Nature of Business

Unico American Corporation is an insurance holding company that underwrites property and casualty insurance through its insurance company subsidiary; provides property, casualty and health insurance through its agency subsidiaries; and provides insurance premium financing and membership association services through its other subsidiaries. Unico American Corporation is referred to herein as the "Company" or "Unico," and such references include both the corporation and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly owned. Unico was incorporated under the laws of Nevada in 1969.

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). As described in Note 14, the Company's insurance subsidiary also files financial statements with regulatory agencies prepared on a statutory basis of accounting that differs from GAAP.

Investments

All of the Company’s fixed maturity investments are classified as available-for-sale and are stated at fair value, with unrealized gains or losses, net of applicable deferred income taxes, excluded from earnings and credited or charged to a separate component of equity. Although all of the Company's investments are classified as available-for-sale and the Company may sell investment securities from time to time in response to economic and market conditions, its investment guidelines place primary emphasis on buying and holding high-quality investments to maturity. Interest income on fixed maturity investments and short-term investments is recognized on an accrual basis at each measurement date and is included in net investment income in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The Company has a comprehensive portfolio monitoring process to identify and evaluate each fixed income security whose carrying value may be other-than-temporarily impaired. For each fixed income security in an unrealized loss position, the Company assesses whether it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the security before recovery of the amortized cost basis for reasons such as liquidity, contractual or regulatory purposes, or the credit quality of the underlying security. If a security meets this criteria, the security's decline in fair value is considered other than temporary and is recorded as a net realized investment loss in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) based on the specific identification method. There were no realized investments gains (losses) from other than temporary impairments for any of the periods presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. For each fixed income security 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, if any, from the amount related to all other factors and reports the credit loss component in net realized investment gains (losses). There was no credit loss component for any of the periods presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. The unrealized gains from fixed maturities are reported as “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss),” which is a separate component of stockholders’ equity, net of any deferred tax effect.

Short-term investments include U.S. treasury bills, a U.S. treasury money market fund, certificates of deposit and bank money market and savings accounts that are all highly rated and redeemable within one year.

Property and Equipment

All property and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company acquired an office building located at 26050 Mureau Road, Calabasas, California, in September 2013. Leasehold improvements to the structure are amortized over the shorter of the useful life of the leasehold improvements or the remaining years of the lease. Improvements to the structure are amortized over the useful life of the improvements.

Depreciation on the Calabasas building is computed using the straight line method over 39 years. Depreciation on furniture, fixtures and equipment in the Calabasas building is computed using the straight line method over 3 to 15 years. Amortization of leasehold improvements in the Calabasas building is being computed using the shorter of the useful life of the leasehold improvements or the remaining years of the lease.

Depreciation on property and equipment located in Woodland Hills, California, is computed using straight line methods over 3 to 7 years. Amortization of leasehold improvements on property located in Woodland Hills, California, is computed using the shorter of the useful life of the leasehold improvements or the remaining years of the lease.

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share exclude the impact of common share equivalents and are based upon the weighted average common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per share utilize the average market price per share when applying the treasury stock method in determining common share dilution. When outstanding stock options are dilutive, they are treated as common share equivalents for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share and represent the difference between basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding. In loss periods, the options are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share, as the inclusion of such options would have an anti-dilutive effect.

Loss and Loss Adjustment Expenses

Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses

The liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses is based upon the accumulation of individual case estimates for losses reported prior to the close of the accounting period plus estimates based on experience and industry data for development of case estimates and for incurred but unreported losses and loss adjustment expenses.

There is a high level of uncertainty inherent in the evaluation of the required loss and loss adjustment expense reserves for Crusader. The long-tailed nature of liability claims and the volatility of jury awards exacerbate that uncertainty. Crusader records loss and loss adjustment expense reserves at each balance sheet date based upon management’s best estimate of the ultimate payments that it anticipates will be made to settle all losses incurred and related expenses incurred as of that date for both reported and unreported losses. The ultimate cost of claims is dependent upon future events, the outcomes of which are affected by many factors. Crusader’s claim reserving procedures and settlement philosophy, current and perceived social and economic inflation, current and future court rulings and jury attitudes, improvements in medical technology, and many other economic, scientific, legal, political, and social factors all can have significant effects on the ultimate costs of claims. Changes in Company operations and management philosophy also may cause actual developments to vary from the past. Since the emergence and disposition of claims are subject to uncertainties, the net amounts that will ultimately be paid to settle claims may vary significantly from the estimated amounts provided for in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Any adjustments to reserves are reflected in the operating results of the periods in which they are made. Management believes that the aggregate reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses are reasonable and adequate to cover the cost of claims, both reported and unreported.

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

ASC Topic 944, “Financial Services – Insurance,” establishes uniformity in the practice of determining costs related to the acquisition of new or renewal insurance contracts that qualify for deferral. Policy acquisition costs consist of commissions, premium taxes, inspection fees and certain other underwriting costs, which are related to the successful production of Crusader insurance policies. Policy acquisition costs that are eligible for deferral are deferred and amortized as the related premium is earned and are limited to their estimated realizable value based on the related unearned premium plus investment income less anticipated losses and loss adjustment expenses. Ceding commission applicable to the unexpired terms of policies in force is recorded as unearned ceding commission, which is included in deferred policy acquisition costs.

Segment Reporting

ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting,” establishes standards for the way information about operating segments are reported in financial statements. The Company has identified its insurance company operation as its primary reporting segment. Revenues from this segment comprised 91% of consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2015, 90% of consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2014, and 89% of consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2013. The Company’s remaining operations constitute a variety of specialty insurance services, each with unique characteristics and individually insignificant to consolidated revenues.

The insurance company operation is conducted through Crusader, which as of December 31, 2015, was licensed as an admitted insurance carrier in the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Crusader is a multi-line property and casualty insurance company, which began transacting business on January 1, 1985. For the year ended December 31, 2015, 98% of Crusader’s business was commercial multi-peril (CMP) insurance policies. CMP policies provide a combination of property and liability coverage for businesses. Commercial property coverage insures against loss or damage to buildings, inventory and equipment from natural disasters, including hurricanes, windstorms, hail, water, explosions, severe winter weather, and other events such as theft and vandalism, fires and storms and financial loss due to business interruption resulting from covered property damage. However, Crusader does not write earthquake coverage. Commercial liability coverage insures against third party liability from accidents occurring on the insured’s premises or arising out of its operations, such as injuries sustained from products sold or the operation of the insured’s premises. In addition to CMP policies, Crusader also writes separate policies to insure commercial property and commercial liability risks on a mono-line basis.

Revenues, income before income taxes and assets by segment are as follows:

	Year ended December 31
	2015			2014			2013
Revenues
Insurance company operation	$	30,420,988		$	27,466,597		$	27,806,086

Other insurance operations		12,811,385			11,991,554			11,874,171
Intersegment eliminations (1)		(9,967,734	)		(8,987,911	)		(8,549,365	)
Total other insurance operations		2,843,651			3,003,643			3,324,806

Total revenues	$	33,264,639		$	30,470,240		$	31,130,892

Income (loss) before income taxes
Insurance company operation	$	1,161,930		$	3,552,323		$	3,276,209
Other insurance operations		(2,896,888	)		(2,255,818	)		(2,035,434	)
Total income (loss) before income taxes	$	(1,734,958	)	$	1,296,505		$	1,240,775

Assets
Insurance company operation	$	118,482,261		$	123,048,404		$	118,996,312
Intersegment eliminations (2)		(1,409,797	)		(1,657,750	)		(482,624	)
Total insurance company operation		117,072,464			121,390,654			118,513,688
Other insurance operations		23,097,971			14,624,915			14,339,500
Total assets	$	140,170,435		$	136,015,569		$	132,853,188

(1) Intersegment revenue eliminations reflect commissions paid by Crusader to Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. (Unifax), a wholly owned subsidiary of Unico.

(2) Intersegment asset eliminations reflect the elimination of Crusader receivables from Unifax and Unifax payables to Crusader.

Stock Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

Share-based compensation expense for all share-based payment awards granted or modified on or after January 1, 2006, is based on the grant-date fair value estimated in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718, “Compensation - Stock Compensation” using the modified prospective transition method.