Investments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Investments

Investments

3. Investments

The gross unrealized gains and losses on investments in fixed maturity securities, including redeemable preferred stocks that have characteristics of fixed maturities, and equity securities, including interests in mutual funds, and other invested assets, were as follows for the periods indicated.

	As of December 31, 2020
	Cost or		Allowance for		Gross Unrealized				Estimated
	Amortized		Expected Credit						Fair
	Cost		Losses		Gains		Losses  (3)		Value
U.S. Treasury securities	$	1,821	$	—	$	44	$	—	$	1,865
Obligations of states and political subdivisions		214,647		—		7,745		(3)		222,389
Residential mortgage-backed securities (1)		229,910		—		11,701		(14)		241,597
Commercial mortgage-backed securities		115,575		—		10,460		—		126,035
Other asset-backed securities		72,756		—		531		(163)		73,124
Corporate and other securities		555,242		(1,054)		38,415		(960)		591,643
Subtotal, fixed maturity securities		1,189,951		(1,054)		68,896		(1,140)		1,256,653
Short term investments		441		—		—		—		441
Equity securities (2)		168,289		—		38,676		(1,711)		205,254
Other invested assets (4)		45,239		—		—		—		45,239
Totals	$	1,403,920	$	(1,054)	$	107,572	$	(2,851)	$	1,507,587

	As of December 31, 2019
	Cost or		Gross Unrealized				Estimated
	Amortized						Fair
	Cost		Gains		Losses  (3)		Value
U.S. Treasury securities	$	1,504	$	8	$	—	$	1,512
Obligations of states and political subdivisions		241,597		9,799		—		251,396
Residential mortgage-backed securities (1)		301,503		6,608		(909)		307,202
Commercial mortgage-backed securities		106,902		3,233		(397)		109,738
Other asset-backed securities		36,068		218		(64)		36,222
Corporate and other securities		504,783		18,455		(1,268)		521,970
Subtotal, fixed maturity securities		1,192,357		38,321		(2,638)		1,228,040
Equity securities (2)		151,121		27,879		(1,363)		177,637
Other invested assets (4)		37,278		—		—		37,278
Totals	$	1,380,756	$	66,200	$	(4,001)	$	1,442,955

(1) Residential mortgage-backed securities consists primarily of obligations of U.S. Government agencies including collateralized mortgage obligations issued, guaranteed and/or insured by the following issuers: Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB).

(2) Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock, mutual funds and interests in mutual funds held to fund the Company’s executive deferred compensation plan.

(3) The Company’s investment portfolio included 270 and 229 securities in an unrealized loss position at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.

(4) Other invested assets are accounted for under the equity method which approximates fair value.

The amortized cost and the estimated fair value of fixed maturity securities, by maturity, are shown below for the period indicated. Expected maturities will differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.

	As of December 31, 2020
	Amortized		Estimated
	Cost		Fair Value
Due in one year or less	$	107,247	$	108,572
Due after one year through five years		258,167		271,140
Due after five years through ten years		329,045		353,369
Due after ten years through twenty years		75,585		80,657
Due after twenty years		1,666		2,159
Asset-backed securities		418,241		440,756
Totals	$	1,189,951	$	1,256,653

The gross realized gains and losses on sales of investments were as follows for the periods indicated.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Gross realized gains
Fixed maturity securities	$	1,645	$	1,294	$	1,022
Equity securities		6,864		4,536		5,129
Gross realized losses
Fixed maturity securities		(2,166)		(1,805)		(1,878)
Equity securities		(5,386)		(1,049)		(1,047)
Net realized gains on investments	$	957	$	2,976	$	3,226

In the normal course of business, the Company enters into transactions involving various types of financial instruments, including investments in fixed maturities and equity securities. Investment transactions have credit exposure to the extent that a counter party may default on an obligation to the Company. Credit risk is a consequence of carrying, trading and investing in securities. To manage credit risk, the Company focuses on higher quality fixed income securities, reviews the credit strength of all companies in which it invests, limits its exposure in any one investment and monitors the portfolio quality, taking into account credit ratings assigned by recognized statistical rating organizations.

The following tables as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 present the gross unrealized losses included in the Company’s investment portfolio and the fair value of those securities aggregated by investment category. The tables also present the length of time that they have been in a continuous unrealized loss position.

	As of December 31, 2020
	Less than 12 Months				12 Months or More				Total
	Estimated		Unrealized		Estimated		Unrealized		Estimated		Unrealized
	Fair Value		Losses		Fair Value		Losses		Fair Value		Losses
U.S. Treasury securities	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—
Obligations of states and political subdivisions		1,047		3		—		—		1,047		3
Residential mortgage-backed securities		8,569		14		9		—		8,578		14
Commercial mortgage-backed securities		—		—		—		—		—		—
Other asset-backed securities		26,959		84		9,004		79		35,963		163
Corporate and other securities		62,882		863		6,774		97		69,656		960
Subtotal, fixed maturity securities		99,457		964		15,787		176		115,244		1,140
Equity securities		10,708		986		2,293		725		13,001		1,711
Total temporarily impaired securities	$	110,165	$	1,950	$	18,080	$	901	$	128,245	$	2,851

	As of December 31, 2019
	Less than 12 Months				12 Months or More				Total
	Estimated		Unrealized		Estimated		Unrealized		Estimated		Unrealized
	Fair Value		Losses		Fair Value		Losses		Fair Value		Losses
U.S. Treasury securities	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—
Obligations of states and political subdivisions		—		—		—		—		—		—
Residential mortgage-backed securities		61,933		409		31,655		500		93,588		909
Commercial mortgage-backed securities		36,398		397		866		—		37,264		397
Other asset-backed securities		21,281		64		462		—		21,743		64
Corporate and other securities		26,386		481		13,718		787		40,104		1,268
Subtotal, fixed maturity securities		145,998		1,351		46,701		1,287		192,699		2,638
Equity securities		8,849		391		14,143		972		22,992		1,363
Total temporarily impaired securities	$	154,847	$	1,742	$	60,844	$	2,259	$	215,691	$	4,001

At December 31, 2020, U.S. Government residential mortgage backed securities with a fair value of $37,467 are pledged as collateral for a borrowing with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (“FHLB-Boston”) as described in Note 10 – Debt. These securities are included in fixed maturity securities on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Impairments

Beginning January 1, 2020, ASC 326, Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments changed the process by which AFS debt securities are evaluated for impairment, as the standard requires a new impairment model based on expected credit losses rather than incurred credit losses. Under the new guidance, an entity recognizes its estimate of expected credit losses through an allowance account.

For fixed maturities that the Company does not intend to sell or for which it is more likely than not that the Company would not be required to sell before an anticipated recovery in value, the Company separates the credit loss component of the impairment from the amount related to all other factors and reports the credit loss component as credit loss expense. The impairment related to all other factors (non-credit factors) is reported in other comprehensive income. The allowance is adjusted for any additional credit losses and subsequent recoveries. Upon recognizing a credit loss, the cost basis is not adjusted.

For fixed maturities where the Company records a credit loss, a determination is made as to the cause of the impairment and whether the Company expects a recovery in the value. For fixed maturities where the Company expects a recovery in value, the constant effective yield method is utilized, and the investment is amortized to par.

For fixed maturity investments the Company intends to sell or for which it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell before an anticipated recovery in value, the full amount of the impairment is included in credit loss expense. The new cost basis of the investment is the previous amortized cost basis less the impairment recognized in credit loss expense. The new cost basis is not adjusted for any subsequent recoveries in fair value.

The Company uses a systematic methodology to evaluate declines in fair values below cost or amortized cost of our investments. Some of the factors considered in assessing impairment of fixed maturities due to credit losses include the extent to which the fair value is less than amortized cost, the financial condition of and the near and long-term prospects of the issuer, whether the debtor is current on its contractually obligated interest and principal payments, changes to the rating of the security by a rating agency, the historical volatility of the fair value of the security and whether it is more like than not that the Company will be required to sell the investment prior to an anticipated recovery in value.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company concluded that $1,054 of unrealized losses were due to credit factors and were recorded as an allowance for expected credit losses and credit loss expense. The Company concluded that outside of the securities that were recognized as credit impaired, the unrealized losses recorded on the fixed maturity portfolio at December 31, 2020 resulted from fluctuations in market interest rates and other temporary market conditions as opposed to fundamental changes in the credit quality of the issuers of such securities. Based upon

the analysis performed, the Company’s decision to hold these securities, the Company’s current level of liquidity and our history of positive operating cash flows, management believes it is more likely than not that it will not be required to sell any of its securities before the anticipated recovery in the fair value to its amortized cost basis.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the company recognized $889 of other-than-temporarily-impairmnte (“OTTI”) losses which consisted entirely of credit impairments under the previous accounting guidance in ASC 320, Investments – Debt and Equity Securities.

The Company holds no subprime mortgage debt securities. All of the Company’s holdings in mortgage-backed securities are either U.S. Government or Agency guaranteed or are rated investment grade by either Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s.

The following tables represent a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the allowance for expected credit losses on fixed maturities classified as available for sale.  

	Year Ended December 31, 2020
	Corporate and other
	securities
Balance January 1, 2020	$	—
Credit losses on securities with no previously recorded credit losses		1,054
Net increases (decreases) in allowance on previously impaired securities		—
Reduction due to sales		—
Writeoffs charged against allowance		—
Recoveries of amounts previously written off		—
Balance December 31, 2020	$	1,054

Net Investment Income

The components of net investment income were as follows for the periods indicated.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Interest on fixed maturity securities	$	37,727	$	42,892	$	40,988
Dividends on equity securities		5,044		5,268		4,500
Equity in earnings of other invested assets		1,378		1,552		1,182
Interest on other assets		27		32		62
Total Investment Income		44,176		49,744		46,732
Investment expenses		3,131		3,079		2,944
Net investment income	$	41,045	$	46,665	$	43,788