Investments in debt and equity securities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]

Investments in debt and equity securities

Investments in debt and equity securities. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the net unrealized investment gains relating to investments in equity securities held were $18.4 million and $11.2 million, respectively (refer to Note 5).

The amortized costs and fair values of investments in debt securities are as follows:

	March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
	Amortized costs	Fair values	Amortized costs	Fair values
	($000 omitted)
Municipal	18,725	18,499	22,201	22,031
Corporate	240,573	228,668	242,656	231,474
Foreign	326,560	315,661	332,723	323,391
U.S. Treasury Bonds	34,948	34,229	33,714	33,340
	620,806	597,057	631,294	610,236

Foreign debt securities consist of Canadian government, provincial and corporate bonds, United Kingdom treasury and corporate bonds, and Mexican government bonds.

Gross unrealized gains and losses on investments in debt securities are as follows:

	March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
	Gains	Losses	Gains	Losses
	($000 omitted)
Municipal	2	228	—	170
Corporate	515	12,420	764	11,946
Foreign	858	11,757	1,765	11,097
U.S. Treasury Bonds	25	744	106	480
	1,400	25,149	2,635	23,693

Debt securities as of March 31, 2024 mature, according to their contractual terms, as follows (actual maturities may differ due to call or prepayment rights):

	Amortized costs	Fair values
	($000 omitted)
In one year or less	85,105	84,346
After one year through five years	341,785	327,413
After five years through ten years	177,015	169,663
After ten years	16,901	15,635
	620,806	597,057

Gross unrealized losses on investments in debt securities and the fair values of the related securities, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position at March 31, 2024, were:

	Less than 12 months		More than 12 months		Total
	Losses	Fair values	Losses	Fair values	Losses	Fair values
	($000 omitted)
Municipal	46	5,628	182	10,619	228	16,247
Corporate	118	14,737	12,302	196,546	12,420	211,283
Foreign	1,079	66,628	10,678	206,074	11,757	272,702
U.S. Treasury Bonds	553	26,207	191	4,886	744	31,093
	1,796	113,200	23,353	418,125	25,149	531,325

The number of specific debt investment holdings held in an unrealized loss position as of March 31, 2024 was 332. Of these securities, 255 were in unrealized loss positions for more than 12 months. Total gross unrealized investment losses at March 31, 2024 slightly increased compared to December 31, 2023, primarily due to the continuing high interest rate environment which started in late 2022. Since the Company does not intend to sell and will more likely than not maintain each investment security until its maturity or anticipated recovery in value, and no significant credit risk is deemed to exist, these investments are not considered as credit-impaired. The Company believes its investment portfolio is diversified and expects no material loss to result from the failure to perform by issuers of the debt securities it holds. Investments made by the Company are not collateralized.

Gross unrealized losses on investments in debt securities and the fair values of the related securities, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position at December 31, 2023, were:

	Less than 12 months		More than 12 months		Total
	Losses	Fair values	Losses	Fair values	Losses	Fair values
	($000 omitted)
Municipal	50	13,022	120	8,383	170	21,405
Corporate	68	4,808	11,878	208,971	11,946	213,779
Foreign	472	31,918	10,625	216,135	11,097	248,053
U.S. Treasury Bonds	327	20,895	153	4,815	480	25,710
	917	70,643	22,776	438,304	23,693	508,947

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses). Realized and unrealized gains and losses are detailed as follows:

		Three Months Ended   March 31,
		2024	2023
	($000 omitted)
Realized gains		102	61
Realized losses		(291)	(747)
Net unrealized investment gains (losses) recognized on equity securities still held		7,227	(1,092)
		7,038	(1,778)

Realized losses during the first quarters 2024 and 2023 were primarily related to sales of securities investments.

Investment gains and losses recognized related to investments in equity securities are as follows:

		Three Months Ended   March 31,
		2024	2023
	($000 omitted)
Net investment gains (losses) recognized on equity securities during the period		7,234	(1,756)
Less: Net realized gains (losses) on equity securities sold during the period		7	(664)
Net unrealized investment gains (losses) recognized on equity securities still held		7,227	(1,092)

Proceeds from sales of investments in securities are as follows: 

		Three Months Ended   March 31,
		2024	2023
	($000 omitted)
Proceeds from sales of debt securities		20,767	7,446
Proceeds from sales of equity securities		107	19,326
Total proceeds from sales of investments in securities		20,874	26,772