Note 6 - Reinsurance

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Reinsurance [Text Block]

6. REINSURANCE

In the ordinary course of business, the Company assumes and cedes premiums and selected insured risks with other insurance companies, known as reinsurance. A large portion of the reinsurance is put into effect under contracts known as treaties and, in some instances, by negotiation on each individual risk (known as facultative reinsurance). In addition, there are several types of treaties including quota share, excess of loss, and catastrophe reinsurance contracts that protect against losses over stipulated amounts arising from any one occurrence or event. The arrangements allow the Company to pursue greater diversification of business and serve to limit the maximum net loss to a single event, such as a catastrophe. Through the quantification of exposed policy limits in each region and the extensive use of computer-assisted modeling techniques, management monitors the concentration of risks exposed to catastrophic events.

Through the purchase of reinsurance, the Company also generally limits its net loss on any individual risk to a maximum of $1,000,000 for casualty and workers’ compensation business and $1,000,000 for property, although certain treaties contain an annual aggregate deductible before reinsurance applies.

Premiums, written and earned, along with losses and settlement expenses incurred for the years ended December 31 are summarized as follows:

	2023			2022
WRITTEN
Direct	$	92,990,535		$	82,726,634
Reinsurance assumed		162,368			157,268
Reinsurance ceded		(10,510,588	)		(9,492,472	)
Net	$	82,642,315		$	73,391,430
EARNED
Direct	$	86,260,082		$	78,411,890
Reinsurance assumed		160,365			157,097
Reinsurance ceded		(10,703,339	)		(9,511,644	)
Net	$	75,717,108		$	69,057,343
LOSS AND SETTLEMENT EXPENSES INCURRED
Direct	$	52,727,899		$	50,290,695
Reinsurance assumed		102,365			94,482
Reinsurance ceded		(4,900,634	)		(5,852,448	)
Net	$	47,929,630		$	44,532,729

The reinsurance assumed business consists of assigned risk pools, which require the Company to participate in certain workers’ compensation and other liability pools, as a result of their licensure and premium writings in the various states in which it does business.

At December 31, 2023, and 2022, the Company had reinsurance recoverable on unpaid losses and settlement expenses totaling $12,736,579 and $13,610,295, respectively. All the Company’s reinsurance recoverables are due from companies with financial strength ratings of "A" or better by A.M. Best.

The following table displays net reinsurance balances recoverable, after consideration of collateral, on paid losses and settlement expenses, known case and IBNR loss and settlement expense reserves, unearned premiums, and contingent commissions from the Company’s top 10 reinsurers as of December 31, 2023. These reinsurers all have financial strength ratings of "A" or better by A.M. Best. Also shown are the amounts of written premium ceded to these reinsurers during the calendar year 2023.

		Net Reinsurer		Percent			Ceded		Percent
	A.M. Best	Exposure as of		of			Premiums		of
(In thousands)	Rating	December 31, 2023		Total			Written		Total
General Reinsurance Corporation	A++	$	11,509		74.8	%	$	7,295		69.4	%
Renaissance Reinsurance U.S. Incorporated	A+		750		4.9	%		711		6.8	%
Hannover Rueck SE	A+		467		3.0	%		427		4.1	%
Partner Reinsurance Co. of the U.S.	A+		447		2.9	%		—		0.0	%
Aspen Insurance UK Ltd.	A		336		2.2	%		—		0.0	%
Swiss Reinsurance	A+		288		1.9	%		78		0.7	%
Houston Casualty Company	A++		250		1.6	%		310		2.9	%
Axis Reinsurance Company	A		210		1.4	%		—		0.0	%
Everest Reinsurance Company	A+		179		1.2	%		—		0.1	%
Lloyd's Syndicate Number 2791	A		135		0.9	%		455		4.3	%
All other reinsurers including anticipated subrogation			812		5.3	%		1,235		11.7	%
		$	15,383		100.0	%	$	10,511		100.0	%

Ceded unearned premiums and reinsurance balances recoverable on paid losses and settlement expenses are reported separately as an asset, rather than being netted with the related liability, since reinsurance does not relieve the Company of its liability to policyholders. Such balances are subject to the credit risk associated with the individual reinsurer. On a quarterly basis, the financial condition of the Company’s reinsurers is monitored. As part of the monitoring efforts, management reviews annual summarized financial data and publicly available information. The credit risk associated with the reinsurance balances recoverable is analyzed by monitoring the A.M. Best and S&P ratings of the reinsurers. In addition, the Company subjects its reinsurance recoverables to detailed recoverability tests, including one based on average default by A.M. Best rating.

Once regulatory action (such as receivership, finding of insolvency, order of conservation, or order of liquidation) is taken against a reinsurer, the paid and unpaid recoverable for the reinsurer are specifically identified and written off through the use of the allowance for estimated unrecoverable amounts from reinsurers. When such a balance is written off, it is done in full. The Company then re-evaluates the remaining allowance and determines whether the balance is sufficient as detailed above, and if needed, an additional allowance is recognized, and income charged. The Company had $82.0 thousand and $0 allowances recorded related to CECL on paid and unpaid recoverables at December 31, 2023, and 2022. The Company has no receivables with a due date that extends beyond 90 days from the date of billing that are not included in the allowance for uncollectible amounts.