Heritage Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results

CLEARWATER, Fla., Aug. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HRTG) ("Heritage" or the "Company"), a super-regional property and casualty insurance holding company, today reported second quarter 2021 financial results.

Second Quarter 2021 Highlights

• Net loss of $4.0 million, or $0.14 per share.
• Book value per share of $15.20, down 0.8% from first quarter 2021.
• Gross premiums written of $337.7 million, up 16.3% year-over-year.
• Favorable prior year reserve development of $0.6 million.
• Net current accident quarter weather losses of $35.5 million, up from $26.8 million in the prior year quarter. Current accident quarter weather losses include $24.5 million of net catastrophe losses, up from $17.6 million in the prior year quarter, and $11.0 million of other weather losses, up from $9.2 million in the prior year quarter.
• Additional ceded premium of $9.4 million, reflecting reinstatement of severe convective storm reinsurance coverage, which contributed 6.3 points to the net combined ratio.
• Total capital returned to shareholders of $1.7 million, reflecting $0.06 per share regular quarterly dividend.

Ernie Garateix, the Company's CEO, said, "I'm encouraged that despite a $9.4 million reinstatement premium in the quarter and a $4.1 million uptick in weather losses relative to the first quarter of this year, net income improved sequentially, suggesting the benefits of our underwriting and pricing actions are starting to show."

Quarterly Dividend
Heritage's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share on the Company's common stock. The dividend will be paid on October 6, 2021 to shareholders of record as of September 15, 2021.

COVID-19 Update
We continue to monitor the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19, and through June 30, 2021, we continue to see virtually no impact to our business. As a residential property insurer, we view our business as relatively insulated from a short-term economic slowdown, as property owners and renters generally view our products as a necessity.

While we acknowledge uncertainties associated with future economic conditions, we do not expect a material impact to our business going forward. We will continue to monitor economic conditions and, in the case of a prolonged economic slowdown as a result of COVID-19 or its variants, will take necessary actions to mitigate any negative impacts to our business, operations or financial results.

Results of Operations
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020 (amounts in thousands, except percentages and per share amounts):

Ratios
Ceded premium ratio represents ceded premiums as a percentage of gross premiums earned.

Net loss ratio represents net losses and loss adjustment expenses ("LAE") as a percentage of net premiums earned.

Net expense ratio represents policy acquisition costs ("PAC") and general and administrative ("G&A") expenses as a percentage of net premiums earned. Ceding commission income is reported as a reduction of PAC and G&A expenses.

Net combined ratio represents the sum of net losses and LAE, PAC and G&A expenses as a percentage of net premiums earned.   The net combined ratio is a key measure of underwriting performance traditionally used in the property and casualty industry. A combined ratio under 100% generally reflects profitable underwriting results.

Quarterly Financial Results
Second quarter 2021 net loss was $4.0 million, down from net income of $4.1 million in the prior year quarter. The decrease primarily stems from higher weather losses, a $9.4 million reinstatement premium and lower investment income, partly offset by higher net premiums earned and a lower net expense ratio.

Gross premiums written were $337.7 million, up 16.3% year-over-year, including 20.3% growth outside Florida and 12.8% growth in Florida. Rate increases benefited topline results, particularly in Florida.

Premiums-in-force were $1.2 billion as of second quarter 2021, representing a 17.2% annualized growth rate from first quarter 2021. The increase stems from the same items impacting gross premiums written. Policies in force were 593,786 representing a 1.3% annualized growth rate from first quarter 2021.  Premium growth outpacing policy growth largely stems from rate increases.   

Gross premiums earned were $285.6 million in second quarter 2021, up 18.1% from $241.8 million in the prior year quarter. The increase reflects higher gross premiums written over the last twelve months.

The ceded premium ratio was 48.7% in second quarter 2021, up 2.1 points from 46.6% in the prior year quarter. The increase is primarily attributable to higher costs associated with our catastrophe excess-of-loss reinsurance program and a $9.4 million reinstatement premium associated with our severe convective storm reinsurance coverage, partly offset by higher gross premiums earned.

The net loss ratio was 68.8% in second quarter 2021, up 7.7 points from 61.1% in the prior year quarter. The increase primarily stems from higher weather losses, lower favorable reserve development and the impact of a higher ceded premium ratio.

The net expense ratio was 36.4% in second quarter 2021, down 2.5 points from 38.9% in the prior year quarter. The decrease primarily stems from a lower G&A expense ratio, partly offset by a higher PAC expense ratio and the impact of a higher ceded premium ratio.

The net combined ratio was 105.2% in second quarter 2021, up 5.2 points from 100.0% in the prior year quarter. The increase stems from a higher net loss ratio, partly offset by a lower net expense ratio, as described above.

Book Value Analysis
Book value per share decreased to $15.20 at June 30, 2021, down 0.8% from March 31, 2021.

Conference Call Details:
Friday, August 6, 2021 – 9:30 a.m. ET
Participant Dial-in Numbers Toll Free: 1-888-346-3095
Participant International Dial In: 1-412-902-4258
Canada Toll Free: 1-855-669-9657

Webcast:
To listen to the live webcast, please go to https://investors.heritagepci.com/. This webcast will be archived and accessible on the Company's website.

About Heritage
Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. is a super-regional property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Clearwater, Florida. Through its insurance subsidiaries and a large network of experienced agents, the Company writes approximately $1.2 billion of gross personal and commercial residential premium across its multi-state footprint.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts 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 other negative variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. This release includes forward-looking statements relating to (i) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations and financial condition and our ability to navigate the uncertainty and mitigate the impact and (ii) our ability to continue to grow profitably. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ from those expressed or implied herein include, without limitation: our ability to comply with our obligations under the new credit facilities, including the financial and other covenants contained therein; the success of the Company's marketing initiatives; the continued and potentially prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, demand for our products and our operations, including measures taken by the governmental authorities to address COVID-19, which may precipitate or exacerbate other risks and/or uncertainties; inflation and other changes in economic conditions (including changes in interest rates and financial markets), including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of new federal and state regulations that affect the property and casualty insurance market; the costs of reinsurance, the collectability of reinsurance and our ability to obtain reinsurance coverage on terms and at a cost acceptable to us; 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 losses and loss adjustment expense; our ability to build and maintain relationships with 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 loss trends; acts of war and terrorist activities; court decisions and trends in litigation; and other matters described from time to time by us in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2020. The Company undertakes no obligations to update, change or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, additional or subsequent developments or otherwise.

Investor Contact:
Arash Soleimani, CFA, CPA
Executive Vice President
727.871.0206
Email: asoleimani@heritagepci.com

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SOURCE Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.