FedNat Holding Co - Quarter Report: 2008 March (Form 10-Q)
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 March 31, 2008
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 0-2500111
21st
Century Holding Company
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Florida
|
65-0248866
|
(State
or Other Jurisdiction of
|
(IRS
Employer
|
Incorporation
or Organization)
|
Identification
Number)
|
3661
West Oakland Park Boulevard, Suite 300, Lauderdale Lakes, Florida
33311
(Address
of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
954-581-9993
(Registrant's
telephone number, including area code)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to
be
filed by Section 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.
Yes
x
No o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.
See
the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act
Large
accelerated filer o Accelerated
filer x Non-accelerated filer o
Smaller reporting company o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes
o
No x
Indicate
the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common
stock, as of the latest practicable date.
Common
Stock, $.01
par
value – 7,940,919 outstanding as of May 08, 2008
21ST
CENTURY HOLDING COMPANY
INDEX
PAGE
|
||
ITEM
1
|
Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
|
3
|
|
||
ITEM
2
|
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
22
|
|
||
ITEM
3
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
|
37
|
|
||
ITEM
4
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
37
|
|
||
PART
II: OTHER INFORMATION
|
||
|
||
ITEM
1
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
39
|
|
||
ITEM
1A
|
Risk
Factors
|
39
|
|
||
ITEM
2
|
Unregistered
Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
|
40
|
|
||
ITEM
3
|
Defaults
upon Senior Securities
|
41
|
|
||
ITEM
4
|
Submission
of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
|
41
|
|
||
ITEM
5
|
Other
Information
|
41
|
|
||
ITEM
6
|
Exhibits
|
41
|
|
||
SIGNATURES
|
42
|
-
2
-
PART
I: FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1
21st
CENTURY
HOLDING COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)
March 31, 2008
|
December 31, 2007
|
||||||
|
(Dollars in Thousands)
|
||||||
ASSETS
|
|||||||
Investments
|
|||||||
Fixed
maturities, available for sale, at fair value
|
$
|
88,885
|
$
|
99,484
|
|||
Fixed
maturities, held to maturity, at amoritized cost
|
17,261
|
20,210
|
|||||
Equity
securities, available for sale, at fair value
|
14,339
|
16,530
|
|||||
Total
investments
|
120,486
|
136,224
|
|||||
Cash
and short term investments
|
47,859
|
22,524
|
|||||
Receivable
for investments sold
|
-
|
6,420
|
|||||
Finance
contracts, net of allowance for credit losses of $27 in 2008 and
$38 in
2007, and net of unearned finance charges of $10 in 2008 and $15
in
2007
|
212
|
420
|
|||||
Prepaid
reinsurance premiums
|
5,513
|
8,471
|
|||||
Premiums
receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $207 and $288,
respectively
|
5,044
|
3,797
|
|||||
Reinsurance
recoverable, net
|
19,645
|
22,942
|
|||||
Deferred
policy acquisition costs
|
8,754
|
8,958
|
|||||
Deferred
income taxes, net
|
7,194
|
5,640
|
|||||
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
966
|
1,046
|
|||||
Other
assets
|
2,016
|
2,918
|
|||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
217,689
|
$
|
219,361
|
|||
LIABILITIES
AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|||||||
Unpaid
losses and LAE
|
$
|
57,698
|
$
|
59,685
|
|||
Unearned
premiums
|
54,238
|
56,394
|
|||||
Premiums
deposits and customer credit balances
|
2,981
|
2,761
|
|||||
Bank
overdraft
|
9,013
|
8,695
|
|||||
Income
taxes payable
|
3,180
|
4,226
|
|||||
Deferred
gain from sale of property
|
1,855
|
1,998
|
|||||
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
|
3,837
|
4,346
|
|||||
Total
liabilities
|
132,802
|
138,104
|
|||||
Commitments
and Contingencies
|
-
|
-
|
|||||
Shareholders'
equity:
|
|||||||
Common
stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized 37,500,000 shares; issued and
outstanding 7,938,509 and 7,871,234, respectively
|
79
|
79
|
|||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
48,811
|
48,240
|
|||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive (deficit)
|
(2,477
|
)
|
(2,596
|
)
|
|||
Retained
earnings
|
38,473
|
35,534
|
|||||
Total
shareholders' equity
|
84,886
|
81,257
|
|||||
Total
liabilities and shareholders' equity
|
$
|
217,689
|
$
|
219,361
|
SEE
ACCOMPANYING NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
-
3
-
21ST
CENTURY
HOLDING COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|||||||
2008
|
2007
|
||||||
(Dollars in Thousands except EPS and dividend data)
|
|||||||
Revenue:
|
|||||||
Gross
premiums written
|
$
|
27,603
|
$
|
49,191
|
|||
Gross
premiums ceded
|
-
|
(6
|
)
|
||||
Net
premiums written
|
27,603
|
49,185
|
|||||
(Decrease)
in prepaid reinsurance premiums
|
(11,154
|
)
|
(16,972
|
)
|
|||
Decrease
(Increase) in unearned premiums
|
2,156
|
(9,840
|
)
|
||||
Net
change in prepaid reinsurance premiums and unearned
premiums
|
(8,998
|
)
|
(26,812
|
)
|
|||
Net
premiums earned
|
18,606
|
22,373
|
|||||
Commission
income
|
63
|
505
|
|||||
Finance
revenue
|
86
|
187
|
|||||
Managing
general agent fees
|
499
|
618
|
|||||
Net
investment income
|
1,876
|
1,569
|
|||||
Net
realized investment (losses)
|
(1,649
|
)
|
(128
|
)
|
|||
Other
income
|
561
|
462
|
|||||
Total
revenue
|
20,042
|
25,585
|
|||||
Expenses:
|
|||||||
Losses
and LAE
|
7,874
|
14,103
|
|||||
Operating
and underwriting expenses
|
1,555
|
3,966
|
|||||
Salaries
and wages
|
1,759
|
1,556
|
|||||
Interest
expense
|
-
|
85
|
|||||
Policy
acquisition costs, net of amortization
|
3,836
|
4,608
|
|||||
Total
expenses
|
15,024
|
24,318
|
|||||
Income
before provision for income tax expense
|
5,018
|
1,267
|
|||||
Provision
for income tax expense
|
709
|
425
|
|||||
Net
income
|
$
|
4,309
|
$
|
843
|
|||
Basic
net income per share
|
$
|
0.54
|
$
|
0.11
|
|||
Fully
diluted net income per share
|
$
|
0.54
|
$
|
0.10
|
|||
Weighted
average number of common shares outstanding
|
7,912,692
|
7,958,366
|
|||||
Weighted
average number of common shares outstanding (assuming
dilution)
|
7,960,313
|
8,187,310
|
|||||
Dividends
paid per share
|
$
|
0.18
|
$
|
0.18
|
SEE
ACCOMPANYING NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
-
4
-
21ST
CENTURY
HOLDING COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|||||||
2008
|
2007
|
||||||
(Dollars in Thousands)
|
|||||||
Cash
flow from operating activities:
|
|||||||
Net
income
|
$
|
4,309
|
$
|
843
|
|||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization of investment (discount), net
|
(63
|
)
|
(89
|
)
|
|||
Depreciation
and amortization of property plant and equipment, net
|
80
|
79
|
|||||
Net
realized investment (losses)
|
(1,649
|
)
|
(128
|
)
|
|||
Common
Stock issued for interest on Notes
|
-
|
63
|
|||||
Provision
(Recovery) for credit losses, net
|
4
|
(19
|
)
|
||||
Provision
for uncollectible premiums receivable
|
81
|
88
|
|||||
Non-cash
compensation
|
118
|
1
|
|||||
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
|||||||
Premiums
receivable
|
(1,328
|
)
|
837
|
||||
Prepaid
reinsurance premiums
|
2,958
|
16,972
|
|||||
Reinsurance
recoverable, net
|
3,297
|
(16,926
|
)
|
||||
Income
taxes recoverable
|
-
|
(5,422
|
)
|
||||
Deferred
income tax expense
|
(1,554
|
)
|
(1,575
|
)
|
|||
Policy
acquisition costs, net of amortization
|
204
|
(800
|
)
|
||||
Premium
finance contracts receivable
|
204
|
163
|
|||||
Other
assets
|
760
|
66
|
|||||
Unpaid
losses and LAE
|
(1,987
|
)
|
8,566
|
||||
Unearned
premiums
|
(2,156
|
)
|
9,840
|
||||
Premium
deposits and customer credit balances
|
220
|
47
|
|||||
Income
taxes payable
|
(1,046
|
)
|
-
|
||||
Bank
overdraft
|
318
|
(7,413
|
)
|
||||
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
|
(509
|
)
|
(643
|
)
|
|||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
2,261
|
4,547
|
|||||
Cash
flow (used in) investing activities:
|
|||||||
Proceeds
from sale of investment securities available for sale
|
67,598
|
55,018
|
|||||
Purchases
of investment securities available for sale
|
(43,608
|
)
|
(71,987
|
)
|
|||
Purchases
of property and equipment
|
-
|
(3
|
)
|
||||
Net
cash provided by (used) in investing activities
|
23,989
|
(16,972
|
)
|
||||
Cash
flow (used in) financing activities:
|
|||||||
Exercised
stock options
|
553
|
78
|
|||||
Dividends
paid
|
(1,369
|
)
|
(1,421
|
)
|
|||
Purchase
of treasury stock
|
(144
|
)
|
-
|
||||
Tax
benefit related to non-cash compensation
|
44
|
-
|
|||||
Net
cash (used in) financing activities
|
(916
|
)
|
(1,342
|
)
|
|||
Net
increase (decrease) in cash and short term investments
|
25,335
|
(13,767
|
)
|
||||
Cash
and short term investments at beginning of period
|
22,524
|
17,917
|
|||||
Cash
and short term investments at end of period
|
$
|
47,859
|
$
|
4,149
|
SEE
ACCOMPANYING NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
-
5
-
21ST
CENTURY
HOLDING COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|||||||
(continued)
|
2008
|
2007
|
|||||
(Dollars in Thousands)
|
|||||||
Supplemental
disclosure of cash flow information:
|
|||||||
Cash
paid during the period for:
|
|||||||
Interest
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
1
|
|||
Income
taxes
|
$
|
3,250
|
$
|
7,300
|
|||
Non-cash
investing and finance activities:
|
|||||||
Accrued
dividends payable
|
$
|
1,429
|
$
|
1,433
|
|||
Retirement
of subordinated debt by Common Stock issuance
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
1,042
|
|||
Stock
issued to pay interest on subordinated debt
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
63
|
SEE
ACCOMPANYING NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
-
6
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
(1) Organization
and Business
The
accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of 21st
Century
Holding Company have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the
instructions for Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. These financial
statements do not include all information and notes required by GAAP for
complete financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the
audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the
Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007.
The
December 31, 2007 year-end balance sheet data was derived from audited financial
statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The financial
information furnished reflects all adjustments, consisting only of normal
recurring accruals, which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for
a
fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash
flows for the periods presented. The results of operations are not necessarily
indicative of the results of operations that may be achieved in the
future.
21st
Century
Holding Company (“21st
Century,” “Company,” “we,” “us”) is an insurance holding company, which, through
our subsidiaries and our contractual relationships with our independent agents
and general agents, controls substantially all aspects of the insurance
underwriting, distribution and claims process. We are authorized to underwrite
homeowners’ property and casualty insurance, commercial general liability
insurance, personal automobile insurance and commercial automobile insurance
in
various states with various lines of authority through our wholly owned
subsidiaries, Federated National Insurance Company (“Federated National”) and
American Vehicle Insurance Company (“American Vehicle”). We market and
distribute our own and third-party insurers’ products and our other services
primarily in Florida, through contractual relationships with a network of
approximately 1,500 independent agents and a select number of general agents.
Federated
National is authorized to underwrite homeowners’ property and casualty insurance
in Florida as an admitted carrier. American Vehicle is authorized in several
states to underwrite commercial general liability coverage as either an admitted
or surplus lines carrier. An
admitted carrier is an insurance company that has received a license from the
state department of insurance giving the company the authority to write specific
lines of insurance in that state. These companies are also bound by rate and
form regulations, and are strictly regulated to protect policyholders from
a
variety of illegal and unethical practices, including fraud. Admitted carriers
are also required to financially contribute to the state guarantee fund, which
is used to pay for losses if an insurance carrier becomes insolvent or unable
to
pay the losses due their policyholders. A non-admitted carrier is not licensed
by the state, but is allowed to do business in that state and are strictly
regulated to protect policyholders from a variety of illegal and unethical
practices, including fraud. Sometimes, non-admitted carriers are referred to
as
“excess and surplus” lines carriers. Non-admitted insurers are subject to
considerably less regulation with respect to policy rates and forms.
Additionally,
both Federated National and American Vehicle are authorized to underwrite
personal automobile insurance in Florida as an admitted carrier.
During
the three months ended March 31, 2008, 72.4%, 26.6% and 1.0% of the premiums
we
underwrote were for homeowners’ property and casualty insurance, commercial
general liability insurance and personal automobile insurance, respectively.
During the three months ended March 31, 2007, 81.0%, 16.6% and 2.4% of the
premiums we underwrote were for homeowners’ property and casualty insurance,
commercial general liability insurance and personal automobile insurance,
respectively. Our business, results of operations and financial condition are
subject to fluctuations due to a variety of factors. Abnormally high severity
or
frequency of claims in any period could have a material adverse effect on our
business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if our
estimated liabilities for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses (“LAE”) are
less than actual losses and LAE, we will be required to increase reserves with
a
corresponding reduction in our net income in the period in which the deficiency
is identified.
American
Vehicle has either ongoing operations or operations expected to commence this
year in several states. The table below denotes by state American Vehicle’s
authority, status of operations and where new applications are pending. We
may
not receive authority to write in every state to which we make application
due
to state specific guidelines.
-
7
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
States
|
Admitted
carrier
|
Surplus
lines
carrier
|
Ongoing
operations
|
Operations
expected to
commence this
year
|
Application
pending
|
||||||
Alabama
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Arkansas
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
California
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Florida
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Georgia
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Kentucky
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Louisiana
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Maryland
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Missouri
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Nevada
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Ohio
|
ü
|
ü
|
|||||||||
Oklahoma
|
ü
|
ü
|
|||||||||
South
Carolina
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Tennessee
|
ü
|
ü
|
|||||||||
Texas
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
||||||||
Virginia
|
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
|
During
2007, American Vehicle applied for and was granted, by the State of Florida
in
January 2008, licenses to underwrite commercial multiple peril, inland marine
and surety lines of business as an admitted carrier. Operations under American
Vehicle’s newly granted line of authority are expected to begin during
2008.
Assurance
Managing General Agents, Inc. (“Assurance MGA”), a wholly owned subsidiary, acts
as Federated National’s and American Vehicle’s exclusive managing general agent
in the state of Florida. As American Vehicle continues its expansion into other
states, we will continue to contract with general agents to market our
commercial general liability insurance product outside the state of Florida.
Assurance MGA currently provides underwriting policy administration, marketing,
accounting and financial services to Federated National and American Vehicle,
and participates in the negotiation of reinsurance contracts. Assurance MGA
generates revenue through a 6% commission fee from the insurance companies’
gross written premium, policy fee income of $25 per policy and other
administrative fees from the marketing of company products through the Company’s
distribution network. The 6% commission fee from Federated National and American
Vehicle became effective January 1, 2005. Assurance MGA plans to establish
relationships with additional carriers and servicing additional insurance
products in the future.
(2)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Practices
(A) Critical
Accounting Policies
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management
to make estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts
reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Future events
and
their effects cannot be determined with absolute certainty. Therefore, the
determination of estimates requires the exercise of judgment. Actual results
inevitably will differ from those estimates, and such differences may be
material to the financial statements.
The
most
significant accounting estimates inherent in the preparation of our financial
statements include estimates associated with management’s evaluation of the
determination of liability for unpaid losses and LAE and the amount and
recoverability of amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs (“DPAC”). In
addition, significant estimates form the basis for our reserves with respect
to
finance contracts, premiums receivable and deferred income taxes. Various
assumptions and other factors underlie the determination of these significant
estimates, which are described in greater detail in Footnote 2 of the Company’s
audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 filed
on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 17,
2008.
-
8
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
The
process of determining significant estimates is fact specific and takes into
account factors such as historical experience, current and expected economic
conditions, and in the case of unpaid losses and LAE, an actuarial valuation.
Management regularly reevaluates these significant factors and makes adjustments
where facts and circumstances dictate. In selecting the best estimate, we
utilize various actuarial methodologies. Each of these methodologies is designed
to forecast the number of claims we will be called upon to pay and the amounts
we will pay on average to settle those claims. In arriving at our best estimate,
our actuaries consider the likely predictive value of the various loss
development methodologies employed in light of underwriting practices, premium
rate changes and claim settlement practices that may have occurred, and weight
the credibility of each methodology. Our actuarial methodologies take into
account various factors, including, but not limited to, paid losses, liability
estimates for reported losses, paid allocated LAE, salvage and other recoveries
received, reported claim counts, open claim counts and counts for claims closed
with and without payment of loss.
Accounting
for loss contingencies pursuant to Statements of Financial Accounting Standards
Number (“SFAS No.”), 5 involves the existence of a condition, situation or set
of circumstances involving uncertainty as to possible loss that will ultimately
be resolved when one or more future event(s) occur or fail to occur.
Additionally, accounting for a loss contingency requires management to assess
each event as probable, reasonably possible or remote. Probable is defined
as
the future event or events are likely to occur. Reasonably possible is defined
as the chance of the future event or events occurring is more than remote but
less than probable, while remote is defined as the chance of the future event
or
events occurring is slight. An estimated loss in connection with a loss
contingency shall be recorded by a charge to current operations if both of
the
following conditions are met: First, the amount can be reasonably estimated,
and
second, the information available prior to issuance of the financial statements
indicates that it is probable that a liability has been incurred at the date
of
the financial statements. It is implicit in this condition that it is probable
that one or more future events will occur confirming the fact of the loss or
incurrence of a liability.
We
are
required to review the contractual terms of all our reinsurance purchases to
ensure compliance with SFAS No. 113,
Accounting and Reporting for Reinsurance of Short-Duration and Long-Duration
Contracts.
The
statement establishes the conditions required for a contract with a reinsurer
to
be accounted for as reinsurance and prescribes accounting and reporting
standards for those contracts. Contracts that do not result in the reasonable
possibility that the reinsurer may realize a significant loss from the insurance
risk assumed generally do not meet the conditions for reinsurance accounting
and
must be accounted for as deposits. SFAS No. 113 also requires us to disclose
the
nature, purpose and effect of reinsurance transactions, including the premium
amounts associated with reinsurance assumed and ceded. It also requires
disclosure of concentrations of credit risk associated with reinsurance
receivables and prepaid reinsurance premiums.
(B)
Impact of New Accounting Pronouncements
In
February 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued SFAS
No. 159 “The
Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities —
Including an Amendment of SFAS No. 115”
, which
permits an entity to measure many financial assets and financial liabilities
at
fair value that are not currently required to be measured at fair value.
Entities that elect the fair value option will report unrealized gains and
losses in earnings at each subsequent reporting date. The fair value option
may
be elected on an instrument-by-instrument basis, with a few exceptions.
SFAS No. 159 amends previous guidance to extend the use of the fair
value option to available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities. The
Statement also establishes presentation and disclosure requirements to help
financial statement users understand the effect of the election. We adopted
SFAS
No. 159 on its effective date, January 1, 2008. The adoption of SFAS
No. 159 has not had a material impact, to date, on our financial position or
results of operations.
In
June
2006, FASB issued FASB Interpretation No. (“FIN’) 48, Accounting
for Uncertainty in Income Taxes
that
clarifies the accounting for income tax reserves and contingencies recognized
in
an enterprise’s financial statements in accordance with SFAS No. 109,
Accounting
for Income Taxes.
This
Interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest
and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition. This
Interpretation is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006.
The Company has adopted and concluded that the impact of FIN 48 will be minimal
and includes a policy of classifying interest and penalties related to income
tax as elements of income tax expense in the consolidated financial statements.
As required by FIN 48, this change was done prospectively. Previously, penalties
and interest were classified as operating and underwriting expenses.
-
9
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
(C)
Stock Options
At
March
31, 2008, the Company had two stock-based employee compensation plans and one
stock-based franchise compensation plan, which are described later in Footnote
8, Stock Compensation Plans.
Effective
January 1, 2006, the Company adopted the fair value recognition provisions
of
SFAS No. 123R using the modified-prospective-transition method. Under that
transition method, compensation cost recognized during the three months ended
March 31, 2008 includes compensation cost for all share-based payments granted
subsequent to January 1, 2006, based on the grant date fair-value estimated
in
accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 123R.
During
the three months ended March 31, 2008, we have granted 21,526 qualified stock
options to executive officers and a director, and 24,474 non-qualified stock
options to directors with an average option price of $12.78 per share. Like
all
other outstanding stock options, these stock options contain service conditions
and do not contain any performance conditions. For a further discussion
regarding the provisions of SFAS No. 123R and its effect on our operations,
please refer to Footnote 7, Stock Compensation Plans.
(D)
Earnings
per Share
Basic
earnings per share (“Basic EPS”) is computed by dividing net income by the
weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period
presented. Diluted earnings per share (“Diluted EPS”) is computed by dividing
net income by the weighted average number of shares of common stock and common
stock equivalents outstanding during the period presented; outstanding warrants
and stock options are considered common stock equivalents and are included
in
the calculation using the treasury stock method. Additionally, when applicable,
we include in our computation of the weighted average number of common shares
outstanding all common stock issued in connection with the repayment of our
Subordinated note.
(E)
Reclassifications
Certain
amounts in 2007 financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the
2008 presentation.
(3)
Commitments and Contingencies
Management
has a responsibility to continually measure and monitor its commitments and
its
contingencies. The nature of the Company’s commitments and contingencies can be
grouped into three major categories; insured claim activity, assessment related
activities and operational matters.
We
are
involved in claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business.
Revisions to our estimates are based on our analysis of subsequent information
that we receive regarding various factors, including: (i) per claim information;
(ii) company and industry historical loss experience; (iii) legislative
enactments, judicial decisions, legal developments in the awarding of damages,
and (iv) trends in general economic conditions, including the effects of
inflation. Management revises its estimates based on the results of its
analysis. This process assumes that past experience, adjusted for the effects
of
current developments and anticipated trends, is an appropriate basis for
estimating the ultimate settlement of all claims. There is no precise method
for
subsequently evaluating the impact of any specific factor on the adequacy of
the
reserves, because the eventual redundancy or deficiency is affected by multiple
factors. In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of these matters
will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position,
results of operations, or liquidity.
We
operate in a regulatory environment where certain entities and organizations
have the authority to require us to participate in assessments. Currently these
entities and organizations include, but are not limited to, the Florida
Insurance Guarantee Association (“FIGA”), Citizens Property Insurance
Corporation (“Citizens”) the Florida Hurricane Catastrophic Fund (“FHCF”) and
the Florida Joint Underwriters Association (“JUA”).
-
10
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
As
a
direct premium writer in the state of Florida, we are required to participate
in
certain insurer solvency associations under Florida Statutes 631.57(3) (a).
Participation in these pools is based on our written premiums by line of
business compared to total premiums written statewide by all insurers.
Participation may result in assessments against us as it did in 2006. On October
11, 2007, FIGA’s Board certified the need to assess each member an amount equal
to two percent (2%) of the member’s Florida net direct written premiums for the
calendar year 2006. Both American Vehicle and Federated National are considered
members of FIGA. Florida’s Insurance Commissioner approved FIGA’s certification
on October 29, 2007. Our participation with this assessment totaled
approximately $2.8 million and was paid November 30, 2007. During 2006, we
were
assessed $3.9 million in connection with the FIGA. For statutory accounting
purposes, these assessments are not charged to operations, in contrast GAAP
treatment is to charge current operations for the assessments. Through
policyholder surcharges, as approved by the Florida Office of Insurance
Regulation (“OIR”), during the twelve months ended December 31, 2007, we
recouped approximately $1.8 million. FIGA’s October 11, 2007 assessment was
charged to operations during the period ended September 30, 2007. Future
assessments by this association are undeterminable at this time. There were
no
assessments made for the year ended or 2005.
During
its regularly scheduled meeting on August 17, 2005, the Board of Governors
of
Citizens determined a 2004 plan year deficit existed in the High Risk Account.
Citizens decided that a $515 million Regular Assessment was in the best interest
of Citizens and consistent with Florida Statutes. On this basis, Citizens
certified for a Regular Assessment. Federated National’s participation in this
assessment totaled $2.0 million. Provisions contained in our excess of loss
reinsurance policies provide for reinsurance participation totaling $1.5
million.
During
a
subsequent regularly scheduled meeting on or about December 18, 2006, Citizens’
Board determined an additional 2004 plan year deficit existed in the High Risk
Account. Citizens decided that an additional $515 million Regular Assessment
was
in the best interest of Citizens and consistent with Florida Statutes. On this
basis, Citizens was certified for a Regular Assessment. Federated National’s
participation in this assessment totaled $0.3 million. Provisions contained
in
our excess of loss reinsurance policies provide for their participation totaling
$1.5 million. Future assessments by this association are undeterminable at
this
time.
Pursuant
to Section 627.3512, Florida Statutes, insurers are permitted to recoup the
assessment by adding a surcharge to policies in an amount not to exceed the
amount paid by the insurer to Citizens. Federated National is currently
underwriting the recoupment in connection with this assessment and has recouped
approximately $0.4 million and $1.3 million during 2007 and 2006, respectively.
As noted above, Federated National has subrogated $1.5 million to our
reinsurers.
The
OIR
issued Information Memorandum OIR-06-008M, titled Notice
of Anticipated Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Assessment, dated
May
4, 2006, to all property and casualty, surplus lines insurers, and surplus
lines
agents in the state of Florida placing them on notice of an anticipated FHCF
assessment. Sighting the unprecedented hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005,
the
FHCF exhausted nearly all of the $6 billion in reserves it had accumulated
since
its inception in 1993. The Florida State Board of Administration, the body
that
oversees the FHCF, issued its directive to levy an emergency assessment upon
all
property and casualty business in the state of Florida. There is no statutory
requirement that policyholders be notified of the FHCF assessment. The FHCF
and
OIR are, however, recommending that insurers include the FHCF assessment in
a
line item on the declaration page for two reasons: (1) this is a multi-year
assessment and (2) there may be concurrent assessments and the insureds should
know what amount is for which assessment. The assessment became effective on
all
policies effective after January 1, 2007 and will be remitted to the
administrator of the assessment as collected and therefore accounted for in
a
manner such that amounts collected or receivable are not recorded as revenues
and amounts due or paid are not expensed.
In
addition to the assessments noted above, the OIR has also issued Information
Memorandum OIR -07-02M, titled Information
Regarding Emergency Assessment by Citizens Property Insurance
Corporation,
dated
January 11, 2007, to all property and casualty insurers in the state of Florida
placing them on notice that an order has been approved for an emergency
assessment by Citizens for its High Risk Account. This order requires insurers
to begin collecting the emergency assessment for policies issued or renewed
on
or after July 1, 2007. Similar to the FHCF assessment discussed above, the
Citizens emergency assessment will be remitted to the administrator of the
assessment as collected and therefore accounted for in a manner such that
amounts collected or receivable are not recorded as revenues and amounts due
or
paid are not expensed.
-
11
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
Federated
National and American Vehicle are also required to participate in an insurance
apportionment plan under Florida Statutes Section 627.351, which is referred
to
as a JUA Plan. The JUA Plan provides for the equitable apportionment of any
profits realized, or losses and expenses incurred, among participating motor
vehicle insurers. In the event of an underwriting deficit incurred by the JUA
Plan which is not recovered through the policyholders in the JUA Plan, such
deficit shall be recovered from the companies participating in the JUA Plan
in
the proportion that the net direct written premiums of each such member during
the preceding calendar year bear to the aggregate net direct premiums written
in
this state by all members of the JUA Plan. During the year ended December 31,
2007 Federated National was assessed $7,470 and American Vehicle recovered
$842,
by and from the JUA Plan based on its December 2007 Cash Activity Report. During
the year ended December 31, 2006 Federated National and American Vehicle were
assessed $221,765 and $1,579, respectively. These charges are contained in
Operating and Underwriting Expenses in the Statement of Operations. Future
assessments by this association are undeterminable at this time.
Bonds
totaling $16.2 million secure a $3.0 million irrevocable letter of credit,
which
was reduced from $10.0 million in February 2008, in order to facilitate business
opportunities in connection with our commercial general liability program
agreement with Republic. Our agreement with Republic was terminated effective
as
of June 30, 2007. See Footnote 6 in our unaudited financial statements for
the
quarter ended March 31, 2008, which are included in Item 1, Part 1
hereof.
The
2004,
2003 and 2002 consolidated Federal Income Tax Returns filed by the Company
have
been examined by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) during 2006 and 2005. We
have concurred with certain IRS conclusions and have appealed other conclusions.
Irrespective of the ongoing appellate process, we do not believe that a material
adjustment will occur. Income taxes receivable are net of $160,000 valuation
allowance established during the year ended December 31, 2007 in conjunction
with this process. The Company records valuation allowances to reduce deferred
tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. When
assessing the need for valuation allowances, the Company considers future
taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. Should
a change in circumstances lead to a change in judgment about the realizability
of deferred tax assets in future years, the Company would adjust related
valuation allowances in the period that the change in circumstances occurs,
along with a corresponding increase or charge to net income. The resolution
of
tax reserves and changes in valuation allowances could be material to the
Company’s results of operations for any period, but is not expected to be
material to the Company’s financial position.
Relative
to the Company’s commitments stemming from operational matters, effective on or
about March 1, 2006, 21st
Century
sold its interest in the Lauderdale Lakes property to an unrelated party. As
part of this transaction, 21st
Century
has agreed to lease the same facilities for a five-year term. Our lease for
this
office space expires in December 2011.
The
expected future lease payouts in connection with this lease are as
follows:
Fiscal
Year
|
Lease payments
|
|||
2008
|
461,187
|
|||
2009
|
625,165
|
|||
2010
|
637,668
|
|||
2011
|
648,331
|
|||
Total
|
$
|
2,372,351
|
We
are
involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course
of
business. These proceedings are set forth below as either resolved or ongoing.
Resolved
legal proceeding:
None
-
12
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
Ongoing
legal proceedings:
From
July
27, 2007 to August 7, 2007, several securities class action lawsuits were filed
against the Company and certain of its executive officers in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Florida on behalf of all persons
and
entities who purchased the Company's securities during the various class periods
specified in the complaints. A consolidated amended complaint was filed on
behalf of the class on January 22, 2008. The complaint alleges that the
Defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to accurately project
the Company's business and financial performance during the putative class
period. The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of damages and claim
violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and Rule 10b-5. The Defendants filed their motion to dismiss the
consolidated amended complaint on February 25, 2008. The Plaintiff’s
response to Defendant’s motion to dismiss was
filed
April 22, 2008.
On
March
18, 2008, a verified shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed against certain
current or former officers and directors of the Company in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Florida by Anthony Neil Sellers,
derivatively on behalf of nominal Defendant 21st
Century
Holding Company. The complaint alleges breaches of fiduciary duties, abuse
of
control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment
occurring form October 3, 2006 through the present. The complaint seeks an
unspecified amount of damages.
While
the
Company believes that the allegations in these complaints are without merit,
an
unfavorable resolution of pending litigation could have a material adverse
effect on our financial condition. Litigation may result in substantial costs
and expenses and significantly divert the attention of the Company's management
regardless of the outcome. There can be no assurance that the Company will
be
able to achieve a favorable settlement of pending litigation or obtain a
favorable resolution of this litigation if it is not settled. In addition,
current litigation could lead to increased costs or interruptions of normal
business operations of the Company.
(4)
Comprehensive Income
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2008 and 2007, comprehensive income consisted
of
the following:
For the three months ended March 31,
|
|||||||
2008
|
2007
|
||||||
Net
income
|
$
|
4,308,589
|
$
|
842,805
|
|||
Change
in net unrealized gains on investments available for sale
|
73,029
|
(263,989
|
)
|
||||
Comprehensive
income, before tax
|
4,381,618
|
578,816
|
|||||
Income
tax benefit related to items of other comprehensive income
|
45,402
|
99,339
|
|||||
Comprehensive
income
|
$
|
4,427,020
|
$
|
678,155
|
(5)
Reinsurance Agreements
We
follow
industry practice of reinsuring a portion of our risks and paying for that
protection based primarily upon total insured values of all policies in effect
and subject to such reinsurance. Reinsurance involves an insurance company
transferring or “ceding” all or a portion of its exposure on insurance
underwritten by it to another insurer, known as a “reinsurer.” The ceding of
insurance does not legally discharge the insurer from its primary liability
for
the full amount of the policies. If the reinsurer fails to meet its obligations
under the reinsurance agreement, the ceding company is still required to pay
the
insured for the loss. Our reinsurance agreements are designed to coincide with
the June through November Florida hurricane season.
The
availability and costs associated with the acquisition of reinsurance will
vary
year to year. These fluctuations, which can be significant, are not subject
to
our control and may limit our ability to purchase adequate coverage. The
recovery of increased reinsurance costs through rate action is not immediate
and
can not be presumed, as it is subject to OIR approval.
For
the
2007-2008 hurricane season, the excess of loss and FHCF treaties will insure
us
for approximately $403.0 million of aggregate catastrophic losses and LAE with
a
maximum single event coverage totaling approximately $320.0 million, with the
Company retaining the first $3.0 million of losses and LAE. Our reinsurance
program included coverage purchased from the private market, which afforded
optional Reinstatement Premium Protection that provides coverage beyond the
first event, along with coverage from the FHCF. Coverage afforded by the FHCF
totals approximately $261.0 million or 65% of the $403.0 million of aggregate
catastrophic losses and LAE. The FHCF affords coverage for the entire season,
subject to maximum payouts, without regard to any particular insurable event.
-
13
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
Our
reinsurance structure has significant risks, including the fact that the FHCF
may not be able to raise sufficient money to pay their claims or impair their
ability to pay their claims in a timely manner. This could result in significant
financial, legal and operational challenges to all companies, including ours.
It
is our understanding, based upon a memo from The Florida House of
Representatives, Committee on Insurance, to House Speaker Marco Rubio, dated
April 2, 2008, that it is probable under the current FHCF structure that
hundreds of millions of dollars of FHCF claims in Florida will go unpaid for
some time. The FHCF currently has limited cash available to pay claims in
connection with a catastrophic event. The FHCF has the authority to raise
additional cash to pay claims through the issuance of FHCF bonds. The retirement
of these bonds would be funded by imposing additional assessments on future
insurance premiums written in the state.
The
private reinsurance companies and their respective A. M. Best rating are listed
in the table as follows:
Reinsurer
|
A.M. Best Rating
|
|
UNITED
STATES
|
||
Everest
Reinsurance Company
|
A+
|
|
Folksamerica
Reinsurance Company
|
A-
|
|
GMAC
Re/Motors Insurance Corporation
|
A-
|
|
Munich
Reinsurance America, Inc.
|
A
|
|
Odyssey
America Reinsurance Corporation
|
A
|
|
QBE
Reinsurance Corporation
|
A
|
|
|
||
BERMUDA
|
|
|
ACE
Tempest Reinsurance Limited, Bermuda
|
A+
|
|
Amlin
Bermuda Limited
|
A-
|
|
Ariel
Reinsurance Company Limited, Bermuda
|
A-
|
|
DaVinci
Reinsurance Ltd, Bermuda
|
A
|
|
Flagstone
Reinsurance Limited
|
A-
|
|
Max
Bermuda Limited
|
A-
|
|
|
||
New
Castle Reinsurance Company Limited
|
A-
|
|
Renaissance
Reinsurance Ltd, Bermuda
|
A
|
|
UNITED
KINGDOM
|
|
|
Amlin
Syndicate No. 2001 (AML)
|
A
|
|
Ascot
Underwriting Syndicate No. 1414 (RTH)
|
A
|
|
G.S.
Christensen and Others Syndicate No. 958 (GSC)
|
A
|
|
Map
Underwriting Syndicate No. 2791 (MAP)
|
A
|
|
Talbot
Underwriting Syndicate No. 1183 (TAL)
|
A
|
|
|
||
EUROPE
|
|
|
Converium
Limited, Switzerland
|
B++
|
To
date,
there have been no claims asserted against the reinsurers in connection with
the
2007-2008 excess of loss and FHCF treaties.
We
are
selective in choosing reinsurers and consider numerous factors, the most
important of which are the financial stability of the reinsurer, their history
of responding to claims and their overall reputation. In an effort to minimize
our exposure to the insolvency of a reinsurer, we evaluate the acceptability
and
review the financial condition of the reinsurer at least annually.
-
14
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
The
cost
to the Company for these reinsurance products for the 2007-2008 hurricane
season, including the prepaid automatic premium reinstatement protection will
be
approximately $46.5 million.
For
the
2006-2007 hurricane season, we assembled a range of reinsurance products
designed to insure the Company for an aggregate of approximately $414.5 million
for a minimum of two catastrophic events. The reinsurance treaties contained
several complex features and through a series of fluid retentions, attachment
points and limitations, additional coverage may have been afforded Federated
National for events beyond the first two catastrophic events. Our retention
would have varied depending on the severity and frequency of each catastrophic
event. The reinsurance companies and their respective participation in the
season's program are noted in the table as follows:
First Event Participation
|
Reinstated Premium Protection
|
||||||||||||||||||
AM Best
Rating
|
Reinsurer
|
$20m in excess
of $15m
|
$40m in excess
of $35m
|
$72m in excess
of $75m and
FHCF
participation
|
$20m in excess
of $15m
|
$40m in excess
of $35m
|
|||||||||||||
A+
|
Ace
Tempest Reinsurance Ltd
|
7.5
|
%
|
7.5
|
%
|
||||||||||||||
A
|
Amlin
2001 Syndicate
|
5.0
|
%
|
5.0
|
%
|
5.0
|
%
|
5.0
|
%
|
||||||||||
A-
|
Amlin
Bermuda Ltd
|
2.5
|
%
|
4.0
|
%
|
4.0
|
%
|
2.5
|
%
|
||||||||||
A
|
American
Reinsurance Company
|
3.5
|
%
|
||||||||||||||||
A
|
Ascot
1414 Syndicate
|
6.5
|
%
|
||||||||||||||||
A++
|
National
Liability and Fire Company
|
33.7
|
%
|
6.5
|
%
|
77.6
|
%
|
||||||||||||
B++
|
Converium
AG
|
5.0
|
%
|
||||||||||||||||
A+
|
Everest
Reinsurance Company
|
22.0
|
%
|
4.3
|
%
|
12.0
|
%
|
||||||||||||
NR
|
Wentworth
Insurance Company Ltd
|
5.0
|
%
|
.
|
5.0
|
%
|
|||||||||||||
A-
|
Flagstone
Reinsurance Ltd
|
4.3
|
%
|
4.0
|
%
|
||||||||||||||
A
|
MAP
2791 Syndicate
|
2.5
|
%
|
2.5
|
%
|
2.5
|
%
|
2.5
|
%
|
||||||||||
A-
|
New
Castle Reinsurance Company Ltd
|
2.0
|
%
|
2.0
|
%
|
2.0
|
%
|
2.0
|
%
|
||||||||||
A
|
QBE
Reinsurance Corporation
|
1.5
|
%
|
1.0
|
%
|
||||||||||||||
A
|
Renaissance
Reinsurance, Ltd
|
12.5
|
%
|
12.5
|
%
|
||||||||||||||
A+
|
XL
Re Limited
|
2.5
|
%
|
||||||||||||||||
A
|
Odyssey
|
3.5
|
%
|
||||||||||||||||
A
|
Catlin
Insurance Company Ltd
|
25.0
|
%
|
25.0
|
%
|
||||||||||||||
NR
|
Allianz
Risk Transfer (Bermuda) Ltd
|
33.0
|
%
|
33.0
|
%
|
||||||||||||||
A
|
Liberty
Mutual Insurance Company
|
34.7
|
%
|
||||||||||||||||
NR4
|
American
Vehicle Insurance Company (Affiliated)
|
|
25.0
|
%
|
25.0
|
%
|
In
the
discussion that follows it should be noted that all amounts of reinsurance
were
based on management’s analysis of Federated National’s exposure levels to
catastrophic risk. Our data was subjected to exposure level data analysis at
various dates through December 31, 2006.
Our
overall reinsurance structure was divided into four major layers of financial
impact in connection with any single catastrophic event. The bottom layer was
considered the first $15 million of losses. The next layer was considered
greater than $15 million and less than $35 million. The next layer was
considered greater than $35 million and less than $233.3 million. The fourth
layer was considered losses greater than $233.3 million and less than $305.3
million.
For
the
first and second catastrophic events equal to or less than $15 million, the
bottom layer, Federated National would have retained 100% of the first $4.3
million and the last $0.7 million of this bottom layer. The FHCF would have
participated 100% for the $10 million in excess of Federated National’s first
$4.3 million.
-
15
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
For
the
first and second catastrophic events with aggregate losses in excess of the
first $15.0 million discussed above and less than $35 million, Federated
National acquired 100% reinsurance protection with a single automatic premium
reinstatement protection provision. The $20 million of coverage afforded in
this
layer was by way of 42% traditional, single season, excess of loss
(“Traditional”) treaties and 58% structured multi-year, excess of loss
(“Structured”) treaties. As noted in the chart above, American Vehicle reinsured
Federated National via a traditional treaty for 25% of this $20 million layer.
Relative to the structured excess of loss reinsurance treaties, terms contained
in these treaties afford capacity in this layer beyond the 2006 - 2007 season
for two additional hurricane seasons. The structured treaties offered respective
coverage for a single event in each of the three hurricane seasons and one
additional respective coverage that could be applied as needed in any one of
the
three hurricane seasons. One of the structured treaties, representing 25% of
this layer, contained a provision that prevented the Company from recovery
if
any single event resulted in damages that exceed $20 billion in the United
States and its territories.
For
the
first and second catastrophic events where aggregate losses exceeded $35
million, but were less than $233.3 million, Federated National acquired 100%
reinsurance protection through a combination of private market reinsurers and
the FHCF program. The private market reinsurers afforded coverage to insure
us
for $40 million against covered losses in excess of $35 million. The FHCF
afforded coverage to insure us for 90% of loss greater than $55.6 million and
less than $231.5 million. The private treaties “wrapped around” the FHCF treaty
afforded coverage, in aggregate, for losses in excess of $35 million but less
than $233.3 million. The FHCF treaty was an aggregate “for the entire season”
treaty while the private market treaties afforded respective per event coverage.
As to reinstatement of coverage for the private market treaties, Federated
National purchased a single automatic premium reinstatement protection provision
that would have provided for an automatic reinstatement for 89% of the $40
million coverage. Federated National would have been responsible for the
remaining premium reinstatement protection and the cost in connection with
that
reinstatement was estimated to be approximately $2.1 million. Federated National
would also have been responsible for seasonal losses beyond what was afforded
through this part of the FHCF coverage.
If
an
event had occurred where aggregate losses exceed $233.3 million, but were less
than $305.3 million, Federated National had acquired traditional reinsurance
treaties representing 65.3% of this layer without a provision for premium
reinstatement protection. Premium reinstatement coverage would have been
prorated as to amount and if the first event exhausted this coverage, then
Federated National would have been responsible for approximately $10.4 million
for reinstatement protection. Additional coverage was afforded to Federated
National via Industry Loss Warrants (“ILW”). The ILW policies provided for
payments to Federated National based solely on industry wide losses to private
and commercial property only in the State of Florida. A payment to Federated
National would only have been considered under the terms of these contracts,
if
insured wind damages incurred in the State of Florida had exceeded amounts
varying between $20 billion and $25 billion excluding public property and
certain other named exclusions.
The
Company would have been responsible for single catastrophic events, with
incurred losses in excess of approximately $305 million subject to the terms
of
the ILW’s above.
The
estimated cost to the Company in connection with this reinsurance structure
was
approximately $73.0 million, which for the most part was payable in quarterly
installments that began July 1, 2006 and were amortized through earned premium
in accordance with the provisions and terms contained in the respective
treaties.
As
a
result of the losses and LAE incurred in connection with the hurricane activity
that occurred in 2004 and 2005, the Company has reflected in its operations
the
effects of each storm as follows:
-
16
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
Claim
|
Gross
|
Reinsurance
|
Net
|
||||||||||
2004 Hurricanes
|
Count
|
Losses
|
Recoveries
|
Losses
|
|||||||||
(Dollars in millions)
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Charley
(August 13)
|
2,573
|
$
|
64.6
|
$
|
54.6
|
$
|
10.0
|
||||||
Frances
(September 3)
|
3,809
|
54.2
|
44.1
|
10.1
|
|||||||||
Ivan
(September 14)
|
1,062
|
26.4
|
-
|
26.4
|
|||||||||
Jeanne
(September 25)
|
1,565
|
14.0
|
-
|
14.0
|
|||||||||
Total
Loss Estimate
|
9,009
|
$
|
159.2
|
$
|
98.7
|
$
|
60.5
|
Claim
|
Gross
|
Reinsurance
|
Net
|
||||||||||
2005 Hurricanes
|
Count
|
Losses
|
Recoveries
|
Losses
|
|||||||||
(Dollars
in millions)
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Dennis
(July 10)
|
322
|
$
|
2.8
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
2.8
|
||||||
Katrina
(August 25)
|
2,121
|
14.7
|
11.7
|
3.0
|
|||||||||
Rita
(September 20)
|
19
|
0.1
|
-
|
0.1
|
|||||||||
Wilma
(October 24)
|
11,801
|
184.5
|
181.5
|
3.0
|
|||||||||
Total
Loss Estimate
|
14,263
|
$
|
202.1
|
$
|
193.2
|
$
|
8.9
|
Our
automobile quota-share reinsurance treaties for 2003 included loss corridors
with varying layers of coverage based on ultimate incurred loss ratio results
whereby the two insurance companies will retain 100% of the losses between
incurred loss ratios of 66% and 86% for policies with an effective date of
2003.
Despite the loss corridor, the reinsurer assumes significant insurance risk
under the reinsured portions of the underlying insurance contracts and it is
reasonably possible that the reinsurer will realize a significant loss from
the
transaction. Our ultimate incurred loss ratios for these treaties as of March
31, 2008 are estimated to be 67.7% and 79.6% for Federated National and American
Vehicle, respectively.
Effective
March 28, 2006, American Vehicle entered into a 100% quota-share reinsurance
treaty with Republic Underwriters Insurance Company (“Republic”). Republic is
domiciled in the state of Texas and licensed both directly and on a surplus
lines basis in approximately 32 states. This agreement was in place for
approximately one year until March 31, 2007, when it was cancelled at the
request of Republic. Republic has a financial rating of “A-” Excellent with A.M.
Best. This arrangement would have facilitated the policyholder who requires
their commercial general liability insurance policy to come from an insurance
company with an A.M. Best rating. Our arrangement with Republic allowed for
a
4.75% commission on net written premium and reimbursement for all other costs
in
connection with the treaty such as premium taxes and assessments. We also remit
a 1% commission to the intermediary broker on the same net written premium.
Under this agreement, the Company assumed approximately $348,000 in premiums
in
connection with its operations in the State of Texas. Our operations in Texas
began in December 2006. During the three months ended March 31, 2007, this
100%
quota-sharing reinsurance treaty with Republic was cancelled, on a run-off
basis, at their request, effective June 30, 2007.
(6)
Stock Compensation Plans
We
implemented a stock option plan in November 1998 that provides for the granting
of stock options to officers, key employees and consultants. The objectives
of
this plan includes attracting and retaining the best personnel, providing for
additional performance incentives, and promoting our success by providing
employees the opportunity to acquire common stock. Options outstanding under
this plan have been granted at prices, which are either equal to or above the
market value of the stock on the date of grant, typically vest over a four-year
period, and expire six or ten years after the grant date. Under this plan,
we
are authorized to grant options to purchase up to 900,000 common shares, and,
as
of March 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007, we had outstanding exercisable options
to purchase 129,099 and 152,599 shares, respectively.
-
17
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
In
2001,
we implemented a franchisee stock option plan that provides for the granting
of
stock options to individuals purchasing Company owned agencies that are then
converted to franchised agencies. The purpose of the plan is to advance our
interests by providing an additional incentive to encourage managers of Company
owned agencies to purchase the agencies and convert them to franchises. Options
outstanding under the plan have been granted at prices, which are above the
market value of the stock on the date of grant, vest over a ten-year period,
and
expire ten years after the grant date. Under this plan, we are authorized to
grant options to purchase up to 988,500 common shares, and, as of March 31,
2008, we had no outstanding exercisable options to purchase shares.
In
2002,
we implemented the 2002 Option Plan. The purpose of this Plan is to advance
our
interests by providing an additional incentive to attract, retain and motivate
highly qualified and competent persons who are key to the Company, including
key
employees, consultants, independent contractors, Officers and Directors, upon
whose efforts and judgment our success is largely dependent, by authorizing
the
grant of options to purchase Common Stock to persons who are eligible to
participate hereunder, thereby encouraging stock ownership by such persons,
all
upon and subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan. Options outstanding
under the plan have been granted at prices that are above the market value
of
the stock on the date of grant, vest over a five-year period, and expire six
years after the grant date. Under this plan, we are authorized to grant options
to purchase up to 1,800,000 common shares, and, as of March 31, 2008 and
December 31, 2007, we had outstanding exercisable options to purchase 641,534
and 660,309 shares, respectively.
Activity
in the Company’s stock option plans for the period from January 1, 2006 to March
31, 2008, is summarized below:
1998 Plan
|
2001 Franchisee Plan
|
2002 Plan
|
|||||||||||||||||
Number of Shares
|
Weighted
Average
Option
Exercise Price
|
Number of
Shares
|
Weighted
Average
Option
Exercise Price
|
Number of
Shares
|
Weighted
Average
Option
Exercise Price
|
||||||||||||||
Outstanding
at January 1, 2006
|
97,650
|
$
|
6.67
|
15,000
|
$
|
9.17
|
823,608
|
$
|
12.35
|
||||||||||
Granted
|
25,000
|
$
|
27.79
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
86,000
|
$
|
16.44
|
||||||||||
Exercised
|
(77,900
|
)
|
$
|
6.67
|
(15,000
|
)
|
$
|
9.17
|
(212,350
|
)
|
$
|
8.98
|
|||||||
Cancelled
|
-
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
(59,900
|
)
|
$
|
14.98
|
|||||||||||
Outstanding
at January 1, 2007
|
44,750
|
$
|
18.47
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
637,358
|
$
|
13.80
|
||||||||||
Granted
|
109,849
|
$
|
13.32
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
57,151
|
$
|
13.18
|
||||||||||
Exercised
|
(2,000
|
)
|
$
|
6.67
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
(16,300
|
)
|
$
|
10.02
|
||||||||
Cancelled
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
(17,900
|
)
|
$
|
15.82
|
|||||||||
Outstanding
at January 1, 2008
|
152,599
|
$
|
14.92
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
660,309
|
$
|
13.78
|
||||||||||
Granted
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
46,000
|
$
|
12.78
|
||||||||||
Exercised
|
(13,500
|
)
|
$
|
6.67
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
(53,775
|
)
|
$
|
8.61
|
||||||||
Cancelled
|
(10,000
|
)
|
$
|
11.11
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
(11,000
|
)
|
$
|
14.67
|
||||||||
Outstanding
at March 31, 2008
|
129,099
|
$
|
16.08
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
641,534
|
$
|
14.13
|
Options
outstanding as of March 31, 2008 are exercisable as follows:
-
18
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
1998 Plan
|
2001 Franchisee Plan
|
2002 Plan
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Number of
Shares
|
Weighted
Average
Option
Exercise Price
|
Number of
Shares
|
Weighted
Average
Option
Exercise Price
|
Number of
Shares
|
Weighted
Average
Option
Exercise Price
|
|||||||||||||
Options
Exercisable at:
|
|||||||||||||||||||
March
31, 2007
|
30,250
|
$
|
16.08
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
308,231
|
$
|
14.13
|
||||||||||
December
31, 2008
|
18,969
|
$
|
16.08
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
96,981
|
$
|
14.13
|
||||||||||
December
31, 2009
|
19,970
|
$
|
16.08
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
99,354
|
$
|
14.13
|
||||||||||
December
31, 2010
|
19,970
|
$
|
16.08
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
77,056
|
$
|
14.13
|
||||||||||
December
31, 2011
|
19,970
|
$
|
16.08
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
32,856
|
$
|
14.13
|
||||||||||
December
31, 2012
|
19,970
|
$
|
16.08
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
19,656
|
$
|
14.13
|
||||||||||
Thereafter
|
-
|
$
|
16.08
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
7,400
|
$
|
14.13
|
||||||||||
Total
options exercisible
|
129,099
|
-
|
641,534
|
At
March
31, 2008, the Company has two stock-based employee compensation plans and one
stock-based franchise compensation plan, which are described above. Prior to
January 1, 2006, we accounted for those plans under the recognition and
measurement provisions of stock-based compensation using the intrinsic value
method prescribed by Accounting Principles Board (“APB”) Opinion No. 25,
Accounting
for Stock Issued to Employees, and
related Interpretations, as permitted by SFAS No. 123, Accounting
for Stock-Based Compensation. Under
these provisions, no stock-based employee compensation cost was recognized
in
the Statement of Operations as all options granted under those plans had an
exercise price equal to or less than the market value of the underlying common
stock on the date of grant.
Effective
January 1, 2006, the Company adopted the fair value recognitions provisions
of
SFAS No. 123R using the modified-prospective-transition method. Under that
transition method, compensation cost recognized during the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and 2007 includes:
·
|
Compensation
cost for all share-based payments granted prior to, but not yet vested
as
of January 1, 2006, based on the grant date fair value estimated
in
accordance with the original provisions of Statement 123, and
|
·
|
Compensation
cost for all share-based payments granted subsequent to January 1,
2006,
based on the grant-date fair-value estimated in accordance with the
provisions of SFAS No. 123R. Results for prior periods have not been
restated, as not required to by the
pronouncement.
|
As
a
result of adopting SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006, the Company’s income from
continuing operations before provision for income taxes and net income for
the
three months ended March 31, 2008 and 2007, are lower by approximately $138,000
and $118,000, and $800 and $500, respectively, than if it had continued to
account for share-base compensation under ABP Opinion No. 25.
Basic
and
diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2008 and 2007
would have been $0.56 and 0.56, and $0.11 and $0.10, respectively, if the
Company had not adopted SFAS No. 123R, compared to reported basic and diluted
earnings per share of $0.54 and $0.54, and $0.11 and $0.10, respectively.
Because
the change in income taxes payable includes the effect of excess tax benefits,
those excess tax benefits also must be shown as a separate operating cash
outflow so that operating cash flows exclude the effect of excess tax benefits.
SFAS No. 123R requires the cash flows resulting from the tax benefits resulting
from tax deductions in excess of the compensation cost recognized for those
options (excess tax benefits) to be classified as financing cash
flows.
The
weighted average fair value for the 46,000 new options granted during the three
months ended March 31, 2008, estimated on the dates of grant using the
Black-Scholes option-pricing model was $3.45 per option. The weighted average
fair value for the 5,000 new options granted during the three months ended
March
31, 2007, estimated on the dates of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing
model was $5.36 per option.
-
19
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
The
fair
value of options granted is estimated on the date of grant using the following
assumptions:
March 31, 2008
|
March 31, 2007
|
||||||
Dividend
yield
|
5.50%
|
|
3.20%
|
|
|||
Expected
volatility
|
54.83%
|
|
42.87%
|
|
|||
Risk-free
interest rate
|
1.60% to 2.24%
|
|
4.85% to 4.86%
|
|
|||
Expected life
(in years)
|
3.19
|
2.58
|
Volatility
of a share price is the standard deviation of the continuously compounded rates
of return on the share over a specified period. The higher the volatility,
the
more returns on the shares can be expected to vary - up or down. The expected
volatility is a measure of the amount by which a financial variable such as
a
share price has fluctuated (historical volatility) or is expected to fluctuate
(expected volatility) during a period. Our volatility as reflected above
contemplates only historical volatility.
Summary
information about the Company’s stock options outstanding as of March 31,
2008:
Weighted Average
|
Weighted
|
|||||||||||||||
Range of
|
Outstanding at
|
Contractual
|
Average
|
Exercisable at
|
||||||||||||
Exercise Price
|
March 31, 2008
|
Periods in Years
|
Exercise Price
|
March 31, 2008
|
||||||||||||
1998
Plan
|
|
$6.67 - $27.79
|
129,099
|
4.97
|
$
|
16.08
|
129,099
|
|||||||||
2001
Franchise Plan
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||
2002
Plan
|
|
$8.33 - $18.21
|
641,534
|
3.07
|
$
|
14.13
|
641,534
|
(7)
Subordinated Debt
On
September 30, 2004, we completed a private placement of 6% Senior Subordinated
Notes due September 30, 2007 (the “September 2004 Notes”). These notes were
offered and sold to accredited investors as units consisting of one September
2004 Note with a principal amount of $1,000 and
warrants to purchase shares of our Common Stock (the “2004 Warrants”), the terms
of which are similar to our July 2003 Notes and 2003 Warrants, except as
described below.
We sold
an aggregate of $12.5 million of units in this placement, which resulted in
proceeds (net of placement agent fees of $700,000 and offering expenses of
$32,500) to us of $11,767,500.
On
September 30, 2007, we made the final principal payment of $1,041,667 on the
September 2004 notes and the September 2004 warrants expired. Of the 1,019,608
shares that could have been issued in connection with the September 2004
warrants, 911,270 were exercised and 108,338 were unexercised. The unexercised
warrants were cancelled as of September 30, 2007.
During
2007, we paid, pursuant to the terms of the September 2004 Notes and in
accordance with the contractual computations, our first and second quarterly
regularly scheduled payments of principal and interest due in shares of our
Common Stock. Common stock issued in connection with the first and second
quarter of 2007 payments totaled 54,211 and 63,114, respectively. Our third
and
fourth regularly scheduled payments of principal and interest during 2007 were
paid in cash and totaled $1.1 million per payment. The last installment was
paid
on September 30, 2007.
(8)
Stockholder’s Equity
Capital
Stock
The
Company’s authorized capital consists of 1 million shares of preferred stock,
par value $0.01 per share, and 25,000,000 shares of common stock, par value
$0.01 per share. As of March 31, 2008, there were no preferred shares issued
or
outstanding and there were 7,926,211 shares of common stock outstanding, net
of
12,308 shares pending cancellation in connection with the Company’s 2007 common
stock buy-back program. We do not reserve for common stock shares in connection
with the exercise of issued and unissued common stock options.
-
20
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
(9)
Subsequent Event
None
-
21
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
General
information about 21st
Century Holding Company can be found at www.21stcenturyholding.com
however, the information that can be accessed through our web site is not part
of our report. We make our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on
Form
10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed or
furnished pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act
of
1934 available free of charge on our web site, as soon as reasonably practicable
after they are electronically filed with the SEC.
Item
2
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements
in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31,
2008
(“Form 10-Q”) or in documents that are incorporated by reference that are not
historical fact are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain
risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ
materially from those discussed herein. Without limiting the generality of
the
foregoing, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,”
“intend,” “could,” “would,” “estimate,” or “continue” or the negative other
variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include, without
limitation, uncertainties related to estimates, assumptions and projections
relating to unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses and other accounting
policies, losses from the nine hurricanes that occurred in fiscal years 2005
and
2004 and in other estimates, assumptions and projections contained in this
Form
10-Q; inflation and other changes in economic conditions (including changes
in
interest rates and financial markets); the impact of new regulations adopted
in
Florida which affect the property and casualty insurance market; the costs
of
reinsurance, assessments charged by various governmental agencies; pricing
competition and other initiatives by competitors; our ability to obtain
regulatory approval for requested rate changes and the timing thereof;
legislative and regulatory developments; the outcome of litigation pending
against us, including the terms of any settlements; risks related to the nature
of our business; dependence on investment income and the composition of our
investment portfolio; the adequacy of our liability for loss and loss adjustment
expense; insurance agents; claims experience; ratings by industry services;
catastrophe losses; reliance on key personnel; weather conditions (including
the
severity and frequency of storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and hail); changes
in
driving patterns and loss trends; acts of war and terrorist activities; court
decisions and trends in litigation and health care and auto repair costs; and
other matters described from time to time by us in this report, and our other
filings with the SEC, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2007.
You
are
cautioned not to place reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
are
valid only as of the date they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information
or
the occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise. In addition, readers should
be aware that GAAP prescribes when a company may reserve for particular risks,
including litigation exposures. Accordingly, results for a given reporting
period could be significantly affected if and when a reserve is established
for
a major contingency. Reported results may therefore appear to be volatile in
certain accounting periods.
The
unaudited consolidated financial statements of 21st
Century
Holding Company have been prepared in accordance with GAAP for interim financial
information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation
S-X. These financial statements do not include all information and notes
required by GAAP for complete financial statements, and should be read in
conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto
included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2007. The December 31, 2007 year-end balance sheet data was derived from
audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required
by
GAAP. The financial information furnished reflects all adjustments, consisting
only of normal recurring accruals, which are, in the opinion of management,
necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of
operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The results of operations
are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that may be achieved
in the future.
Overview
We
are an
insurance holding company, which, through our subsidiaries and our contractual
relationships with our independent agents and general agents, control
substantially all aspects of the insurance underwriting, distribution and claims
process. We are authorized to underwrite homeowners’ property and casualty
insurance, commercial general liability insurance, and personal automobile
insurance and commercial automobile insurance in various states with various
lines of authority through our wholly owned subsidiaries, Federated National
and
American Vehicle. We internally process claims made by our own and third-party
insureds through our wholly owned claims adjusting company, Superior Adjusting
Inc. (“Superior”). We also offer premium financing to our own and third-party
insureds through our wholly owned subsidiary, Federated Premium. We market
and
distribute our own and third-party insurers’ products and our other services
primarily in Florida, through contractual relationships with a network of
approximately 1,500 independent agents and a select number of general agents.
-
22
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Federated
National is authorized to underwrite homeowners’ property and casualty insurance
in Florida as an admitted carrier. American Vehicle is authorized in several
states to underwrite commercial general liability coverage as either an admitted
or surplus lines carrier. An
admitted carrier is an insurance company that has received a license from the
state department of insurance giving the company the authority to write specific
lines of insurance in that state. These companies are also bound by rate and
form regulations, and are strictly regulated to protect policyholders from
a
variety of illegal and unethical practices, including fraud. Admitted carriers
are also required to financially contribute to the state guarantee fund, which
is used to pay for losses if an insurance carrier becomes insolvent or unable
to
pay the losses due their policyholders. A non-admitted carrier is not licensed
by the state, but is allowed to do business in that state and is strictly
regulated to protect policyholders from a variety of illegal and unethical
practices, including fraud. Sometimes, non-admitted carriers are referred to
as
“excess and surplus” lines carriers. Non-admitted insurers are subject to
considerably less regulation with respect to policy rates and forms.
Additionally,
both Federated National and American Vehicle are authorized to underwrite
personal automobile insurance in Florida as an admitted carrier.
During
the three months ended March 31, 2008, 72.4%, 26.6% and 1.0% of the premiums
we
underwrote were for homeowners’ property and casualty insurance, commercial
general liability insurance and personal automobile insurance, respectively.
During the three months ended March 31, 2007, 81.0%, 16.6% and 2.4% of the
premiums we underwrote were for homeowners’ property and casualty insurance,
commercial general liability insurance and personal automobile insurance,
respectively. Our business, results of operations and financial condition are
subject to fluctuations due to a variety of factors. Abnormally high severity
or
frequency of claims in any period could have a material adverse effect on our
business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if our
estimated liabilities for unpaid losses and LAE are less than actual losses
and
LAE, we will be required to increase reserves with a corresponding reduction
in
our net income in the period in which the deficiency is identified.
We
operate in highly competitive markets and face competition from national,
regional and residual market insurance companies in the property and casualty,
commercial general liability and automobile markets, many of whom are larger
and
have greater financial and other resources, have better ratings and offer more
diversified insurance coverage. Our competitors include companies that market
their products through agents, as well as companies that sell insurance directly
to their customers. Large national writers may have certain competitive
advantages over agency writers, including increased name recognition, increased
loyalty of their customer base and reduced policy acquisition costs. Competition
is having a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations
and
financial condition.
Significant
competition has emerged as a result of the January 2007 emergency Florida
legislation session wherein it passed, and the Governor signed into law, a
bill
known as “CS/HB-1A.”. This law made fundamental changes to the property and
casualty insurance business in Florida and undertook a multi-pronged approach
to
address the cost of residential property insurance in Florida. First, the law
increased the capacity of reinsurance that stabilized the reinsurance market
to
the benefit of the insurance companies writing properties lines in the state
of
Florida. Secondly, the law provided for rate relief to all
policyholders.
The
law
also authorized the state-owned insurance company, Citizens, which is free
of
many of the restraints on private carriers such as surplus, ratios, income
taxes
and reinsurance expense, to reduce its premium rates and begin competing against
private insurers in the residential property insurance market and expands the
authority of Citizens to write commercial insurance.
Additionally,
in an effort to foster competition in the Florida homeowners’ property insurance
market, the State of Florida created a Capital Build-Up incentive program in
response to the catastrophic events that occurred during 2004 and 2005. This
program provides matching statutory capital to any new or existing carrier
licensed to write homeowners insurance in the state of Florida. This Capital
Build-Up incentive program has certain default covenants that require
participating carriers to maintain minimum net written premium ratios.
-
23
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Finally,
during 2007 and early 2008, more than a dozen new homeowner insurance companies
have received authority by the Florida OIR to commence business.
We
believe that these aggressive marketplace changes have forced some carriers
to
pursue market share based on “best case” pricing models that may ultimately
prove unprofitable from an underwriting perspective.
We
have
not participated in the Capital Build-Up incentive program and therefore have
been able to remain committed to the discipline of writing business that is
profitable from an underwriting perspective. This commitment has resulted in
a
significant erosion of our homeowners’ property insurance market share. Although
our pricing is inevitably influenced to some degree by that of our competitors,
we believe that it is generally not in our shareholders’ best interest to
compete solely on price. We compete on the basis of underwriting criteria,
our
distribution network and superior service to our agents and
insureds.
In
Florida, more than 200 companies are authorized to underwrite homeowners’
insurance. National and regional companies that compete with us in the
homeowners’ market include Allstate Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance
Company and First Floridian Insurance Company. In addition to these nationally
recognized names, we also compete with several Florida domestic property and
casualty companies such as Universal Insurance Company of North America,
Universal Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Royal Palm Insurance Company,
Coral Insurance Company, Edison Insurance Company, Olympus Insurance Company,
St. Johns Insurance Company, Cypress Property and Casualty Insurance Company,
Tower Hill Insurance Company, Florida Family Insurance Company and American
Strategic Insurance Company.
During
calendar year 2006, the Florida OIR announced the take over of several of our
major competitors due to the poor financial condition stemming from the effects
of the 2005 catastrophic hurricanes.
American
Vehicle has either ongoing operations or operations expected to commence this
year in several states. The table below denotes by state American Vehicle’s
authority, status of operations and where new applications are pending. We
may
not receive authority to write in every state where we have an application
pending due to state specific guidelines.
States
|
Admitted
carrier
|
Surplus
lines carrier
|
Ongoing
operations
|
Operations
expected to
commence this
year
|
Application
pending
|
|||||||||||
Alabama
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Arkansas
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
California
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Florida
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Georgia
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Kentucky
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Louisiana
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Maryland
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Missouri
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Nevada
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Ohio
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Oklahoma
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
South
Carolina
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Tennessee
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Texas
|
ü
|
ü
|
||||||||||||||
Virginia
|
ü
|
ü
|
During
2007, American Vehicle applied for and was granted, by the State of Florida
in
January 2008, licenses to underwrite commercial multiple peril, inland marine
and surety lines of business as an admitted carrier. Operations under American
Vehicle’s newly granted line of authority are expected to begin during
2008.
-
24
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Comparable
companies which compete with us in the commercial general liability insurance
market include Century Surety Insurance Company, Atlantic Casualty Insurance
Company, Colony Insurance Company and Burlington/First Financial Insurance
Companies. We also face new competition in Florida from such companies as
Seminole Property and Casualty Insurance Company and U.S. Security Insurance
Company.
Assurance
MGA, a wholly owned subsidiary, acts as Federated National’s and American
Vehicle’s exclusive managing general agent in the state of Florida. Assurance
MGA is not licensed to do business elsewhere. As American Vehicle continues
its
expansion into other states, we intend on retaining other general agents to
market our commercial general liability insurance product beyond the state
of
Florida. Assurance MGA currently provides underwriting policy administration,
marketing, accounting and financial services to Federated National and American
Vehicle, and participates in the negotiation of reinsurance contracts. Assurance
MGA generates revenue through a 6% commission fee from the insurance companies’
gross written premium, policy fee income of $25 per policy and other
administrative fees from the marketing of company products through the Company’s
distribution network. The 6% commission fee from Federated National and American
Vehicle was made effective January 1, 2005. Assurance MGA plans to establish
relationships with additional carriers and add additional insurance products
in
the future.
With
respect to automobile insurance in Florida, we intentionally market only to
our
existing policyholders by offering to renew the existing policy. Temporarily,
we
have chosen not to compete with the more than 100 companies, which underwrite
personal automobile insurance in Florida. Comparable companies in the personal
automobile insurance market include Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc., which
acquired our non-standard automobile agency business in Florida in December
2004, U.S. Security Insurance Company, United Automobile Insurance Company,
Direct General Insurance Company and Security National Insurance Company, as
well as major insurers such as Progressive Casualty Insurance
Company.
Our
executive offices are located at 3661 West Oakland Park Boulevard, Suite 300,
Lauderdale Lakes, Florida and our telephone number is (954)
581-9993.
Critical
Accounting Policies
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management
to make estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts
reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Future events
and
their effects cannot be determined with absolute certainty. Therefore, the
determination of estimates requires the exercise of judgment. Actual results
inevitably will differ from those estimates, and such differences may be
material to the financial statements.
The
most
significant accounting estimates inherent in the preparation of our financial
statements include estimates associated with management’s evaluation of the
determination of liability for unpaid losses and LAE and the amount and
recoverability of amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs. In
addition, significant estimates form the basis for our reserves with respect
to
finance contracts, premiums receivable and deferred income taxes. Various
assumptions and other factors underlie the determination of these significant
estimates that are described in greater detail in Footnote 2 of the Company’s
audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007
included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2007 filed with the SEC on March 17, 2008.
Except
as
described below, we believe that during the first three months of fiscal 2008
there were no significant changes in those critical accounting policies and
estimates. Senior management has reviewed the development and selection of
our
critical accounting policies and estimates and their disclosure in this Form
10-Q with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors.
The
process of determining significant estimates is fact specific and takes into
account factors such as historical experience, current and expected economic
conditions, and in the case of unpaid losses and LAE, an actuarial valuation.
Management regularly reevaluates these significant factors and makes adjustments
where facts and circumstances dictate. In selecting the best estimate, we
utilize various actuarial methodologies. Each of these methodologies is designed
to forecast the number of claims we will be called upon to pay and the amounts
we will pay on average to settle those claims. In arriving at our best estimate,
our actuaries consider the likely predictive value of the various loss
development methodologies employed in light of underwriting practices, premium
rate changes and claim settlement practices that may have occurred, and weight
the credibility of each methodology. Our actuarial methodologies take into
account various factors, including, but not limited to, paid losses, liability
estimates for reported losses, paid allocated LAE, salvage and other recoveries
received, reported claim counts, open claim counts and counts for claims closed
with and without payment of loss.
-
25
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Accounting
for loss contingencies pursuant to SFAS No. 5 involves the existence of a
condition, situation or set of circumstances involving uncertainty as to
possible loss that will ultimately be resolved when one or more future event(s)
occur or fail to occur. Additionally, accounting for a loss contingency requires
management to assess each event as probable, reasonably possible or remote.
Probable is defined as the future event or events are likely to occur.
Reasonably possible is defined as the chance of the future event or events
occurring is more than remote but less than probable, while remote is defined
as
the chance of the future event or events occurring is slight. An estimated
loss
in connection with a loss contingency shall be recorded by a charge to current
operations if both of the following conditions are met: First, the amount can
be
reasonably estimated, and second, the information available prior to issuance
of
the financial statements indicates that it is probable that a liability has
been
incurred at the date of the financial statements. It is implicit in this
condition that it is probable that one or more future events will occur
confirming the fact of the loss or incurrence of a liability.
We
are
required to review the contractual terms of all our reinsurance purchases to
ensure compliance with SFAS No. 113,
Accounting and Reporting for Reinsurance of Short-Duration and Long-Duration
Contracts.
The
statement establishes the conditions required for a contract with a reinsurer
to
be accounted for as reinsurance and prescribes accounting and reporting
standards for those contracts. Contracts that do not result in the reasonable
possibility that the reinsurer may realize a significant loss from the insurance
risk assumed generally do not meet the conditions for reinsurance accounting
and
must be accounted for as deposits. SFAS No. 113 also requires us to disclose
the
nature, purpose and effect of reinsurance transactions, including the premium
amounts associated with reinsurance assumed and ceded. It also requires
disclosure of concentrations of credit risk associated with reinsurance
receivables and prepaid reinsurance premiums.
New
Accounting Pronouncements
In
February 2007, FASB issued SFAS No. 159 “The
Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities —
Including an Amendment of SFAS No. 115,
which
permits an entity to measure many financial assets and financial liabilities
at
fair value that are not currently required to be measured at fair value.
Entities that elect the fair value option will report unrealized gains and
losses in earnings at each subsequent reporting date. The fair value option
may
be elected on an instrument-by-instrument basis, with a few exceptions.
SFAS No. 159 amends previous guidance to extend the use of the fair
value option to available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities. The
Statement also establishes presentation and disclosure requirements to help
financial statement users understand the effect of the election. We adopted
SFAS
No. 159 on its effective date, January 1, 2008. The adoption of SFAS
No. 159 has not had a material impact, to date, on our financial position or
results of operations.
In
June
2006, FASB issued FIN 48, Accounting
for Uncertainty in Income Taxes
that
clarifies the accounting for income tax reserves and contingencies recognized
in
an enterprise’s financial statements in accordance with SFAS No. 109,
Accounting
for Income Taxes.
This
Interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest
and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition. This
Interpretation is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006.
The Company has adopted and concluded that the impact of FIN 48 will be minimal
and includes a policy of classifying interest and penalties related to income
tax as elements of income tax expense in the consolidated financial statements.
As required by FIN 48, this change will be done prospectively. Previously,
penalties and interest were classified as operating and underwriting expenses.
Analysis
of Financial Condition
As
of March 31, 2008 Compared to December 31, 2007
Total
Investments
SFAS
No.
115 addresses accounting and reporting for (a) investments in equity securities
that have readily determinable fair values and (b) all investments in debt
securities. SFAS No. 115 requires that these securities be classified into
one
of three categories: (i) Held-to-maturity, (ii) Trading securities or (iii)
Available-for-sale.
-
26
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Investments
classified as held-to-maturity include debt securities wherein the Company’s
intent and ability are to hold the investment until maturity. The accounting
treatment for held-to-maturity investments is to carry them at amortized cost
without consideration to unrealized gains or losses. Investments classified
as
trading securities include debt and equity securities bought and held primarily
for the sale in the near term. The accounting treatment for trading securities
is to carry them at fair value with unrealized holding gains and losses included
in current period operations. Investments classified as available-for-sale
include debt and equity securities that are not classified as held-to-maturity
or as trading security investments. The accounting treatment for
available-for-sale securities is to carry them at fair value with unrealized
holding gains and losses excluded from earnings and reported as a separate
component of shareholders’ equity, namely “Other Comprehensive
Income”.
Total
Investments decreased $15.7 million,
or 11.6%, to $120.5 million as of March 31, 2008, compared to $136.2 million
as
of December 31, 2007. Our fixed income portfolio contained callable features
exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2008. The proceeds from these
called securities are currently in cash and short-term investments. We are
currently evaluating long and short- term investment options for best yields
that match our liquidity needs.
The
fixed
maturities and the equity securities that are available for sale and carried
at
fair value represent 86% of total investments as of March 31, 2008, compared
to
85% as of December 31, 2007.
We
did
not hold any non-trading investment securities during 2008 or 2007.
Below
is
a summary of net unrealized gains and (losses) at March 31, 2008 and December
31, 2007 by category.
Unrealized Gains and (Losses)
|
|||||||
March 31, 2008
|
December 31, 2007
|
||||||
Fixed
maturities:
|
|||||||
U.S.
government obligations
|
$
|
196,794
|
$
|
(68,975
|
)
|
||
Obligations
of states and political subdivisions
|
101,132
|
(1,706
|
)
|
||||
297,926
|
(70,681
|
)
|
|||||
Corporate
securities:
|
|||||||
Communications
|
(100,932
|
)
|
(3,481
|
)
|
|||
Financial
|
(23,683
|
)
|
(16,984
|
)
|
|||
Other
|
118,503
|
(25,852
|
)
|
||||
(6,112
|
)
|
(46,317
|
)
|
||||
Equity
securities:
|
|||||||
Common
stocks
|
(4,325,099
|
)
|
(3,989,319
|
)
|
|||
Total
fixed, corporate and equity securities
|
$
|
(4,033,285
|
)
|
$
|
(4,106,317
|
)
|
Pursuant
to FASB SFAS No. 115, the Company records the unrealized losses, net of
estimated income taxes that are associated with that part of our portfolio
classified as available for sale through the shareholders' equity account titled
“Other Comprehensive Income”. Management periodically reviews the individual
investments that comprise our portfolio in order to determine whether a decline
in fair value below our cost either is other than temporary or permanently
impaired. Factors used in such consideration include, but are not limited to,
the extent and length of time over which the market value has been less than
cost, the financial condition and near-term prospects of the issuer and our
ability and intent to keep the investment for a period sufficient to allow
for
an anticipated recovery in market value.
In
reaching a conclusion that a security is either other than temporary or
permanently impaired we consider such factors as the timeliness and completeness
of expected dividends, principal and interest payments, ratings from nationally
recognized statistical rating organizations such as Standard and Poor’s and
Moody’s as well as information released via the general media channels. During
the three months ended March
31,
2008,
in
connection with this process, we have charged to operations a net realized
investment loss totaling approximately $1.2 million net of an estimated
provisional tax effect of approximately $0.7 million. The charge relates to
short-term investments in connection with the banking and pharmaceutical
industries.
-
27
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
The
investments held at March 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007 were comprised mainly
of United States government and agency bonds as well as municipal bonds which
are viewed by the Company as conservative and less risky holdings, though
sensitive to interest rate changes. There is a smaller concentration of
corporate bonds predominantly held in the financial and conglomerate industries.
At March 31, 2008, approximately 40% of the equity holdings are in mutual funds
and 60% are in equities related to the financial industry and insurance
industry.
All
of
our securities, except as noted above, are in good standing and are not impaired
as defined by FASB SFAS No. 115.
Cash
and Short Term Investments
Cash
and
short-term investments, which include cash, certificates of deposits, and money
market accounts, increased $25.3 million, or 112.5%, to $47.9 million as of
March 31, 2008, compared to $22.5 million as of December 31, 2007. These
balances are held primarily in money market accounts at amounts deemed
sufficient to meet short-term cash requirements. Our excess cash and cash
equivalents are invested in accordance with our long-term liquidity
requirements.
Our
fixed
income portfolio contained callable features exercised during the three months
ended March 31, 2008. The proceeds from these called securities are currently
in
cash and short-term investments. We are currently evaluating long and short-
term investment options for best yields that match our liquidity needs.
Receivable
for Investments Sold
Receivable
for investments sold decreased to nothing as of March 31, 2008, compared to
$6.4
million as of December 31, 2007. The decrease is a result of investment trading
activity that occurred in late December and settled during early January
2008.
Finance
Contracts Receivable, Net of Allowance for Credit Losses
Finance
contracts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses, decreased $0.2
million, or 49.6%, to $0.2 million as of March 31, 2008, compared to $0.4
million as of December 31, 2007. The decrease is primarily due to our sale
in
December 2004 of our assets related to our non-standard automobile insurance
agency business in Florida and the associated financed contracts. We anticipate
a continued decline in the financed contracts receivable, net over the future
short term and its related conversion to cash, cash equivalents and
investments.
Prepaid
Reinsurance Premiums
Prepaid
reinsurance premiums decreased $3.0 million, or 34.9%, to $5.5 million as of
March 31, 2008, compared to $8.5 million as of December 31, 2007. The decrease
is primarily due to the decreased cost of property reinsurance for the 2007
-
2008 hurricane season compared to the 2006 - 2007 hurricane season.
Premiums
Receivable, Net of Allowance for Credit Losses
Premiums
receivable, net of allowance for credit losses, increased $1.2 million, or
32.8%, to $5.0 million as of March 31, 2008, compared to $3.8 million as of
December 31, 2007. Our homeowners’ insurance premiums receivable increased $0.6
million, or 52.6%, to $1.8 million as of March 31, 2008, compared to $1.2
million as of December 31, 2007. Our commercial general liability insurance
premiums receivable increased $0.6 million, or 22.5%, to $3.1 million as of
March 31, 2008, compared to $2.6 million as of December 31, 2007. Premiums
receivable in connection with our automobile line of business decreased less
than $0.1 million, or 7.4%, to $0.3 million as of March 31, 2008, compared
to
$0.4 million as of December 31, 2007. These changes are attributed to the
seasonality of the purchasing patterns of our policyholders and our insurance
policy marketing efforts.
-
28
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Reinsurance
Recoverable, net
Reinsurance
Recoverable, net, decreased $3.3 million, or 14.4%, to $19.6 million as of
March
31, 2008, compared to $22.9 million as of December 31, 2007. The decrease is
due
to payment patterns by our reinsurers. All amounts are current and deemed
collectable. We have not recorded a valuation allowance in connection with
our
reinsurance recoverable, net.
Deferred
Policy Acquisition Costs
Deferred
policy acquisition costs decreased $0.2 million, or 2.3%, to $8.8 million as
of
March 31, 2008, compared to $9.0 million as of December 31, 2007. The recent
decreased production volume for both the homeowners’ and commercial general
liability product lines is the reason for the decrease in this
asset.
Deferred
Income Taxes, net
Deferred
income taxes, net, increased $1.6 million, or 27.6%, to $7.2 million as of
March
31, 2008, compared to $5.6 million as of December 31, 2007. Deferred income
taxes, net is comprised of approximately $10.4 million and $8.9 million of
deferred tax assets, net of approximately $3.2 million and $3.2 million of
deferred tax liabilities as of March 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007 ,
respectively.
Property,
Plant and Equipment, net
Property,
plant and equipment, net, decreased $0.1 million, or 7.6%, to less than $1.0
million as of March 31, 2008, compared to more than $1.0 million as of December
31, 2007. The decrease is primarily due to depreciation and amortization of
our
existing property, plant and equipment.
Other
Assets
Other
assets decreased $0.9 million, or 30.9%, to $2.0 million as of March 31, 2008,
compared to $2.9 million as of December 31, 2007. Major components of other
assets are as follows:
March 31, 2008
|
December 31, 2007
|
||||||
Accrued
interest income receivable
|
$
|
722,932
|
$
|
1,429,844
|
|||
Notes
receivable
|
677,796
|
807,275
|
|||||
Prepaid
expenses
|
470,094
|
547,542
|
|||||
Other
|
144,818
|
133,639
|
|||||
Total
|
$
|
2,015,640
|
$
|
2,918,300
|
Unpaid
Losses and LAE
Unpaid
losses and LAE decreased $2.0 million, or 3.3%, to $57.7 million as of March
31,
2008, compared to $59.7 million as of December 31, 2007. The composition of
unpaid losses and LAE by product line is as follows:
March 31, 2008
|
December 31, 2007
|
||||||||||||||||||
Case
|
Bulk
|
Total
|
Case
|
Bulk
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||
Homeowners'
|
$
|
7,292,483
|
$
|
22,047,338
|
$
|
29,339,821
|
$
|
7,775,769
|
$
|
24,599,142
|
$
|
32,374,911
|
|||||||
Commercial
General Liability
|
5,141,893
|
19,786,526
|
24,928,419
|
5,414,633
|
17,870,404
|
23,285,037
|
|||||||||||||
Automobile
|
360,098
|
3,069,413
|
3,429,511
|
530,308
|
3,494,534
|
4,024,842
|
|||||||||||||
$
|
12,794,476
|
$
|
44,903,277
|
$
|
57,697,751
|
$
|
13,720,710
|
$
|
45,964,080
|
$
|
59,684,790
|
Factors
that affect unpaid losses and LAE include the estimates made on a claim-by-claim
basis known as “case reserves” coupled with bulk estimates known as incurred but
not yet reported (“IBNR”). Periodic estimates by management of the ultimate
costs required to settle all claim files are based on the Company’s analysis of
historical data and estimations of the impact of numerous factors such as (i)
per claim information; (ii) company and industry historical loss experience;
(iii) legislative enactments, judicial decisions, legal developments in the
awarding of damages, and changes in political attitudes; and (iv) trends in
general economic conditions, including the effects of inflation.
-
29
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Management
revises its estimates based on the results of its analysis. This process assumes
that past experience, adjusted for the effects of current developments and
anticipated trends, is an appropriate basis for estimating the ultimate
settlement of all claims. There is no precise method for subsequently evaluating
the impact of any specific factor on the adequacy of the reserves, because
the
eventual redundancy or deficiency is affected by multiple factors. Because
of
our process, reserves were decreased by approximately $2.0 million during the
quarter ended March 31, 2008.
Unearned
Premium
Unearned
premiums decreased $2.2 million, or 3.8%, to $54.2 million as of March 31,
2008,
compared to $56.4 million as of December 31, 2007. The decrease was due to
a
$2.1 million decrease in unearned homeowners’ insurance premiums, a $0.1 million
increase in unearned commercial general liability premiums, and a $0.1 million
decrease in unearned automobile premiums. Generally, as is in this case, a
decrease in unearned premium directly relates to a decrease in written premium
on a rolling twelve-month basis. Competition could continue to negatively affect
our unearned premium.
Premium
Deposits and Customer Credit Balances
Premium
deposits and customer credit balances increased $0.2 million, or 8.0%, to $3.0
million as of March 31, 2008, compared to $2.8 million as of December 31, 2007.
Premium deposits are monies received on policies not yet in force as of March
31, 2008.
Bank
Overdraft
Bank
overdraft increased $0.3 million, or 3.7%, to $9.0 million as of March 31,
2008,
compared to $8.7 million as of December 31, 2007. The bank overdraft relates
primarily to losses and LAE disbursements paid but not yet presented for payment
by the policyholder or vendor. The increase relates to our payment patterns
in
relationship to the rate at which those cash disbursements are presented to
the
bank for payment.
Income
Taxes Payable
Income
taxes payable decreased $1.0 million, or 24.8%, to $3.2 million as of March
31,
2008, compared to $4.2 million as of December 31, 2007. The change is due to
tax
payment patterns in connection with our tax liabilities.
Deferred
Gain from Sale of Property
Deferred
gain from sale of property decreased $0.1 million, or 7.1%, to $1.9 million
as
of March 31, 2008, compared to $2.0 million as of December 31, 2007. In
accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 13, we are amortizing the deferred
gain over the term of the leaseback, which is scheduled to end in December
2011.
Accounts
Payable and Accrued Expenses
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses decreased $0.5 million, or 11.7%, to $3.8 million
as of March 31, 2008, compared to $4.3 million as of December 31, 2007. This
decrease is due to our cash management efforts and timing of payments with
our
trade vendors.
Results
of Operations
Three
Months Ended March 31, 2008 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31,
2007
Gross
Premiums Written
Gross
premiums written decreased $21.6 million, or 43.9%, to $27.6 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $49.2 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2007. The following table denotes gross premiums written
by major product line:
-
30
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Three months ended March 31,
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
2008
|
|
2007
|
|
||||||||
|
|
Amount
|
|
Percentage
|
|
Amount
|
|
Percentage
|
|
||||
Homeowners'
|
$
|
19,989,736
|
72.42
|
%
|
$
|
39,863,621
|
81.04
|
%
|
|||||
Commercial
liability
|
7,354,855
|
26.64
|
%
|
8,150,098
|
16.57
|
%
|
|||||||
Automobile
|
258,805
|
0.94
|
%
|
1,177,010
|
2.39
|
%
|
|||||||
Gross
written premiums
|
$
|
27,603,396
|
100.00
|
%
|
$
|
49,190,729
|
100.00
|
%
|
The
Company’s sale of homeowners’ policies decreased $19.9 million, or 49.9% to
$20.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $39.9
million for the three months ended March 31, 2007. The significant erosion
is
primarily due to the soft market conditions prevailing in the state of Florida.
The soft market conditions are lead by Citizens, the state run insurance
company. We believe that these marketplace conditions have forced some carriers
to pursue market share based on “best case” pricing models that may ultimately
prove unprofitable from an underwriting perspective. We do not intend to compete
with others solely based on pricing mechanisms. We will continue to market
our
property insurance product in territories in Florida where our rates are
competitive.
Federated
National and American Vehicle are currently rated by Demotech as "A"
("Exceptional"), which is the third of seven ratings, and defined as “Regardless
of the severity of a general economic downturn or deterioration in the insurance
cycle, insurers earning a Financial Stability Rating of “A” possess
“Exceptional” financial stability related to maintaining surplus as regards to
policyholders”. Demotech’s ratings are based upon factors of concern to agents,
reinsurers and policyholders and are not primarily directed toward the
protection of investors.
The
Company’s sale of general liability policies decreased by $0.8 million to $7.4
million for the three months ended March 31, 2008 compared to $8.2 million
for
the three months ended March 31, 2007. This decrease is due to increased
competition in the commercial general liability market. The following table
sets
forth the amounts and percentages of our gross premiums written in connection
with our commercial general liability program by state:
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|||||||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
||||||||||||
Amount
|
Percentage
|
Amount
|
Percentage
|
||||||||||
(Dollars in Thousands)
|
|||||||||||||
State
|
|||||||||||||
Alabama
|
$
|
44
|
0.59
|
%
|
$
|
-
|
-
|
||||||
Arkansas
|
8
|
0.11
|
%
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||
California
|
95
|
1.30
|
%
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||
Florida
|
4,883
|
66.40
|
%
|
5,624
|
69.02
|
%
|
|||||||
Georgia
|
187
|
2.55
|
%
|
297
|
3.64
|
%
|
|||||||
Kentucky
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
0.01
|
%
|
||||||||
Lousiania
|
1,184
|
16.09
|
%
|
1,202
|
14.74
|
%
|
|||||||
South
Carolina
|
32
|
0.43
|
%
|
44
|
0.54
|
%
|
|||||||
Texas
|
910
|
12.37
|
%
|
967
|
11.86
|
%
|
|||||||
Virginia
|
12
|
0.16
|
%
|
15
|
0.19
|
%
|
|||||||
Total
|
$
|
7,355
|
100.0
|
%
|
$
|
8,150
|
100.0
|
%
|
The
Company’s sale of auto insurance policies decreased by $0.9 million, or 78.0%,
to $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $1.2
million for the three months ended March 31, 2007. With respect to automobile
insurance in Florida, we intentionally market only to our existing policyholders
by offering to renew the existing policy. Temporarily, we have chosen not to
compete with the more than 100 companies, which underwrite personal automobile
insurance in Florida.
-
31
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Gross
Premiums Ceded
Gross
premiums ceded remained unchanged at nearly nothing for the three months ended
March 31, 2008, compared to nearly nothing for the three months ended March
31,
2007.
(Decrease)
in Prepaid Reinsurance Premiums
The
(decrease) in prepaid reinsurance premiums was ($11.2) million for the three
months ended March 31, 2008, compared to ($17.0) million for the three months
ended March 31, 2007. The decreased charge to written premium is primarily
associated with the timing of our reinsurance payments measured against the
term
of the underlying reinsurance policies.
Decrease
(Increase) in Unearned Premiums
The
decrease (increase) in unearned premiums was $2.2 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2008, compared to ($9.8) million for the three months ended
March 31, 2007. The change was due to a ($2.1) million decrease in unearned
homeowners’ insurance premiums, a $0.1 million increase in unearned commercial
general liability premiums and a ($0.1) million decrease in unearned automobile
premiums. These changes are a result of our decreased premium volume during
this
period. See Gross Premiums Written.
Net
Premiums Earned
Net
premiums earned decreased $3.8 million, or 16.8%, to $18.6 million for the
three
months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $22.4 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2007. The following table denotes net premiums earned by product
line:
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|
||||||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
||||||||||||
Amount
|
Percentage
|
Amount
|
Percentage
|
||||||||||
Homeowners'
|
$
|
10,971,140
|
58.97
|
%
|
$
|
12,810,858
|
57.26
|
%
|
|||||
Commercial
General Liability
|
7,351,661
|
39.51
|
%
|
8,356,980
|
37.35
|
%
|
|||||||
Automobile
|
283,040
|
1.52
|
%
|
1,205,190
|
5.39
|
%
|
|||||||
Net
premiums earned
|
$
|
18,605,841
|
100.00
|
%
|
$
|
22,373,028
|
100.00
|
%
|
Commission
Income
Commission
income decreased $0.4 million, or 87.6%, to $0.1 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2008, compared to $0.5 million for the three months ended March
31, 2007. The commission income is in connection with our reinsurance
treaties.
Finance
Revenue
Finance
revenue decreased $0.1 million, or 54.1%, to $0.1 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2008, compared to $0.2 million for the three months ended March
31, 2007. The change is primarily due to the Company’s decreased emphasis on
automobile insurance and the finance revenue derived there-from.
Managing
General Agent Fees
Managing
general agent fees decreased $0.1 million, or 19.3% to $0.5 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $0.6 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2007. The recent decreased production volume for both the
homeowners’ and commercial general liability product lines is the reason for the
decrease in this account.
Net
Investment Income
Net
investment income increased $0.3 million, or 19.6%, to $1.9 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $1.6 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2007.
-
32
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Net
investment income on corporate bonds, which generally provide a higher yield
than U.S. government bonds, increased $0.8 million, to $0.9 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to less than $0.1 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2007. Net investment income on U.S. government
bonds decreased $0.5 million, to $0.5 million for the three months ended March
31, 2008, compared to $1.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007.
Affecting
our net investment income was an increase in the overall yield to 4.59 % for
the
three months ended March 31, 2008 compared to a yield of 4.33% for the three
months ended March 31, 2007.
Net
Realized Investment (Losses)
Net
realized investment (losses) increased ($1.5) million to ($1.6) million for
the
three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to ($0.1) million for the three
months ended March 31, 2007. The table below depicts the net realized investment
gains (losses) by investment category for the three months ended March 31,
2008
as compared to the same period during 2007. During the quarter ended March
31,
2008, we marked two equity investments to market value pursuant to guidelines
prescribed in SFAS no. 115. The pretax charge to operations was approximately
$1.9 million in connection with our estimates of the net realizable value of
these investments.
Net Realized Gains (Losses)
|
|||||||
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|||||||
2008
|
2007
|
||||||
Fixed
maturities:
|
|||||||
U.S.
government obligations and agencies
|
$
|
16,277
|
$
|
(63
|
)
|
||
Obligations
of states and political subdivisions
|
(3,574
|
)
|
-
|
||||
Equity
securities:
|
|||||||
Common
stocks
|
(1,662,080
|
)
|
(128,069
|
)
|
|||
Total
net realized (losses) gains
|
$
|
(1,649,377
|
)
|
$
|
(128,132
|
)
|
Other
Income
Other
income increased $0.1 million, or 21.5%, to $0.6 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2008, compared to $0.5 million for the three months ended March
31, 2007.
Major
components of other income for the three months ended March 31, 2008 included
approximately $0.3 million in connection with FIGA recoupment, $0.1 million
in
partial recognition of our gain on the sale of our Lauderdale Lakes property
and
$0.1 million in connection with rental income, interest income and miscellaneous
income.
Losses
and LAE
Losses
and LAE, our most significant expense, represent actual payments made and
changes in estimated future payments to be made to or on behalf of our
policyholders, including expenses required to settle claims and losses. We
revise our estimates based on the results of analysis of estimated future
payments to be made. This process assumes that past experience, adjusted for
the
effects of current developments and anticipated trends, is an appropriate basis
for predicting future events.
Losses
and LAE decreased by $6.2 million, or 44.2%, to $7.9 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $14.1 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2007. The overall change includes a $4.7 million decrease in
our
homeowners’ program, a $1.0 million increase in our commercial general liability
program and a $2.5 million decrease in connection with our automobile
program.
We
continue to revise our estimates of the ultimate financial impact of past
storms. The revisions to our estimates are based on our analysis of subsequent
information that we receive regarding various factors, including: (i) per claim
information; (ii) company and industry historical loss experience; (iii)
legislative enactments, judicial decisions, legal developments in the awarding
of damages, and (iv) trends in general economic conditions, including the
effects of inflation.
-
33
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Management
revises its estimates based on the results of its analysis. This process assumes
that past experience, adjusted for the effects of current developments and
anticipated trends, is an appropriate basis for estimating the ultimate
settlement of all claims. There is no precise method for subsequently evaluating
the impact of any specific factor on the adequacy of the reserves, because
the
eventual redundancy or deficiency is affected by multiple factors. Because
of
our process, reserves were decreased by approximately $2.0 million during the
quarter ended March 31, 2008.
In
accordance with GAAP, our loss ratio is computed as losses and LAE divided
by
net premiums earned. A lower loss ratio generally results in higher operating
income. Our loss ratio for the three-month period ended March 31, 2008 was
42.32% compared with 63.05% for the same period in 2007. The table below
reflects the loss ratios by product line.
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|||||||
2008
|
2007
|
||||||
Homeowners'
|
38.58
|
%
|
70.12
|
%
|
|||
Commercial
General Liability
|
49.93
|
%
|
32.13
|
%
|
|||
Automobile
|
2.25
|
%
|
190.40
|
%
|
|||
All
lines
|
42.32
|
%
|
63.05
|
%
|
Operating
and Underwriting Expenses
Operating
and underwriting expenses decreased $2.4 million, or 60.8%, to $1.6 million
for
the three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $4.0 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2007. The decrease is primarily due to a charge to
operations during the three months ended March 31, 2007 of $1.0 million in
connection with the negotiated settlement of an expired agreement to service
insureds for a third-party insurance company. The terms of this agreement call
for our company to adjust claims associated with policies of the third-party
insurance company written between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2001. In
addition, contributing to the change is a $1.1 million decrease in premium
tax
expense and a $0.6 million decrease in bad debts expense.
Salaries
and Wages
Salaries
and wages increased $0.2 million, or 13.0%, to $1.8 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2008, compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended March
31, 2007. The most significant component of the change is an increased charge
to
operations, in accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 123R, of approximately
$137,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2008 compared to less than
$1,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2007.
Interest
Expense
Interest
expense decreased to nothing for the three months ended March 31, 2008, compared
to $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007. The decrease is
in
correlation to our subordinated debt that was satisfied during
2007.
Policy
Acquisition Costs, Net of Amortization
Policy
acquisition costs, net of amortization, decreased $0.8 million, or 16.8%, to
$3.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $4.6 million
for the three months ended March 31, 2007. Policy acquisition costs, net of
amortization, consists of the actual policy acquisition costs, including
commissions, payroll and premium taxes, less commissions earned on reinsurance
ceded and policy fees earned.
Provision
for Income Tax Expense
The
provision for income tax expense increased $0.3 million, or 67.0%, to $0.7
million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to $0.4 million
for
the three months ended March 31, 2007. The effective rate for income tax expense
was 14.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2008, compared to 33.5% for
the
same three-month period in 2007. The provision for the three months ended March
31, 2008 includes a one-time $0.6 million benefit in connection with the
estimation of the previous years’ income taxes.
-
34
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Net
Income
As
a
result of the foregoing, the Company’s net income for the three months ended
March 31, 2008, was $4.3 million compared to net income of $0.8 million for
the three months ended March 31, 2007.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2008, our primary sources of capital were revenues
generated from operations, including decreased reinsurance recoverable, net,
decreased prepaid reinsurance premiums, decreased other assets, increased bank
overdraft, increased premium deposits and customer credit balances, decreased
finance contracts receivable and decreased policy acquisition costs, net of
amortization. Also contributing to our liquidity were non-cash compensation,
an
increase in the provision for uncollectible premiums receivable, depreciation
and amortization, an increase in the provision for credit losses, net, proceeds
from the sale of investment securities, exercised employee stock options and
a
tax benefit related to non-cash compensation. Because we are a holding company,
we are largely dependent upon fees and commissions from our subsidiaries for
cash flow.
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2008, operations provided net operating cash flow
of $2.3 million, compared to $4.5 million for the three months ended March
31,
2007.
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2008, operations generated $12.6 million of gross
cash flow due to a $3.3 million decrease in reinsurance recoverable, net, a
$3.0
million decrease in prepaid reinsurance premiums, a $0.8 million decrease in
other assets, a $0.3 million increase in bank overdraft, a $0.2 million increase
in premium deposits and customer credit balances, a $0.2 million decrease in
finance contracts receivable and a $0.2 million decrease in policy acquisition
costs, net of amortization. To a much less significant extent, operations
generated additional sources of cash via $0.1 million in non-cash compensation,
a $0.1 million increase in the provision for uncollectible premiums receivable
and $0.1 million in depreciation and amortization, all in conjunction with
net
income of $4.3 million.
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2008, operations used $10.3 million of gross cash
flow primarily due to a $2.2 million decrease in unearned premiums, a $2.0
million decrease in unpaid losses and LAE, $1.6 million in net realized
investment losses, a $1.6 million increase in deferred income tax expense,
a
$1.3 million increase in premiums receivable, a $1.0 million decrease in income
taxes payable, a $0.5 million decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses
and $0.1 million in amortization of investment discount, net.
Subject
to catastrophic occurrences, net operating cash flow is expected to be slightly
positive in the short-term and continue to deteriorate while the soft market
conditions prevail.
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2008, net investing activities provided $24.0
million, compared to having used $17.0 million for the three months ended March
31, 2007. Our available for sale investment portfolio is highly liquid as it
consists entirely of readily marketable securities.
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2008, investing activities generated $67.6 million
and used $43.6 million from the maturity several times over of our very short
municipal portfolio. Our fixed income portfolio contained callable features
exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2008. The proceeds from these
called securities are currently in cash and short-term investments. We are
currently evaluating long and short- term investment options for best yields
that match our liquidity needs.
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2008, net financing activities used $0.9 million,
compared to $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007. For the
three months ended March 31, 2008, the sources of cash in connection with
financing activities included $0.6 million from the exercise of stock options
and $0.1 million from the tax benefit related to non-cash compensation. The
uses
of cash in connection with financing activities included $1.4 million in
dividends paid and $0.1 million for the purchase of treasury stock.
-
35
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
We
offer
direct billing in connection with our automobile and homeowner programs, where
the insurance company accepts from the insured, as a receivable, a promise
to
pay the premium, as opposed to requiring the full amount of the policy at policy
inception, either directly from the insured or from a premium finance company.
The advantage of direct billing a policyholder by the insurance company is
that
we are not reliant on our credit facility, but remain able to charge and collect
interest from the policyholder.
We
believe that our current capital resources, together with cash flow from
operations, will be sufficient to meet currently anticipated working capital
requirements. There can be no assurances, however, that such will be the case.
As
of
March 31, 2008, we did not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities
or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as “structured
finance” or “special purpose” entities, which were established for the purpose
of facilitating off-balance-sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow
or
limited purposes. As such, management believes that we currently are not exposed
to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risks that could arise if we
had
engaged in transactions of that type requiring disclosure herein.
Impact
of Inflation and Changing Prices
The
consolidated financial statements and related data presented herein have been
prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires the measurement of financial
position and operating results in terms of historical dollars without
considering changes in the relative purchasing power of money over time due
to
inflation. Our primary assets and liabilities are monetary in nature. As a
result, interest rates have a more significant impact on performance than the
effects of general levels of inflation. Interest rates do not necessarily move
in the same direction or with the same magnitude as the inflationary effect
on
the cost of paying losses and LAE.
Insurance
premiums are established before we know the amount of losses and LAE and the
extent to which inflation may affect such expenses. Consequently, we attempt
to
anticipate the future impact of inflation when establishing rate levels. While
we attempt to charge adequate premiums, we may be limited in raising premium
levels for competitive and regulatory reasons. Inflation also affects the market
value of our investment portfolio and the investment rate of return. Any future
economic changes that result in prolonged and increasing levels of inflation
could cause increases in the dollar amount of incurred losses and LAE and
thereby materially adversely affect future liability
requirements.
-
36
-
21st
Century
Holding Company
Item
3
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Information
related to quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk was
included under Item 7A, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market
Risk”, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007.
No material changes have occurred in market risk since this information was
disclosed except as discussed below.
Our
investment portfolio is available for sale and carried at fair value, except
for
that portion deemed as held to maturity. Gains that represent securities with
a
fair value in excess of amortized cost, and losses (amortized cost is in excess
of fair value) that are deemed temporary by management are recorded in
shareholders’ equity in accumulated other comprehensive income. Losses deemed
other than temporary by management are recorded as net realized losses in the
consolidated statement of operations. A summary of the investment portfolio
as
of March 31, 2008 follows:
Book
Value
|
|
Fair
/ Amortized Value
|
|
Unrealized
Gain (Loss)
|
||||||||||||
Fixed
maturities:
|
||||||||||||||||
U.S.
government obligations and agencies available for sale
|
$
|
6,851,708
|
5.50
|
%
|
$
|
7,048,502
|
5.85
|
%
|
$
|
196,794
|
||||||
U.S.
government obligations and agencies held to maturity
|
7,607,087
|
6.11
|
%
|
7,607,087
|
6.31
|
%
|
-
|
|||||||||
Obligations
of states and political subdivisions available for sale
|
15,864,276
|
12.74
|
%
|
15,965,408
|
13.25
|
%
|
101,132
|
|||||||||
Obligations
of states and political subdivisions held to maturity
|
501,162
|
0.40
|
%
|
501,162
|
0.42
|
%
|
-
|
|||||||||
30,824,233
|
24.75
|
%
|
31,122,159
|
25.83
|
%
|
297,926
|
||||||||||
Corporate
securities:
|
||||||||||||||||
Communications
available for sale
|
741,961
|
0.60
|
%
|
641,030
|
0.53
|
%
|
(100,931
|
)
|
||||||||
Financial
available for sale
|
4,126,737
|
3.31
|
%
|
4,103,056
|
3.41
|
%
|
(23,681
|
)
|
||||||||
Other
available for sale
|
61,008,991
|
49.00
|
%
|
61,085,650
|
50.70
|
%
|
76,659
|
|||||||||
Other
held to maturity
|
9,152,769
|
7.35
|
%
|
9,194,609
|
7.63
|
%
|
41,840
|
|||||||||
75,030,458
|
60.26
|
%
|
75,024,345
|
62.27
|
%
|
(6,113
|
)
|
|||||||||
Equity
securities:
|
||||||||||||||||
Common
stocks available for sale
|
18,664,364
|
14.99
|
%
|
14,339,266
|
11.90
|
%
|
(4,325,098
|
)
|
||||||||
Total
fixed, corporate and equity securities
|
$
|
124,519,055
|
100.00
|
%
|
$
|
120,485,770
|
100.00
|
%
|
$
|
(4,033,285
|
)
|
For
our
held to maturity portfolio as of March 31, 2008, the unrealized loss totaled
approximately $122,000 and was almost entirely in connection with our U.S.
government obligations and agencies.
As
of
March 31, 2008, there were no concentrations greater than 5% of total
investments in any single investment other than United States government and
agency obligations and obligations of states and political
subdivisions.
Item
4
Controls
and Procedures
We
maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that
information required to be disclosed in the reports that the Company files
or
submits under the Securities and Exchange Act is recorded, processed,
summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules
and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the
Company’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial
Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosures.
-
37
-
21st
Century
Holding Company
Our
management, with the participation of its Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls
and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange
Act
of 1934, as of March 31, 2008. Based upon their evaluation, the Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s
disclosure controls and procedures, as of March 31, 2008, were effective to
provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the
Company in the reports filed or submitted by it under the Exchange Act is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified
in the SEC’s rules and forms, and to provide reasonable assurance that
information required to be disclosed by the Company in such reports is
accumulated and communicated to our management, including its Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosure. Except for our ongoing efforts, there were no
changes during the quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably
likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial
reporting.
-
38
-
21st
Century
Holding Company
Part
II: OTHER INFORMATION
Item
1
Legal
Proceedings
We
are
involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course
of
business. These proceedings are set forth below as either resolved or ongoing.
Resolved
legal proceeding:
None
Ongoing
legal proceedings:
From
July
27, 2007 to August 7, 2007, several securities class action lawsuits were filed
against the Company and certain of its executive officers in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Florida on behalf of all persons
and
entities who purchased the Company's securities during the various class periods
specified in the complaints. A consolidated amended complaint was filed on
behalf of the class on January 22, 2008. The complaint alleges that the
Defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to accurately project
the Company's business and financial performance during the putative class
period. The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of damages and claim
violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and Rule 10b-5. The Defendants filed their motion to dismiss the
consolidated amended complaint on February 25, 2008. The Plaintiff’s
response to Defendant’s motion to dismiss was filed April 22, 2008.
On
March
18, 2008, a verified shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed against certain
current or former officers and directors of the Company in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Florida by Anthony Neil Sellers,
derivatively on behalf of nominal Defendant 21st
Century
Holding Company. The complaint alleges breaches of fiduciary duties, abuse
of
control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment
occurring form October 3, 2006 through the present. The complaint seeks an
unspecified amount of damages.
While
the
Company believes that the allegations in these complaints are without merit,
an
unfavorable resolution of pending litigation could have a material adverse
effect on our financial condition. Litigation may result in substantial costs
and expenses and significantly divert the attention of the Company's management
regardless of the outcome. There can be no assurance that the Company will
be
able to achieve a favorable settlement of pending litigation or obtain a
favorable resolution of this litigation if it is not settled. In addition,
current litigation could lead to increased costs or interruptions of normal
business operations of the Company.
Item
1A
Risk
Factors
Except
as
disclosed below, there have been no material changes from the risk factors
discussed in Item 1. Risk Factors in the Company's Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.
We
have filed for a petition for hearing in connection with a notice from the
OIR
stating that on a preliminary basis excessive profits of $1.8 million have
been
realized for private passenger automobile business during prior periods. We
face
the possible risk of having to restate our audited financial statements for
fiscal years 2005, 2006 and 2007 if we are unsuccessful in our petition for
hearing.
On
April
22, 2008, Federated received a notice from the OIR stating that on a preliminary
basis excessive profits of $1.8 million have been realized for private passenger
automobile business for the statutory review period covering calendar / accident
years 2004, 2005 and 2006, valued at March 31, 2007 pursuant to Section 627.066
of the Florida Statutes. We are disputing the preliminary findings and have
filed for a petition for hearing in connection with this matter. Specifically,
Section 627.066 of the Florida Statutes calls for the consolidation of the
individual insurers of the group. Federated and its affiliate American Vehicle
form an insurer group. Both Federated and American Vehicle incorrectly filed
unconsolidated reports last year. The examination of a consolidated filing
of
the same data for the same periods clearly demonstrates that the group did
not
realize excess profit during the period in question and accordingly we have
requested that the agency rescind and/or vacate its notice.
-
39
-
21st
Century
Holding Company
If
we are
unsuccessful in our petition for hearing, we face the possible risk of having
to
restate our audited financial statements for fiscal years 2005, 2006 and 2007
and filing amended Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q for these periods.
We
are named as a Defendant in a securities class action lawsuit and a derivative
lawsuit and it may have an adverse impact on our business.
We
are
named as a Defendant in a securities class action lawsuit and a shareholder’s
derivative lawsuit. For more information about the status of these lawsuits,
see
“Part II, Item 1. Legal Proceedings.” An unfavorable resolution of this pending
litigation could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Litigation
may result in substantial costs and expenses and significantly divert the
attention of the Company's management regardless of the outcome. There can
be no
assurance that the Company will be able to achieve a favorable settlement of
pending litigation or obtain a favorable resolution of litigation if it is
not
settled. In addition, current litigation could lead to increased costs or
interruptions of normal business operations of the Company.
Additional
Risk Factors
The
risks
described in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our Annual Report on
Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 are not the only risks facing
our Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or
that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect
our
business, financial condition and/or operating results.
Item
2
(a)
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
During
January and March 2008, we have issued an aggregate of 46,000 options to
officers and directors of the Company under our 2002 stock option plan. The
options have an exercise price between $12.58 and $13.56 per share, vest over
five years at 20% per year and expire six years from the grant date.
We
issued
these options to our officers and directors in reliance upon Section 4(2) of
the
Securities Act, of 1933, as amended, because our officers and directors are
knowledgeable, sophisticated and have access to comprehensive information about
us. The option agreements that were granted to our officers and directors
contain a restrictive legend indicating that the option grants were not
registered under the Securities Act, as amended.
(b)
None
(c)
Market for the Company’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer
Purchases of Equity Securities
On
May
14, 2007, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized, pursuant to Section 12 of
the Securities Exchange Act, the repurchase of up to $5.0 million of its common
stock. Acting upon the Board’s authorization, the Company repurchased, for
approximately $0.1 million, 12,308 shares for an average price of $11.65 on
February 13, 2008. The table below provides, in tabular format, information
about our purchase of equity securities that are registered by the
Company.
Period
|
Total
Number of
Shares
Purchased
|
Average
Price Paid
per Share
|
Total Number of Shares
Purchased as Part of
Publicly Announced Plans
or Programs
|
Approximate Dollar
Value of Shares that May
Yet Be Purchased Under
the Plan
|
|||||||||
January-08
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
$
|
1.2
million
|
||||||||
February-08
|
12,308
|
$
|
11.65
|
12,308
|
$
|
1.1
million
|
|||||||
March-08
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
$
|
1.1
million
|
-
40
-
21st
Century Holding Company
Item
3
Defaults
upon Senior Securities
None
Item
4
Submission
of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
None
Item
5
Other
Information
None
Item
6
Exhibits
31.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. *
|
|
31.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. *
|
|
32.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. *
|
|
32.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. *
|
|
* filed herewith |
-
41
-
21st
Century
Holding Company
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 hereunto
duly authorized.
21st
CENTURY HOLDING COMPANY
|
||
By:
|
/s/
Edward J. Lawson
|
|
Edward
J. Lawson, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the
Board
|
||
/s/
Peter J. Prygelski, III
|
||
Peter
J. Prygelski, III, Chief Financial
Officer
|
Date:
May
12, 2008
-
42
-
21st
Century
Holding Company
EXHIBIT INDEX
31.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. *
|
31.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. *
|
32.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. *
|
32.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. *
|
* filed herewith |
-
43
-