710 

Net investment income 

11,655 

 

11,369 

 

23,643 

 

23,147 

Realized investment gains 

217 

 

2,188 

 

1,513 

 

4,033 

Other income 

151 

 

224 

 

271 

 

333 

 

111,522 

 

111,999 

 

219,432 

 

221,223 

LOSSES AND EXPENSES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Losses and settlement expenses 

56,414 

 

60,112 

 

109,890 

 

108,530 

Acquisition and other expenses 

34,303 

 

34,475 

 

66,989 

 

66,394 

Interest expense 

278 

 

278 

 

556 

 

556 

Other expense 

550 

 

629 

 

1,133 

 

1,079 

 

91,545 

 

95,494 

 

178,568 

 

176,559 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income before income tax expense 

19,977 

 

16,505 

 

40,864 

 

44,664 

Income tax expense 

5,986 

 

4,691 

 

12,172 

 

13,586 

Net income 

$       13,991 

 

$       11,814 

 

$         28,692 

 

$         31,078 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income per share 

$           1.02 

 

$           0.86 

 

$             2.09 

 

$             2.27 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss and settlement expense ratio 

56.7%

 

61.2%

 

56.6%

 

56.0%

Acquisition expense ratio 

34.5%

 

35.1%

 

34.6%

 

34.3%

Combined ratio 

91.2%

 

96.3%

 

91.2%

 

90.3%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Losses and settlement expenses (1):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insured events of current year 

$       69,825 

 

$       76,453 

 

$       141,391 

 

$       129,906 

Decrease in provision for insured

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

events of prior years 

(13,411)

 

(16,341)

 

(31,501)

 

(21,376)

Total losses and settlement expenses 

$       56,414 

 

$       60,112 

 

$       109,890 

 

$       108,530 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catastrophe and storm losses 

$         9,790 

 

$         4,762 

 

$         12,261 

 

$           6,902 

 

(1) The allocation of incurred losses and settlement expenses between events associated with the current accident year and events associated with prior accident years for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2006 reflect an adjustment in the factors utilized to allocate the property and casualty insurance segment’s direct IBNR reserve by accident year. For a detailed analysis of this issue, see the discussion under “Losses and settlement expenses – 2006 IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors.”

 

The Company reported its best second quarter since becoming a public company in 1982. Net income was $13,991,000 ($1.02 per share) for the three months ended June 30, 2007 compared to $11,814,000 ($0.86 per share) for the same period in 2006. This increase is largely attributed to a substantial improvement in the underwriting results of the reinsurance segment, and to a lesser extent, an improvement in the underwriting results of the property and casualty insurance segment, and was achieved despite a significant decline in realized investment gains. For the six months ended June 30, 2007, net income decreased to $28,692,000 ($2.09 per share) from the record $31,078,000 ($2.27 per share) reported for the same period in 2006. This decrease is attributed to a decline in the underwriting results of the property and casualty insurance segment and a decline in realized investment gains. The reinsurance segment reported an improvement in year-to-date underwriting results due to the strong second quarter results.

 

24

 


Premiums Earned

 

Premiums earned increased 1.3 percent and 0.2 percent to $99,499,000 and $194,005,000 for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 from $98,218,000 and $193,710,000 for the same periods in 2006. The increase for the three months ended June 30, 2007 is attributed to the reinsurance segment, which benefited from an increase in the estimate of earned but not reported (EBNR) premiums and an increase premiums on two existing contracts. The increase for the six months ended June 30, 2007 is attributed to the property and casualty insurance segment, which was able to achieve a small increase in top line growth despite a continued decline in premium rates. On an overall basis, rate competition continued to increase moderately in the property and casualty insurance marketplace during the first six months of 2007 and management expects market conditions to remain competitive for the remainder of the year, assuming there are no significant market altering catastrophic events. Consequently, the Company’s overall rate level is expected to continue to decline moderately during the remainder of 2007.

 

Premiums earned for the property and casualty insurance segment decreased 0.1 percent to $79,803,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2007 from $79,895,000 for the same period in 2006, but increased 0.9 percent to $159,007,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2007 from $157,638,000 for the same period in 2006. Underlying these changes in premium income is a continued decline in overall premium rate levels, which, through the first six months of 2007, has been offset by an increase in new business premium. Total policy count remained relatively flat during the first six months of 2007; however, policy count for the commercial lines of business, which generally carry a larger premium per policy, increased while policy count for the personal lines of business declined. The increase in the commercial lines policy count is attributed to recent initiatives targeted toward small businesses. Commercial lines new business premium was up 13.4 percent in the first six months of 2007, while retention rates increased slightly to 86.9 percent. Through the first six months of 2007, new business premium has exceeded the premium lost from declining premium rates and business not retained, resulting in a small increase in commercial lines premium income. In personal lines, management is continuing its efforts to increase premium production by identifying geographic areas with profit potential and focusing the efforts of the branch personnel in those territories. Personal lines new business premium was up 7.8 percent in the first six months of 2007; however, this new business premium was not sufficient to offset the premium lost from declining premium rates and business not retained, resulting in a small decline in personal lines premium income. Retention rates increased slightly to 85.0 percent in personal property and 87.5 percent in personal auto.

 

Premiums earned for the reinsurance segment increased 7.5 percent to $19,696,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2007 from $18,323,000 for the same period in 2006, but declined 3.0 percent to $34,998,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2007 from $36,072,000 for the same period in 2006. The increase for the three months ended June 30, 2007 reflects an increase of $891,000 in the estimate of EBNR premiums and a large increase in premiums on a German industrial proportional contract and a property and casualty excess program. A decline in MRB premiums (which is associated with an account that was not renewed) partially offset the increase in premiums earned for the three months ended June 30, 2007 and is primarily responsible for the decline in premiums earned for the first six months of 2007. Premium income for calendar year 2007 is currently projected to be approximately $69 million, which would represent a decline of approximately 6.0 percent from 2006.

 

Premium rates on reinsurance contract renewals were primarily flat, and in some cases, were down slightly. Premium rate increases that have been obtained have primarily been small and isolated to contracts with catastrophe losses in 2006 and coastal accounts with Hurricane Katrina, Rita and Wilma losses. There are indications of increasing rate competition in the reinsurance marketplace, which could result in lower rates on future contract renewals and on new contracts.

 

Premiums written for the reinsurance segment increased $4,350,000, or 14.5 percent, in the first half of 2007; however, this increase reflects a negative $3,440,000 portfolio adjustment made in the first quarter of 2006 in connection with Employers Mutual’s reduced participation in the MRB pool. Excluding this adjustment, written premiums increased $910,000, or 2.7 percent, in the first six months of 2007.

 

As previously reported, one of the members of the MRB pool has indicated that they will no longer participate in the pool effective January 1, 2008. Management of the pool is actively searching for a replacement. If a replacement is not found, Employers Mutual’s participation in the pool would increase to approximately 25 percent in 2008 from the current 20 percent.

 

25

 


Losses and settlement expenses

 

2006 IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors

 

The allocation of incurred losses and settlement expenses between events associated with the current accident year and events associated with prior accident years for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2006 reflect an adjustment in the factors utilized to allocate the property and casualty insurance segment’s direct IBNR reserve by accident year. Following is a detailed discussion of this issue.

 

An IBNR reserve is established at the end of each quarter for every line of business. For financial reporting purposes, this IBNR reserve is allocated to the various loss accident years using actuarially determined factors. In early 2006, after analyzing the accident year allocation of the IBNR reserve for several prior years, management noted that at the beginning of a new calendar year an insufficient amount of the IBNR reserve appeared to be allocated to prior accident years. In other words, the IBNR reserve allocated to the various accident years at the end of recent calendar years appeared to be released too quickly during the subsequent calendar year.

 

In an attempt to address this situation, management adjusted the IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors so that a larger portion of the March 31, 2006 and June 30, 2006 IBNR reserve was retained in prior accident years, with a correspondingly smaller amount allocated to the current accident year. It is important to note that the adjustments made to the IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors did not have any impact on net income reported for the three months or six months ended June 30, 2006. The only impact of this change in accident year allocation factors was that the reported amount of favorable development experienced on prior years’ reserves was $5,360,000 less than what would have been reported had the factors not been adjusted ($5,392,000 greater than what would have been reported for the three months ended June 30, 2006). Conversely, the current accident year results were $5,360,000 better than what would have been experienced had the factors not been adjusted ($5,392,000 worse than what would have been experienced for the three months ended June 30, 2006), resulting in no affect on net income. The adjustments made to the 2006 accident year allocation factors were not effective, and were confusing to the readers of the Company’s financial statements. Therefore, management did not implement similar adjustments to the 2007 accident year allocation factors.

 

Following is a reconciliation of the development on prior years’ reserves for the property and casualty insurance segment from what would have been reported had the IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors not been adjusted, to the amount reported in the Company’s financial statements for the first and second quarters of 2006.

 

26

 


 

Three months ended

 

Six months ended

($ in thousands)

March 31, 2006

 

June 30, 2006

 

June 30, 2006

Property and Casualty Insurance Segment

 

 

 

 

 

(Favorable) adverse development experienced

 

 

 

 

 

on prior years':

 

 

 

 

 

Direct case loss reserves 

$          (11,250)

 

$         (7,680)

 

$               (18,930)

Direct IBNR reserves 

(1,347)

 

(460)

 

(1,807)

Direct settlement expense reserves 

(3,239)

 

(1,016)

 

(4,255)

Assumed and ceded reinsurance, net 

788 

 

30 

 

818 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amount of favorable development on prior years'

 

 

 

 

 

reserves that would have been reported if the

 

 

 

 

 

IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors

 

 

 

 

 

had not been adjusted 

(15,048)

 

(9,126)

 

(24,174)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adverse (favorable) development on prior years'

 

 

 

 

 

reserves resulting from the adjustment of the

 

 

 

 

 

IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors on:

 

 

 

 

 

IBNR reserves 

9,305 

 

(4,672)

 

4,633 

Settlement expense reserves 

1,447 

 

(720)

 

727 

Total 

10,752 

 

(5,392)

 

5,360 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reported amount of favorable development

 

 

 

 

 

experienced on prior years' reserves after the

 

 

 

 

 

adjustment in the IBNR accident year allocation

 

 

 

 

 

factors 

$            (4,296)

 

$       (14,518)

 

$               (18,814)

 

Losses and settlement expenses

 

Losses and settlement expenses decreased 6.2 percent to $56,414,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2007 from $60,112,000 for the same period in 2006, but increased 1.3 percent to $109,890,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2007 from $108,530,000 for the same period in 2006. The loss and settlement expense ratio declined to 56.7 percent for the three months ended June 30, 2007 from 61.2 percent for the same period in 2006, but increased slightly to 56.6 percent for the six months ended June 30, 2007 from 56.0 percent for the same period in 2006. The decrease in the ratio for the three months ended June 30, 2007 reflects the excellent underwriting results reported by the reinsurance segment, while the increase in the ratio for the six months ended June 30, 2007 reflects a rise in the property and casualty insurance segment’s losses.

 

The loss and settlement expense ratio for the property and casualty insurance segment decreased to 57.3 percent for the three months ended June 30, 2007 from 58.8 percent for the same period in 2006, but increased to 55.2 percent for the six months ended June 30, 2007 from 52.4 percent for the same period in 2006. The improvement for the three months ended June 30, 2007 is attributed to a decline in claim frequency and severity during the quarter. The decline in claim severity is partially attributed to a moderate decrease in the estimated adequacy of the segment’s case loss reserves during the second quarter. As previously noted, management is exploring the possibility of utilizing bulk case loss reserve adjustments to help maintain a consistent level of case loss reserve adequacy in the future; however, no decision has been made at this time. Partially offsetting the improvement in the loss and settlement expense ratio for the three months ended June 30, 2007 was an increase in catastrophe and storm losses, driven largely by losses from the Greensburg, Kansas tornado. Losses and settlement expenses from this event totaled $6,093,000 ($0.29 per share after tax). This event exhausted the annual aggregate deductibles on the pool’s reinsurance agreements for both individual (per risk) property losses and property catastrophe losses, thus future property losses that are incurred by the pool during the remainder of 2007 will be eligible for reinsurance recoveries. The increase in the loss and settlement expense ratio for the six months ended June 30, 2007 is attributed to an increase in catastrophe and storm losses and a slight increase in claim frequency. Favorable development experienced on prior years’ reserves was comparable between 2007 and 2006 (prior to the adjustment of the 2006 IBNR reserve accident year allocation factors), and provides continuing evidence of reserve adequacy. The steady decline in premium rate levels over the past two years increased the loss and settlement expense ratio by approximately 2.3 percentage points during the first six months of 2007.

 

27

 


                The loss and settlement expense ratio for the reinsurance segment improved to 54.2 percent and 63.3 percent for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 from 71.7 percent and 71.9 percent for the same periods in 2006. The improvement for the three months ended June 30, 2007 reflects an IBNR reserve reduction of $3,058,000, compared to an increase of $1,447,000 during the same period in 2006. For the first six months of 2007, IBNR reserves increased $1,787,000 compared to $1,939,000 for the same period in 2006. These adjustments to the IBNR reserves were implemented to maintain a consistent level of reserve adequacy. Increases in the amount of favorable development experienced on prior years’ reserves during the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 also contributed to the improvement in the loss and settlement expense ratios.

 

Acquisition and other expenses

 

Acquisition and other expenses decreased 0.5 percent to $34,303,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2007 from $34,475,000 for the same period in 2006, but increased 0.9 percent to $66,989,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2007 from $66,394,000 for the same period in 2006. The acquisition expense ratio decreased to 34.5 percent for the three months ended June 30, 2007 from 35.1 percent for the same period in 2006, but increased to 34.6 percent for the six months ended June 30, 2007 from 34.3 percent for the same period in 2006. The decrease in the ratio for the three months ended June 30, 2007 is primarily attributed to a higher level of amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs in the reinsurance segment in 2006, while the increase for the six months ended June 30, 2007 is associated with an increase in policyholder dividends in the property and casualty insurance segment.

 

For the property and casualty insurance segment, the acquisition expense ratio increased to 38.0 percent and 37.3 percent for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 from 37.9 percent and 36.9 percent for the same periods in 2006. These increases were primarily driven by an increase in policyholder dividends during the second quarter of 2007, but were partially offset by a decline in hurricane related assessments (Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association assessments for Hurricane Katrina in the second quarter of 2006) and guaranty fund assessments. Hurricane related assessments, including the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association assessment, are recoverable from reinsurers and are included as a reduction of losses (reflected in the loss and settlement expense ratio).

 

For the reinsurance segment, the acquisition expense ratio declined to 20.1 percent and 21.8 percent for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 from 22.9 percent and 22.6 percent for the same periods in 2006. The declines for both the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 are largely due to a decline in unearned premium reserves during 2006, which resulted in a higher level of amortization of deferred acquisition costs during those periods. The decline for the six months ended June 30, 2007 was limited by Employers Mutual’s reduced participation in the MRB pool in 2006. In connection with this change in pool participation, the reinsurance subsidiary recognized $1,343,000 of commission income in the first quarter of 2006 as reimbursement for expenses previously incurred to generate the reinsurance business that was transferred to the new assuming members on January 1, 2006. This commission income was partially offset by $688,000 of deferred policy acquisition costs that were amortized to expense as a result of the change in pool participation.

 

Investment results

 

Net investment income increased 2.5 percent and 2.1 percent to $11,655,000 and $23,643,000 for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 from $11,369,000 and $23,147,000 for the same periods in 2006. These increases are primarily attributed to higher average invested asset balances and a small increase in the yield on fixed maturity securities.

 

The Company reported net realized investment gains of $217,000 and $1,513,000 for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007, down from $2,188,000 and $4,033,000 for the same periods in 2006. The declines in net realized investments gains are primarily associated with the Company’s equity portfolio. The Company recognized “other-than-temporary” investment impairment losses totaling $324,000 and $384,000 during the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007. During the first six months of 2006 the Company recognized a $45,000 “other-than-temporary” investment impairment loss in the first quarter. These impairment losses were recognized because the Company’s outside equity manager indicated that they would likely sell these securities, which were in an unrealized loss position, before they recovered to their cost basis. As a result, the intent to hold these securities to recovery did not exist.

 

28

 


Income tax

 

Income tax expense increased 27.6 percent to $5,986,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2007 from $4,691,000 for the same period in 2006, but declined 10.4 percent to $12,172,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2007 from $13,586,000 for the same period in 2006. The effective tax rate for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2007 was 30.0 percent and 29.8 percent, compared to 28.4 percent and 30.4 percent for the same periods in 2006. The fluctuations in the effective tax rates reflect the changes in pre-tax income earned during these periods relative to the amount of tax-exempt interest income earned.

 

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

 

Liquidity

 

Liquidity is a measure of a company’s ability to generate sufficient cash flows to meet cash obligations. The Company had negative cash flows from operations of $4,572,000 and $5,776,000 during the first six months of 2007 and 2006, respectively. These negative cash flows are primarily attributed to agents’ profit share payments made during the first quarter of each year, based on the prior year’s results. The Company typically generates substantial positive cash flows from operations because cash from premium payments is generally received in advance of cash payments made to settle claims. These positive cash flows provide the foundation of the Company’s asset/liability management program and are the primary drivers of the Company’s liquidity. When investing funds made available from operations, the Company invests in securities with maturities that approximate the anticipated payments of losses and settlement expenses of the underlying insurance policies. In addition, the Company maintains a portion of its investment portfolio in relatively short-term and highly liquid assets as a secondary source of liquidity should net cash flows from operating activities prove inadequate to fund current operating needs. As of June 30, 2007, the Company did not have any significant variations between the maturity dates of its investments and the expected payments of its loss and settlement expense reserves.

 

The Company is a holding company whose principal asset is its investment in its insurance subsidiaries. As a holding company, the Company is dependent upon cash dividends from its insurance company subsidiaries to meet all obligations, including cash dividends to stockholders. State insurance regulations restrict the maximum amount of dividends insurance companies can pay without prior regulatory approval. The maximum amount of dividends that the insurance company subsidiaries can pay to the Company in 2007 without prior regulatory approval is approximately $57,702,000. The Company received $2,500,000 and $5,000,000 of dividends from its insurance company subsidiaries and paid cash dividends to its stockholders totaling $4,679,000 and $4,385,000 in the first six months of 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

The Company’s insurance company subsidiaries must have adequate liquidity to ensure that their cash obligations are met; however, because of their participation in the pooling agreement and the quota share agreement, they do not have the daily liquidity concerns normally associated with an insurance or reinsurance company. This is due to the fact that under the terms of the pooling and quota share agreements, Employers Mutual receives all premiums and pays all losses and expenses associated with the insurance business produced by the pool participants and the assumed reinsurance business ceded to the Company’s reinsurance subsidiary, and then settles the inter-company balances generated by these transactions with the participating companies within 45 days after the end of each quarter.

 

At the insurance company subsidiary level, the primary sources of cash are premium income, investment income and maturing investments. The principal outflows of cash are payments of claims, commissions, premium taxes, operating expenses, income taxes, dividends, interest and principal payments on debt, and investment purchases. Cash outflows can be variable because of uncertainties regarding settlement dates for unpaid losses and because of the potential for large losses, either individually or in the aggregate. Accordingly, the insurance company subsidiaries maintain investment and reinsurance programs generally intended to provide adequate funds to pay claims without forced sales of investments. In addition, Employers Mutual has a line of credit available to provide additional liquidity if needed. The insurance company subsidiaries have access to this line of credit through Employers Mutual.

 

29

 


                The Company maintains a portion of its investment portfolio in relatively short-term and highly liquid investments to ensure the availability of funds to pay claims and expenses. At June 30, 2007, approximately 54 percent of the Company’s fixed maturity securities were in U.S. government or U.S. government-sponsored agency securities. A variety of maturities are maintained in the Company’s portfolio to assure adequate liquidity. The maturity structure of the fixed maturity securities is also established by the relative attractiveness of yields on short, intermediate and long-term securities. The Company does not invest in high-yield, non-investment grade debt securities. Any non-investment grade securities held by the Company are the result of rating downgrades that occurred subsequent to their purchase.

 

The Company considers itself to be a long-term investor and generally purchases fixed maturity securities with the intent to hold them to maturity. Despite this intent, the Company currently classifies purchases of fixed maturity securities as available-for-sale to provide flexibility in the management of its investment portfolio. The Company had net unrealized holding gains, net of deferred taxes, on fixed maturity securities available-for-sale totaling $683,000 and $6,319,000 at June 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006, respectively. The fluctuation in the market value of these investments is primarily due to changes in the interest rate environment during this time period. Since the Company does not actively trade in the bond market, such fluctuations in the fair value of these investments are not expected to have a material impact on the operations of the Company, as forced liquidations of investments is not anticipated. The Company closely monitors the bond market and makes appropriate adjustments in its portfolio as conditions warrant.

 

The majority of the Company’s assets are invested in fixed maturity securities. These investments provide a substantial amount of investment income that supplements underwriting results and contributes to net earnings. As these investments mature, or are called, the proceeds are reinvested at current rates, which may be higher or lower than those now being earned; therefore, more or less investment income may be available to contribute to net earnings depending on the interest rate level.

 

The Company participates in a securities lending program administered by Mellon Bank, N.A. whereby certain fixed maturity securities from the investment portfolio are loaned to other institutions for short periods of time. The Company receives a fee for each security loaned out under this program and requires initial collateral, primarily cash, equal to 102 percent of the market value of the loaned securities. The cash collateral that secures the Company’s loaned securities is invested in a Delaware business trust that is managed by Mellon Bank. The earnings from this trust are used, in part, to pay the fee the Company receives for each security loaned under the program.

 

The Company held $120,000 and $552,000 in minority ownership interests in limited partnerships and limited liability companies at June 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006, respectively. The Company does not hold any other unregistered securities.

 

The Company’s cash balance was $147,000 and $196,000 at June 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006, respectively.

 

During the first six months of 2007, Employers Mutual contributed $3,300,000 to the postretirement plans’ VEBA trusts, but did not make any contributions to the pension plans. In 2007, Employers Mutual expects to make contributions totaling $17,000,000 to the pension plans and $4,172,000 to the postretirement plans’ VEBA trusts. The Company reimbursed Employers Mutual $941,000 for its share of the contribution to the postretirement benefit plans.

 

Employers Mutual contributed $27,596,000 to the pension plan and $5,100,000 to the postretirement benefit plans in 2006. During the first six months of 2006, no contributions were made to the pension plan and $4,200,000 was contributed to the postretirement benefit plans. The Company reimbursed Employers Mutual $8,410,000 for its share of the pension contribution in 2006 (no reimbursement was paid in the first six months of 2006) and $1,455,000 for its share of the postretirement benefit plans contribution in 2006 (includes $1,198,000 during the first six months 2006).

 

30

 


Capital Resources

 

Capital resources consist of stockholders’ equity and debt, representing funds deployed or available to be deployed to support business operations. For the Company’s insurance subsidiaries, capital resources are required to support premium writings. Regulatory guidelines suggest that the ratio of a property and casualty insurer’s annual net premiums written to its statutory surplus should not exceed three to one. On an annualized basis, all of the Company’s insurance subsidiaries were well under this guideline at June 30, 2007.

 

The Company’s insurance subsidiaries are required to maintain a certain minimum level of surplus on a statutory basis, and are subject to regulations under which the payment of dividends from statutory surplus is restricted and may require prior approval of their domiciliary insurance regulatory authorities. The Company’s insurance subsidiaries are also subject to Risk Based Capital (RBC) requirements that may further impact their ability to pay dividends. RBC requirements attempt to measure minimum statutory capital needs based upon the risks in a company’s mix of products and investment portfolio. At December 31, 2006, the Company’s insurance subsidiaries had total adjusted statutory capital of $310,280,000, which was well in excess of the minimum RBC requirement of $52,753,000.

 

The Company had total cash and invested assets with a carrying value of $993.4 million as of June 30, 2007 and $1.0 billion as of December 31, 2006. The following table summarizes the Company’s cash and invested assets as of the dates indicated:

 

 

June 30, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

Percent of

 

 

 

Amortized 

 

Fair 

 

total

 

Carrying

($ in thousands)

cost 

 

value 

 

fair value

 

value 

Fixed maturity securities held-to-maturity 

$       5,651 

 

$        5,700 

 

0.6%

 

$        5,651 

Fixed maturity securities available-for-sale 

796,422 

 

797,473 

 

80.3%

 

797,473 

Equity securities available-for-sale 

81,977 

 

125,703 

 

12.6%

 

125,703 

Cash 

147 

 

147 

 

 

147 

Short-term investments 

64,320 

 

64,320 

 

6.5%

 

64,320 

Other long-term investments 

120 

 

120 

 

 

120 

 

$   948,637 

 

$    993,463 

 

100.0%

 

$    993,414 

 

 

 

December 31, 2006

 

 

 

 

 

Percent of

 

 

 

Amortized 

 

Fair 

 

total

 

Carrying

($ in thousands)

cost 

 

value 

 

fair value

 

value 

Fixed maturity securities held-to-maturity 

$       5,680 

 

$        5,769 

 

0.6%

 

$        5,680 

Fixed maturity securities available-for-sale 

796,115 

 

805,837 

 

80.4%

 

805,837 

Equity securities available-for-sale 

77,089 

 

112,527 

 

11.2%

 

112,527 

Cash 

196 

 

196 

 

 

196 

Short-term investments 

76,723 

 

76,723 

 

7.7%

 

76,723 

Other long-term investments 

552 

 

552 

 

0.1%

 

552 

 

$   956,355 

 

$ 1,001,604 

 

100.0%

 

$ 1,001,515 

 

 

31

 


                The amortized cost and estimated fair value of fixed maturity and equity securities at June 30, 2007 were as follows:

 

 

Held-to-maturity

 

 

 

Gross

 

Gross

 

 

 

Amortized

 

unrealized

 

unrealized

 

Estimated

($ in thousands)

cost

 

gains

 

losses

 

fair value

U.S. government-sponsored agencies 

$       4,997 

 

$               8 

 

$           - 

 

$        5,005 

Mortgage-backed securities 

654 

 

41 

 

 

695 

Total securities held-to-maturity 

$       5,651 

 

$             49 

 

$           - 

 

$        5,700 

 

 

Available-for-sale

 

 

 

Gross

 

Gross

 

 

 

Amortized

 

unrealized

 

unrealized

 

Estimated

($ in thousands)

cost

 

gains

 

losses

 

fair value

U.S. treasury securities 

$       4,720 

 

$               4 

 

$            - 

 

4,724 

U.S. government-sponsored agencies 

427,336 

 

37 

 

7,743 

 

419,630 

Obligations of states and political subdivisions 

249,224 

 

6,635 

 

723 

 

255,136 

Mortgage-backed securities 

14,180 

 

734 

 

25 

 

14,889 

Public utility securities 

6,003 

 

258 

 

 

6,261 

Debt securities issued by foreign governments 

6,831 

 

55 

 

33 

 

6,853 

Corporate securities 

88,128 

 

2,319 

 

467 

 

89,980 

Total fixed maturity securities 

796,422 

 

10,042 

 

8,991 

 

797,473 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common stocks 

70,477 

 

43,757 

 

74 

 

114,160 

Non-redeemable preferred stocks 

11,500 

 

175 

 

132 

 

11,543 

Total equity securities 

81,977 

 

43,932 

 

206 

 

125,703 

Total securities available-for-sale 

$   878,399 

 

$      53,974 

 

$     9,197 

 

$    923,176 

 

 

The Company’s insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries have $36 million of surplus notes issued to Employers Mutual. These surplus notes have an annual interest rate of 3.09 percent and do not have a maturity date. Payment of interest and repayment of principal can only be made out of the applicable subsidiary’s statutory surplus and is subject to prior approval by the insurance commissioner of the respective state of domicile. The surplus notes are subordinate and junior in right of payment to all obligations or liabilities of the applicable insurance subsidiaries. The Company’s subsidiaries incurred interest expense of $556,000 in the first six months of 2007 and 2006 on these surplus notes.

 

As of June 30, 2007, the Company had no material commitments for capital expenditures.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

Employers Mutual receives all premiums and pays all losses and expenses associated with the assumed reinsurance business ceded to the reinsurance subsidiary and the insurance business produced by the pool participants, and then settles the inter-company balances generated by these transactions with the participating companies on a quarterly basis. When settling the inter-company balances, Employers Mutual provides the reinsurance subsidiary and the pool participants with full credit for the premiums written during the quarter and retains all receivable amounts. Any receivable amounts that are ultimately deemed to be uncollectible are charged-off by Employers Mutual and the expense is charged to the reinsurance subsidiary or allocated to the pool members on the basis of pool participation. As a result, the Company has an off-balance sheet arrangement with an unconsolidated entity that results in a credit-risk exposure that is not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. Based on historical data, this credit-risk exposure is not considered to be material to the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

 

32

 


Investment Impairments and Considerations

 

The Company recorded $384,000 of “other-than-temporary” investment impairment losses in the first six months of 2007 on seven equity securities (includes $324,000 of impairment losses during the three months ended June 30, 2007 on four equity securities). These impairment losses were recognized because the Company’s outside equity manager indicated that they would likely sell these securities, which were in an unrealized loss position, before they recovered to their cost basis. As a result, the intent to hold these securities to recovery did not exist. The Company recorded $45,000 of “other-than-temporary” investment impairment losses during the first quarter of 2006 on Ford Motor Company common stock. No additional impairment losses were recognized during the second quarter of 2006.

 

The Company has no direct exposure to sub-prime residential lending, holding only $1,600,000 of residential mortgage-backed securities, all of which are seasoned Government National Mortgage Association thirty year fixed maturity securities. No residential collateralized debt obligations or collateralized mortgage obligations are held.

 

The Company does have indirect exposure to sub-prime residential lending markets as it has significant holdings of government agency securities, as well as fixed maturity and equity securities in both the banking and financial services sectors. While these holdings do not include companies engaged in originating residential lending as their primary business, it does include companies that may be indirectly engaged in this type of lending. However, none of these securities have been considered for other-than-temporary impairment at this time.

 

At June 30, 2007, the Company had unrealized losses on held-to-maturity and available-for-sale securities as presented in the table below. The estimated fair value is based on quoted market prices, where available, or on values obtained from independent pricing services. None of these securities are considered to be in concentrations by either security type or industry. The Company uses several factors to determine whether the carrying value of an individual security has been “other-than-temporarily” impaired. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the security’s value and performance in the context of the overall markets, length of time and extent the security’s fair value has been below carrying value, key corporate events and collateralization of fixed maturity securities. Based on these factors, and the Company’s ability and intent to hold the securities until recovery or maturity, it was determined that the carrying value of these securities was not “other-than-temporarily” impaired at June 30, 2007. Risks and uncertainties inherent in the methodology utilized in this evaluation process include interest rate risk, equity price risk, and the overall performance of the economy, all of which have the potential to adversely affect the value of the Company’s investments. Should a determination be made at some point in the future that these unrealized losses are “other-than-temporary”, the Company’s earnings would be reduced by approximately $5,978,000, net of tax; however, the Company’s financial position would not be affected due to the fact that unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities are reflected in the Company’s financial statements as a component of stockholders’ equity, net of deferred taxes.

 

33

 


                Following is a schedule of the length of time securities have continuously been in an unrealized loss position as of June 30, 2007.

 

 

 

 

Unrealized   

Description of securities

Fair value 

 

losses 

($ in thousands)

 

 

 

Securities available-for-sale:

 

 

 

Fixed maturity securities:

 

 

 

Less than six months 

$    126,953 

 

$           1,915 

Six to twelve months 

30,768 

 

384 

Twelve months or longer 

316,226 

 

6,692 

Total fixed maturity securities 

473,947 

 

8,991 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities:

 

 

 

Less than six months 

7,389 

 

206 

Six to twelve months 

 

Twelve months or longer 

 

Total equity securities 

7,389 

 

206 

 

 

 

 

Total temporarily

 

 

 

impaired securities 

$    481,336 

 

$           9,197 

 

 

The Company’s investment in Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corporation fixed maturity securities was non-investment grade at June 30, 2007 and was carried at an unrealized loss before tax of $4,000. All other non-investment grade fixed maturity securities held at June 30, 2007 (Great Lakes Chemical Corporation and US Freightways Corporation) were in an unrealized gain position. The Company does not purchase non-investment grade securities. Any non-investment grade securities held by the Company are the result of rating downgrades that occurred subsequent to their purchase.

 

The Company recognized $803,000 of gross realized losses in the first six months of 2007. The gross realized losses included $420,000 from the sale of equity securities and $383,000 of “other-than-temporary” investment impairment losses on seven equity securities. Gross realized losses recognized of $689,000 were in an unrealized loss position for three months or less and $114,000 were in an unrealized loss position for over three months to six months. No realized losses were recognized on fixed maturity securities.

 

LEASES, COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

 

The following table reflects the Company’s contractual obligations as of June 30, 2007. Included in the table are the estimated payments that the Company expects to make in the settlement of its loss reserves and with respect to its long-term debt. One of the Company’s property and casualty insurance subsidiaries leases office facilities in Bismarck, North Dakota with lease terms expiring in 2014. Employers Mutual has entered into various leases for branch and service office facilities with lease terms expiring through 2017. All lease costs are included as expenses under the pooling agreement, after allocation of the portion of these expenses to the subsidiaries that do not participate in the pooling agreement. The table reflects the Company’s current 30.0 percent aggregate participation in the pooling agreement. The Company’s contractual obligation for long-term debt did not change from that presented in the Company’s 2006 Form 10-K.

 

34

 


 

Payments due by period

 

 

 

Less than

 

1 - 3

 

4 - 5 

 

More than

 

Total

 

1 year

 

years

 

years

 

5 years

Contractual obligations

($ in thousands)

Loss and settlement expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

reserves (1) 

$  544,740 

 

$  216,098 

 

$  194,309 

 

$    73,594 

 

$    60,739 

Long-term debt (2) 

36,000 

 

 

 

 

36,000 

Interest expense on 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

long-term debt (3) 

11,124 

 

1,112 

 

2,225 

 

2,225 

 

5,562 

Real estate operating leases 

7,101 

 

688 

 

2,339 

 

2,025 

 

2,049 

Total 

$  598,965 

 

$  217,898 

 

$  198,873 

 

$    77,844 

 

$  104,350 

 

(1)

The amounts presented are estimates of the dollar amounts and time period in which the Company expects to pay out its gross loss and settlement expense reserves. These amounts are based on historical payment patterns and do not represent actual contractual obligations. The actual payment amounts and the related timing of those payments could differ significantly from these estimates.

 

(2)

Long-term debt reflects the surplus notes issued by the Company’s insurance subsidiaries to Employers Mutual, which have no maturity date. Excluded from long-term debt are pension and other postretirement benefit obligations.

 

(3)

Interest expense on long-term debt reflects the interest expense on the surplus notes issued by the Company’s insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries to Employers Mutual. Interest on the surplus notes is subject to approval by the issuing company’s state of domicile. The balance shown under the heading “More than 5 years” represents interest expense for years six through ten. Since the surplus notes have no maturity date, total interest expense could be greater than the amount shown.

 

The participants in the pooling agreement are subject to guaranty fund assessments by states in which they write business. Guaranty fund assessments are used by states to pay policyholder liabilities of insolvent insurers domiciled in that state. Many states allow assessments to be recovered through premium tax offsets. Estimated guaranty fund assessments of $1,495,000 and $1,451,000 and related premium tax offsets of $1,053,000 and $929,000 have been accrued as of June 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006, respectively. The guaranty fund assessments are expected to be paid over the next two years and the premium tax offsets are expected to be realized within ten years of the payments. The participants in the pooling agreement are also subject to second-injury fund assessments which are designed to encourage employers to employ a worker with a pre-existing disability. Estimated second-injury fund assessments of $1,620,000 and $1,769,000 have been accrued as of June 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006, respectively. The second injury fund assessment accruals are based on projected loss payments. The periods over which the assessments will be paid is not known.

 

The participants in the pooling agreement have purchased annuities from life insurance companies, under which the claimant is payee, to fund future payments that are fixed pursuant to specific claim settlement provisions. The Company’s share of loss reserves eliminated by the purchase of these annuities was $1,779,000 at December 31, 2006. The Company has a contingent liability of $1,779,000 should the issuers of these annuities fail to perform under the terms of the annuity. All of the issuing companies maintain strong financial ratings, therefore, the Company believes the likelihood of failure of any of the issuing companies is remote. The Company’s share of the amount due from any one life insurance company does not equal or exceed one percent of its subsidiaries’ aggregate policyholders’ surplus.

 

NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

 

In February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments” – an Amendment of FASB Statement Nos. 133 and 140. SFAS 155 simplifies the accounting for certain hybrid financial instruments by permitting fair value re-measurement for any hybrid financial instrument that contains an embedded derivative that otherwise would require bifurcation, and eliminates a restriction on passive derivative instruments that a qualifying special-purpose entity may hold. The Company adopted SFAS 155 effective January 1, 2007. Adoption of this statement had no effect on the operating results of the Company.

 

35

 


                In June 2006, the FASB issued Interpretation (FIN) No. 48 “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” to clarify the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise's financial statements in accordance with SFAS 109 “Accounting for Income Taxes.” FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. FIN 48 also provides guidance for de-recognition of tax positions, financial statement classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. The Company adopted FIN 48 effective January 1, 2007. Adoption of FIN 48 had no effect on the operating results of the Company, as an assessment of the Company’s current tax positions indicated no uncertainties that would warrant different recognition and valuation from that applied in the Company’s tax returns.

 

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements,” which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The provisions of SFAS 157 are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating what impact, if any, this statement will have on its financial statements.

 

In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, “The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities.” SFAS 159 permits reporting entities to choose, at specified election dates, to measure eligible items at fair value (the “fair value option”). The unrealized gains and losses on items for which the fair value option has been elected will be reported in earnings. As it relates to the Company’s financial reporting, the Company would be permitted to elect fair value recognition of fixed maturity and equity investments currently classified as either available-for-sale or held-to-maturity, and report the unrealized gains and losses from these investments in earnings going forward. Electing the fair value option for an existing held-to-maturity security will not call into question the intent of an entity to hold other fixed maturity securities to maturity in the future. The provisions of this statement are effective beginning with the first fiscal year that begins after November 15, 2007. The Company is currently evaluating the alternatives permitted by this statement and the impact those alternatives would have on its financial statements.

 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides issuers the opportunity to make cautionary statements regarding forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any forward-looking statement contained in this report is based on management’s current beliefs, assumptions and expectations of the Company’s future performance, taking into account all information currently available to management. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as the result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to management. If a change occurs, the Company’s business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the actual results of the Company include, but are not limited to, the following: catastrophic events and the occurrence of significant severe weather conditions; the adequacy of loss and settlement expense reserves; state and federal legislation and regulations; changes in our industry, interest rates or the performance of financial markets and the general economy; rating agency actions and other risks and uncertainties inherent to the Company’s business. When the Company uses the words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate” or similar expressions, the Company intends to identify forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements.

 

 

36

 


ITEM 3.         QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

The main objectives in managing the investment portfolios of the Company are to maximize after-tax investment return while minimizing credit risks, in order to provide maximum support for the underwriting operations. Investment strategies are developed based upon many factors including underwriting results, regulatory requirements, fluctuations in interest rates and consideration of other market risks. Investment decisions are centrally managed by investment professionals and are supervised by the investment committees of the respective boards of directors for each of the Company’s subsidiaries.

 

Market risk represents the potential for loss due to adverse changes in the fair value of financial instruments. The market risks of the financial instruments of the Company relate to the investment portfolio, which exposes the Company to interest rate and equity price risk and, to a lesser extent, credit quality and prepayment risk. Monitoring systems and analytical tools are in place to assess each of these elements of market risk.

 

Two categories of influences on market risk exist as it relates to financial instruments. First are systematic aspects, which relate to the investing environment and are out of the control of the investment manager. Second are non-systematic aspects, which relate to the construction of the investment portfolio through investment policies and decisions, and are under the direct control of the investment manager. The Company is committed to controlling non-systematic risk through sound investment policies and diversification.

 

Further analysis of the components of the Company’s market risk (including interest rate risk, equity price risk, credit quality risk, and prepayment risk) can be found in the Company’s 2006 Form 10-K.

 

ITEM 4.

CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

 

The Company, under the supervision and with the participation of its management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective in timely making known to them material information relating to the Company and the Company’s consolidated subsidiaries required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act.

 

There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the first six months of 2007 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

37

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

PART II.

OTHER INFORMATION

 

 

ITEM 2.

UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

 

The following table sets forth information regarding purchases of equity securities by the Company and affiliated purchasers for the three months ended June 30, 2007:

 

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

 

 

 

 

(c) Total number

 

(d) Maximum number

 

(a) Total

 

(b) Average

 

of shares (or  

 

(or approximate dollar

 

number of

 

price

 

units) purchased

 

value) of shares 

 

shares

 

paid

 

as part of publicly

 

(or units) that may yet

 

(or units)

 

per share

 

announced plans

 

be purchased under

Period

purchased

 

(or unit)

 

or programs

 

the plans or programs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/1/07 - 4/30/07

485 

(1)

$            25.31 

 

(2)

$                     6,064,169 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5/1/07 - 5/31/07

125 

(1)

24.73 

 

(2)

6,064,169 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/1/07 - 6/30/07

1,241 

(1)

25.23 

 

(2)

6,064,169 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

1,851 

 

$            25.22 

 

 

$                     6,064,169 

 

 

(1) 485, 125 and 1,241 shares were purchased in the open market during April, May and June, respectively, under the Company’s dividend reinvestment and common stock purchase plan.

 

(2) On May 12, 2005 the Company announced that its parent company, Employers Mutual Casualty Company, had initiated a $15 million stock purchase program under which Employers Mutual would purchase shares of the Company’s common stock in the open market. This purchase program was effective immediately and does not have an expiration date.

 

ITEM 4.

SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

 

 

(a)

Annual Meeting of Stockholders

 

EMC Insurance Group Inc.

 

May 24, 2007

 

 

(b)

The following seven persons were elected to serve as directors of the Company for the ensuing year:

 

Margaret A. Ball

 

George C. Carpenter III

David J. Fisher

 

Bruce G. Kelley

George W. Kochheiser

 

Raymond A. Michel

Joanne L. Stockdale

 

 

 

 

38

 


       (c)Items voted upon and number of votes cast:

 

 

1.

Election of directors:

 

Nominee

 

Votes Cast for

 

Votes Withheld

Margaret A. Ball

 

12,812,866

 

79,246

George C. Carpenter III

 

12,745,991

 

146,121

David J. Fisher

 

12,766,555

 

125,557

Bruce G. Kelley

 

12,766,913

 

125,199

George W. Kochheiser

 

12,759,168

 

132,944

Raymond A. Michel

 

12,745,244

 

146,868

Joanne L. Stockdale

 

12,794,139

 

97,973

 

 

 

2.

Proposal to approve the 2007 Employers Mutual Casualty Company Stock Incentive Plan.

 

For

10,394,816

Against

2,024,960

Abstain

17,478

Broker
non-votes

454,858

 

 

 

3.

Proposal to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for the year ending December 31, 2007:

 

For

12,842,218

 

Against

36,063

 

Abstain

13,831

 

 

(d)

None.

 

 

ITEM 6.

EXHIBITS

 

 

10(v)

2007 Employers Mutual Casualty Company Stock Incentive Plan. (Incorporated by reference to Registration No. 333-143457.)

 

 

10(w)

Employers Mutual Casualty Company Board and Executive Non-Qualified Excess Plan II.

 

 

31.1

Certification of President and Chief Executive Officer as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

31.2

Certification of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

32.1

Certification of the President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

32.2

Certification of the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

39

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

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.

 

 

EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC.

Registrant

 

 

/s/ Bruce G. Kelley

Bruce G. Kelley

President & Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

/s/ Mark E. Reese

Mark E. Reese

Senior Vice President and

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

Date: August 9, 2007

 

40

 


EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit number

Item

Page number

 

 

 

10(w)

Employers Mutual Casualty Company Board and Executive Non-Qualified Excess Plan II.

42

 

 

 

31.1

Certification of President and Chief Executive Officer as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

78

 

 

 

31.2

Certification of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

79

 

 

 

32.1

Certification of the President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

80

 

 

 

32.2

Certification of the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

81

 

 

 

41