ProAssurance Reports Results for First Quarter 2020 and Declares Quarterly Dividend

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE: PRA) reports the following results for the three months ended March 31, 2020:

* Consolidated totals include inter-segment eliminations. The eliminations affect individual line items only and have no effect on net income (loss). See Note 12 of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in the March 31, 2020 Form 10-Q for amounts by line item.

The abbreviation “nm” indicates that the information or the percentage change is not meaningful.

Management Commentary

A company as close to our country’s working professionals as ours cannot help but feel a range of emotions when observing the impacts of the COVID-19 virus. Every day, we see the difficulties facing our customers as they adapt to the conditions forced upon our hospitals, our businesses, and even our homes. We share their concerns, and our hearts go out to all those affected by the pandemic.

At the same time, every day we see examples of heroism, particularly from healthcare professionals and first responders as they put their health and safety at risk to serve their communities. Our healthcare system is being tested in a way we have never seen before, and yet they show up day after day to serve others. It is truly inspiring, and we are grateful for the opportunity to support them and our communities in what ways we can – to date, we have made a number of substantial grants to support COVID-19 relief from funds previously set aside in the ProAssurance Corporation Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. Recipients of the grants include:

• UAB School of Medicine COVID-19 Clinical and Laboratory Research Fund
• United Way of Central Alabama Community Crisis Fund
• United Way of Greater Nashville
• United Way of Lancaster, PA
• Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham COVID-19 Response Fund
• Birmingham YMCA (providing daycare services for emergency responders and healthcare workers)

I also extend my tremendous gratitude to all ProAssurance employees. In just one week, 95% of our workforce across the country made the change to begin working from home. The transition proceeded smoothly, and I am incredibly proud of their response in keeping ProAssurance up and running despite the disruption to their daily lives. Many of our employees have children and are serving simultaneously as employee, spouse, teacher, and daycare service while dealing with the uncertainty introduced by the COVID-19 virus. Their dedication is nothing short of extraordinary, and as a result, ProAssurance has experienced minimal interruption to our operations and continues unabated in our mission to Protect Others.

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic near the end of the first quarter, and therefore the effects of the virus on our operating results were largely isolated to the last few weeks of March. However, the shock to the global financial system had an immediate impact on our investment portfolio, resulting in steep declines in mark-to-market values of our equities investments.

Outside of our investments’ performance, results for the first quarter reflected the continued challenges in the healthcare professional liability market and the intense competition in workers’ compensation insurance. While we are confident that the strategic initiatives announced in February will add value to the company and provide attractive returns for investors, the broad effects of the COVID-19 virus in the property and casualty industry will ripple through our results for the rest of 2020, and possibly beyond.

ProAssurance has a long history of returning capital to shareholders through dividends. Given our current earnings profile, the effects that underlying conditions in the broader insurance marketplace continue to have on our results, and the uncertainties introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are making the decision to reduce our quarterly dividend from $0.31 per share to $0.05 per share, beginning with the dividend declared today by our Board of Directors. The cash dividend will be payable on July 8, 2020 to shareholders of record as of June 11, 2020.

These are extraordinary times, but we are blessed to insure and employ extraordinary people. I have every confidence that ProAssurance, our customers, distribution partners, employees, and shareholders will emerge stronger on the other side of this crisis.

-Ned Rand

President & Chief Executive Officer

Key Takeaways – First Quarter 2020

• For the first quarter of 2020, we reported a net loss of $22.0 million, or $0.41 per share, and an operating loss of $1.1 million, or $0.02 per share.
• Consolidated gross premiums written in the first quarter of 2020 were $262.4 million, a decrease of $17.4 million, or 6.2%, from the same quarter in 2019.
• Consolidated net premiums earned for the quarter decreased $4.3 million, or 2.1%, from the year-ago quarter to $203.9 million, driven by decreases in net premiums earned in our Specialty Property & Casualty, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, and Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance (“SPCR”) segments, partially offset by an increase in net premiums earned in our Lloyd’s Syndicates segment.
• Net favorable reserve development recognized in the first quarter was $6.0 million, $4.3 million lower quarter-over-quarter. The decrease is primarily attributable to our Specialty P&C segment given elevated loss severity in the broader healthcare professional liability (“HCPL”) industry, including our excess and surplus lines of business, and uncertainties around the impact the COVID-19 pandemic will have on variables such as premium volume, claims frequency and severity, historical paid and incurred loss trends, general economic and social trends, inflation, and the legal and political environment.
• Our consolidated underwriting expense ratio was 30.4%, a quarter-over-quarter increase of approximately 0.9 percentage points primarily due to lower consolidated net premiums earned, as described above. Additionally, the increase in our consolidated underwriting expense ratio reflected an increase in operating expenses in our Specialty P&C segment driven by $1.4 million of one-time expenses primarily related to the restructuring of our HCPL field office organization, and, to a lesser extent, an increase in operating expenses in our Workers’ Compensation Insurance segment primarily due to costs related to technology enhancements.
• Our consolidated current accident year net loss ratio was 83.8%, a quarter-over-quarter increase of 2.1 percentage points driven by increases in our Lloyd’s Syndicates, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, and Specialty P&C segments. The higher current accident year net loss ratio in our Specialty P&C segment reflected higher severity trends in our HCPL book of business, particularly in our healthcare facilities and excess and surplus lines. After accounting for the effect of prior accident years’ reserve development of 2.9%, our consolidated net loss ratio for the first quarter was 80.9%.
• The increases to our consolidated underwriting expense and net loss ratios during the first quarter of 2020 resulted in a consolidated combined ratio of 111.3%.
• Net realized investment losses were $28.7 million, primarily due to changes in fair value of our equity portfolio and convertible securities attributable to the recent disruptions in the global financial markets related to COVID-19.
• Our consolidated net investment result was $19.3 million in the first quarter of 2020, down $2.7 million from the year-ago period, primarily driven by a decrease in our allocation to equities and partial reinvestment in fixed maturities, as well as lower overall investment balances as compared to the prior-year period.
• We recognized an income tax benefit of $12.1 million for the first quarter of 2020 as compared to income tax expense of $7.0 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Non-GAAP operating income (loss) is a financial measure that is widely used to evaluate performance within the insurance sector. In calculating Non-GAAP operating income (loss), we have excluded the effects of the items listed in the following table that do not reflect normal operating results. We believe Non-GAAP operating income (loss) presents a useful view of the performance of our insurance operations, however it should be considered in conjunction with net income (loss) computed in accordance with GAAP. The following table reconciles net income (loss) to Non-GAAP operating income (loss):

⁽¹⁾ Net realized investment gains (losses) on investments related to SPCs are recognized in our Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment. SPC operating results, including any realized gain or loss, that are attributable to external cell participants are reflected in the SPC dividend expense (income). To be consistent with our exclusion of net realized investment gains (losses) recognized in earnings, we are excluding the portion of net realized investment gains (losses) that is included in the SPC dividend expense (income) which is attributable to the external cell participants.

⁽²⁾ The 21% rate is the annual expected statutory tax rate associated with the taxable or tax deductible items listed above. Our effective tax rate for the respective periods was applied to these items in calculating net income (loss), excluding net realized investment gains (losses) and related adjustments. Net realized investment gains (losses) in our Corporate segment are discrete items and are tax affected at the annual expected statutory tax rate (21%) in the period they are included in our consolidated tax provision and net income (loss). The taxes associated with the net realized investment gains (losses) related to SPCs in our Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment are paid by the individual SPCs and are not included in our consolidated tax provision or net income (loss); therefore, both the net realized investment gains (losses) from our Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment and the adjustment to exclude the portion of net realized investment gains (losses) included in the SPC dividend expense (income) in the table above are not tax effected. See further discussion under the heading “Taxes” in the Executive Summary of Operations section of our March 31, 2020 Form 10-Q filed on May 7, 2020.

Capital Management

We have not repurchased any shares of our stock in 2020 or 2019. As of May 1, 2020, approximately $110 million remains available in our Board-authorized stock repurchase program. In March 2020, our Board of Directors declared a regular dividend of $0.31 per share, which was paid on April 15, 2020. In addition, on May 7, 2020 our Board of Directors declared a regular dividend of $0.05 per share, payable on July 8, 2020 to shareholders of record as of June 11, 2020.

Conference Call Information

ProAssurance management will discuss first quarter 2020 results during a conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, May 8, 2020. We invite anyone who would like to participate in the call to dial (888) 349-0134 (US), (855) 669-9657 (Canada) (toll free) or (412) 317-5145 (international); no access code is required. We will webcast the call at Investor.ProAssurance.com. A replay will be available by telephone through at least May 8, 2021 at (877) 344-7529 (US), (855) 669-9658 (Canada) (both toll-free), or (412) 317-0088 (international), using access code 10141808. A replay also will be available for one year on our website, Investor.ProAssurance.com. We also will make the replay and other information about ProAssurance available on a free subscription basis through Investor.ProAssurance.com or through Apple’s iTunes. Investors may follow @PRA_Investors on Twitter to be notified of the latest financial news about ProAssurance.

About ProAssurance

ProAssurance Corporation is an industry-leading specialty insurer with extensive expertise in healthcare professional liability, products liability for medical technology and life sciences, legal professional liability, and workers’ compensation insurance.

The Company is recognized as one of the top performing insurance companies in America by virtue of our inclusion in the Ward’s 50 for thirteen consecutive years. ProAssurance Group is rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best; ProAssurance and its operating subsidiaries are rated “A” (Strong) by Fitch Ratings. For the latest on ProAssurance and its industry-leading suite of products and services, cutting-edge risk management and practice enhancement programs, follow @ProAssurance on Twitter or LinkedIn. ProAssurance’s YouTube channel regularly presents thought-provoking, insightful videos that communicate effective practice management, patient safety and risk management strategies.

The Specialty P&C segment recorded a first quarter 2020 operating loss of $18.5 million reflecting a challenging loss environment across the broader HCPL market. This result was driven by our recognition of higher claim severity trends, loss activity in our excess and surplus lines and healthcare facilities business, and lower quarter-over-quarter prior year favorable development. We have also experienced loss volatility in certain states with challenging environments, which increased the current accident year loss picks in our physician’s book of business.

In the first quarter of 2020, gross premiums written were $155.4 million, a decrease of $11.1 million, or 6.6% quarter-over-quarter. The decrease reflects our strategy to strengthen rate levels in our physicians book of business, and continued re-underwriting efforts related to our national accounts, excess and surplus lines and healthcare facilities business. During the first quarter of 2020, our physicians and healthcare facilities business declined by $6.5 million and $4.4 million, respectively.

Premium retention was 81% in the first quarter of 2020. The eight percentage point decrease from the year-ago quarter reflects our decision not to renew certain products and risks that did not meet our disciplined underwriting criteria and long-term profit objectives, as well as highly competitive market conditions across our operating territories. The lower premium retention was partially offset by renewal premium increases of 11% across the Specialty P&C segment, including 13% for physicians business and 20% in healthcare facilities business during the first quarter of 2020.

New business writings were $4.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $20.9 million in 2019. This result reflects competitive market conditions, disciplined underwriting evaluation, and, to a lesser degree, the impact of slower submission activity from COVID-19. Additionally, new business results in the comparable quarter of 2019 included two large national accounts totaling $9.4 million.

The current accident year net loss ratio was 94.2% in the first quarter of 2020, slightly higher than the first quarter of 2019. This reflects recognition of higher claim severity trends, social inflation, loss volatility in certain states, and higher loss picks within our excess and surplus lines and healthcare facilities business. We recognized net favorable development of $2.4 million during the first quarter of 2020 due to a reduction in our reserve for potential extra-contractual obligations/excess of policy limit (“ECO/XPL”) claims. Net favorable reserve development was $5.5 million lower from the same period last year, as we continue to see elevated loss severity in the broader HCPL industry, including our excess and surplus lines of business and are observing early indications of these increased severity trends in our paid loss data. Furthermore, we remain cautious in our evaluation of claim severity trends and any potential impact from COVID-19 to overall loss trends. Given these factors and uncertainties as well as a lack of sufficient and reliable data related to the pandemic, we have taken no action to change our previously established reserve estimates during the first quarter of 2020 outside of the reduction in our reserve for potential ECO/XPL claims.

COVID-19 is expected to have a significant impact on the HCPL industry. While there were no material effects to our Specialty Property & Casualty segment results in the first quarter of 2020, we anticipate the virus could have a meaningful impact on revenue trends in the second quarter of 2020 and future quarters. Overall, the impact on our business is likely to include premium and exposure reductions, new business disruption, jury trial delays and cash flows implications from deferred premiums. Our customer base is facing extremely difficult financial challenges and disruption to their practices, and we will continue to adapt to the degree that we’re able to accommodate their needs during this crisis.

The transaction with the NORCAL Group (“NORCAL”) has proceeded through the first phase of state and federal regulatory filings, including the filing of NORCAL’s plan of conversion. We remain excited about the combination of the companies and look forward to working together with the NORCAL team to complete this transaction.

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance segment reported quarterly operating income of $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2020 compared to $2.0 million in the same quarter of 2019, reflecting a decrease in net premiums earned and increases in the net loss and underwriting expense ratios.

The quarter-over-quarter decline in gross premiums written of $10.1 million reflects a 4% reduction in renewal pricing, and premium retention of 83%, partially offset by an increase in new business written. Gross premiums written for business ceded to the SPCR segment represents $8.8 million of the overall production decline during the first quarter of 2020. New business written increased to $9.1 million for the first quarter of 2020, compared to $7.5 million in the same quarter of 2019. Audit premium was approximately $900,000 for the 2020 quarter compared to approximately $700,000 in the same quarter of 2019. Net premiums earned included a reduction of approximately $860,000 in our earned but unbilled (“EBUB”) premium estimate, reflecting current payroll estimates on the in-force book of business.

The increase in the calendar year net loss ratio for the 2020 quarter reflects an increase in the current accident year net loss ratio, driven by premium renewal pricing decreases from the continuation of intense price competition and the decrease in net premiums earned, as previously discussed. The increase in the calendar year net loss ratio was partially offset by overall favorable trends in prior accident year claim closing patterns resulting in net favorable development of $1.

Contacts

Ken McEwen

Investor Relations Manager

800-282-6242 • 205-439-7903 • KenMcEwen@ProAssurance.com

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