Commitment and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

LITIGATION AND REGULATORY ACTIONS

From time to time, we are subject to legal and regulatory actions relating to our business. We may incur defense costs, including attorneys' fees, and other direct litigation costs associated with defending claims. If we suffer an adverse judgment as a result of litigation claims, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of

operations and financial condition. The Company's policy is to accrue for defense costs as those services are provided.

Trade Secret Lawsuit

In the first quarter of 2024, a jury trial was held in the “trade secret lawsuit”. The trade secret lawsuit was filed in 2018 by Citizens, CICA Life Ltd. (Bermuda) and CICA Life Insurance Company of America (collectively, the “Citizens Companies,” “we,” "us" or "our") against certain former employees and independent consultants who we alleged unlawfully took Citizens’ confidential information in order to unfairly compete with us. Our claims against these parties included various unfair competition, tortious interference, breach of contract and other related claims.

As previously disclosed, the jury found that Citizens should pay Alexis Delgado and Carlos Nalsen Landa, former independent consultants, approximately $1.3 million for “money had and received”, an equitable theory that claimed that the Citizens Companies would be unjustly enriched if they didn’t pay past and future commissions to Delgado and Landa. Additionally, the trial court awarded defendants Michael P. Buchweitz and Randall Riley approximately $3.5 million of their legal fees incurred during the trade secret lawsuit. On August 16, 2024, the judge signed a Final Judgment reflecting the jury decision and the court award of the legal fees. We do not believe the jury properly found that Delgado or Landa were entitled to any prior or future commissions as there was no evidence that we actually held any amount of commissions that they claim they should have received. We also do not believe that Riley or Buchweitz are entitled to legal fees because they were found to have breached the contracts whose fee shifting provisions they sought to invoke. Both of these judgments have been accrued pending the result of our appeal.

On September 17, 2024, we filed an appeal bond with the trial court in order to stay any execution of the judgment against us.

We have appealed the judgment against us and the appeal is currently pending in the Court of Appeals, Third District of Texas.

CREDIT FACILITY

On May 3, 2024, the Company renewed its $20 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) with Regions Bank ("Regions"). The Credit Facility has a three-year term, maturing on May 5, 2027, and allows the Company to borrow up to $20 million for working capital purposes, capital expenditures and other corporate purposes.

Revolving loans may be requested by the Company in aggregate minimum principal amounts of $0.5 million per loan. At the Company's election, the revolving loans may either bear a rate (a fluctuating rate per annum) equal to the greatest of (a) Regions' prime rate, (b) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (c) the index rate plus 1.00% or (d) 0.75%. The Company is required to pay Regions a quarterly commitment fee of 0.375% of the unused portion of the Credit Facility, which the Company expenses as it is incurred.

Obligations under the Credit Facility are secured by substantially all of the assets of the Company other than the equity interests its subsidiaries, real estate owned by the Company, and other limited exceptions. The Credit Facility contains customary events of default and financial, affirmative and negative covenants, including but not limited to restrictions on indebtedness, liens, investments, asset dispositions and restricted payments. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had not borrowed any funds against the Credit Facility and was not in violation of any covenants.

CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

The Company leases home office space in Austin, Texas for Citizens and in Puerto Rico for NES as well as several district office locations related to our Home Service Insurance segment across Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, which are classified as operating leases. Certain operating leases include renewal options that extend the lease term. The exercise of lease renewal options is at our sole discretion when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise such option. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are immaterial to the consolidated financial statements and are recognized as lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term and not recorded on the consolidated balance sheets.

Our operating lease liabilities had a weighted-average lease term of 5.8 years remaining as of December 31, 2024.

Maturities of our remaining operating lease liabilities as of December 31, 2024 are as follows.


(In thousands)	Operating Lease Payments
Maturity of operating lease liabilities:
2025	$	1,433
2026	1,385
2027	1,403
2028	1,438
2029	1,474
After 2029	1,253
Total operating lease liabilities	8,386
Interest expense	(597)
Present value of operating lease liabilities	$	7,789

We record the lease right-of-use asset in Property and Equipment, Net and the lease liability in Other Liabilities using a weighted average discount rate of 2.71%. Cash payments related to the operating lease liabilities were $1.5 million and $1.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and were reported in operating cash flows.

The Company does not engage in lease agreements among related parties.

As of December 31, 2024, CICA International is committed to fund investments up to $15.4 million related to limited partnership investments.