Key Highlights

(Q3, 2014 compared to Q3, 2013 except where noted)

• Overall net rate up 4.9%
• Net written premiums of $164.2 million; down 1.0%
• Net earned premiums of $172.1 million; up 4.6%
• Revenues of $192.1 million; up 4.8%
• Combined ratio before the LPT down 30 basis points
• Income taxes of $1.3 million; up $4.6 million
• Adjusted book value per common share of $27.67; up 5.9% since 12/31/13

RENO, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2014-- Employers Holdings, Inc. (“EHI” or the “Company”) (NYSE:EIG) today reported third quarter net income of $15.2 million or $0.47 per diluted share in 2014 compared to $27.6 million or $0.86 per diluted share in 2013. Net income includes the impacts of the re-allocation of reserves from non-taxable to taxable periods and three items related to the Loss Portfolio Transfer ("LPT") Agreement: reserve adjustments, adjustments to the contingent profit commission, and amortization of the deferred reinsurance gain. Higher net income in the third quarter of 2013 was primarily attributable to a $10.1 million favorable LPT reserve adjustment and a $5.0 million decrease in income taxes which was related to the re-allocation of non-taxable reserves to taxable periods during the third quarter of 2013.

Consolidated net income before the impact of the LPT (the Company's non-GAAP measure described below) was $10.4 million or $0.32 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2014 and $13.6 million or $0.42 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2013. Lower net income before the LPT in the third quarter of 2014 reflects a higher loss provision rate than in the third quarter of 2013 and higher income taxes, primarily due to the impacts of the re-allocation of reserves in the third quarter of 2013.

The third quarter combined ratio before the LPT was 104.4% in 2014 compared with 104.7% in 2013. The third quarter GAAP combined ratio was 101.6% in 2014 compared with 96.2% in 2013. The lower GAAP combined ratio in the third quarter of 2013 was primarily attributable to the favorable $10.1 million LPT reserve adjustment that lowered losses and loss adjustment expense by that amount.

President and Chief Executive Officer Douglas D. Dirks commented on the results: “Our results in the third quarter demonstrate continuing improvement in underwriting expenses which drove improvement in the third quarter combined ratio before the LPT. Relative to year-end 2013, the loss provision rate has declined in the first, second and third quarters of this year as our net rate continued to increase. The third quarter 2014 loss provision rate of 73.5% was 0.6 percentage points lower than the prior quarter and 3.5 percentage points lower than the 2013 annual rate. Our loss provision rate in the third quarter of this year was 0.7 points higher than the same quarter last year which primarily drove a one point increase in the loss ratio. In 2013, the provision rate for the then current accident year losses was raised in the fourth quarter to an annual rate of 77.0% in response to a sudden spike in more costly litigated claims in southern California. Importantly, the spike in open litigated indemnity claims that we experienced in the fourth quarter of last year in southern California has not continued in the first, second, or third quarters of this year."

Dirks continued: "In the third quarter, we saw a slight decline in net written premiums and a slightly lower policy retention rate largely related to specific California-related initiatives. Effective June 1 of this year, we began utilizing three operating companies in California with new rates and territorial multipliers which we expected would increase non-renewal rate, lower retention rate and increase our net rate. We have reduced our payroll exposure by 5.1% year-over-year in California while increasing net rate in California 10.7%. At the same time, we continue to target attractive classes of business inside and outside of California to, as much as possible, offset the loss of premium from any non-renewed business. Our Company-wide policy retention was 83% in the third quarter 2014, one percentage point lower than in the third quarter of 2013. Third quarter policy retention in our eastern states increased four percentage points year-over-year, to 87%. At September 30, 2014, California was 60% of our in-force premium and 56% of our policies. In-force policy count grew 0.4% in California year-over-year and 5.0% in all states excluding California."

Dirks concluded: "We are managing the litigation issues in California. We are reducing our payroll exposure in California, particularly southern California. Our net rate continues to increase, our year-to-date loss provision rates continue to improve, and we are targeting customer classes with historically good loss ratio results both inside and outside of California. There has been no material unfavorable loss development related to our voluntary business and our adjusted book value per outstanding share of common stock increased 5.9% since the end of last year."

Fourth Quarter Dividend

The Board of Directors declared a fourth quarter 2014 dividend of six cents per share. The dividend is payable on November 26, 2014 to stockholders of record as of November 12, 2014.

Conference Call and Web Cast; Form 10-Q; Supplemental Information

The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, October 30, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The conference call will be available via a live web cast on the Company's web site at www.employers.com. An archived version will be available several hours after the call. The conference call replay number is (888) 286-8010 with a pass code of 65541153. International callers may dial (617) 801-6888.

EHI expects to file its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on or about Thursday, October 30, 2014. The Form 10-Q will be available without charge through the EDGAR system at the SEC's web site and will also be posted on the Company's website, www.employers.com, through the “Investors” link.

The Company provides a list of portfolio securities in the Calendar of Events, “Investors” section of its website at www.employers.com. The Company also provides investor presentations on its website.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This earnings release includes non-GAAP financial measures used to analyze the Company's operating performance for the periods presented.

These non-GAAP financial measures exclude impacts related to the LPT Agreement deferred reinsurance gain. The 1999 LPT Agreement was a non-recurring transaction that does not result in ongoing cash benefits and, consequently, the Company believes these non-GAAP measures are useful in providing stockholders and management a meaningful understanding of the Company's operating performance. In addition, these measures, as defined, are helpful to management in identifying trends in the Company's performance because the items excluded have limited significance in current and ongoing operations.

The Company strongly urges stockholders and other interested persons not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate its business. The non-GAAP measures are not a substitute for GAAP measures and investors should be careful when comparing the Company's non-GAAP financial measures to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Net Income before impact of the LPT Agreement. Net income less (a) amortization of deferred reinsurance gain–LPT Agreement; (b) adjustments to LPT Agreement ceded reserves; and (c) adjustments to contingent commission receivable–LPT Agreement.

Deferred reinsurance gain–LPT Agreement (Deferred Gain). This reflects the unamortized gain from the LPT Agreement. Under GAAP, this gain is deferred and amortized using the recovery method, whereby the amortization is determined by the proportion of actual reinsurance recoveries to total estimated recoveries, except for the contingent profit commission, which is amortized through June 30, 2024. The amortization is reflected in losses and LAE.

Gross Premiums Written. Gross premiums written is the sum of both direct premiums written and assumed premiums written before the effect of ceded reinsurance. Direct premiums written represents the premiums on all policies the Company's insurance subsidiaries have issued during the year. Assumed premiums written represents the premiums that the insurance subsidiaries have received from an authorized state-mandated pool.

Net Premiums Written. Net premiums written is the sum of direct premiums written and assumed premiums written less ceded premiums written. Ceded premiums written is the portion of direct premiums written that are ceded to reinsurers under reinsurance contracts. The Company uses net premiums written, primarily in relation to gross premiums written, to measure the amount of business retained after cession to reinsurers.

Losses and LAE before impact of the LPT Agreement. Losses and LAE less (a) amortization of Deferred Gain; (b) adjustments to LPT Agreement ceded reserves; and (c) adjustments to contingent commission receivable–LPT Agreement.

Losses and LAE Ratio. The losses and LAE ratio is a measure of underwriting profitability. Expressed as a percentage, it is the ratio of losses and LAE to net premiums earned.

Commission Expense Ratio. The commission expense ratio is the ratio (expressed as a percentage) of commission expense to net premiums earned.

Underwriting and Other Operating Expense Ratio. The underwriting and other operating expense ratio is the ratio (expressed as a percentage) of underwriting and other operating expense to net premiums earned.

Combined Ratio. The combined ratio represents a summary percentage of claims and expenses to net premiums earned. The combined ratio is the sum of the losses and LAE ratio, the commission expense ratio, and the underwriting and other operating expense ratio.

Combined Ratio before impacts of the LPT Agreement. Combined ratio before impacts of LPT is the GAAP combined ratio before (a) amortization of deferred reinsurance gain–LPT Agreement; (b) adjustments to LPT Agreement ceded reserves; and (c) adjustments to contingent commission receivable–LPT Agreement.

Equity including Deferred Gain. Equity including Deferred Gain is total equity plus the Deferred Gain.

Book value per share. Equity including Deferred Gain divided by number of shares outstanding.

Net rate. Net rate, defined as total premium in-force divided by total insured payroll exposure, is a function of a variety of factors, including rate changes, underwriting risk profiles and pricing, and changes in business mix related to economic and competitive pressures.

Forward-Looking Statements

In this press release, the Company and its management discuss and make statements based on currently available information regarding their intentions, beliefs, current expectations, and projections regarding the Company's future operations, growth and pricing strategies, and financial and operating performance, as well as the status of the Company's litigated indemnity claims in certain geographies and efforts to target classes of business. Certain of these statements may constitute "forward-looking" statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and are often identified by words such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "target," "project," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "pro forma," "seek," "likely," or "continue," or other comparable terminology and their negatives. EHI and its management caution investors that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Risks and uncertainties are inherent in EHI's future performance. Factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include, among other things, those discussed or identified from time to time in EHI's public filings with the SEC, including the risks detailed in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

The SEC filings for EHI can be accessed through the “Investors” link on the Company's website, www.employers.com, or through the SEC's EDGAR Database at www.sec.gov (EHI EDGAR CIK No. 0001379041).

Copyright © 2014 EMPLOYERS. All rights reserved. EMPLOYERS^® and America's small business insurance specialist. ^® are registered trademarks of Employers Insurance Company of Nevada. Employers Holdings, Inc. is a holding company with subsidiaries that are specialty providers of workers' compensation insurance and services focused on select, small businesses engaged in low to medium hazard industries. Insurance subsidiaries include Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, Employers Compensation Insurance Company, Employers Preferred Insurance Company, and Employers Assurance Company, all rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company. Additional information can be found at: http://www.employers.com.

Source: Employers Holdings, Inc.

Employers Holdings, Inc.
Media:
Ty Vukelich, 775-327-2677
tvukelich@employers.com.
or
Analysts:
Vicki Erickson Mills, 775-327-2794
vericksonmills@employers.com