Shareholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Shareholders' Equity [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity

Shareholders' Equity(a) Preferred Stock - At December 31, 2019, there were 75,000,000 shares of preferred stock authorized. The Company has designated one series of preferred stock: 10,000,000 shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock (Series A). No shares have been issued or are outstanding. The Series A Stock, if and when issued, shall pay a dividend of the greater of $1.00 or 100 times (subject to adjustment) the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of common stock declared on the common stock of the Company. Each share of Series A stock shall have 100 votes on each matter submitted to a vote of the shareholders.

(b) Common Stock - At December 31, 2019, there were 500,000,000 shares of common stock authorized. At the same date, there were 100,000,000 shares of Class "B" common stock authorized, though none were issued or outstanding. Class "B" common shares have the same rights as common shares except for being entitled to 1/10th of a vote per share.

Common stock held by the ESSOP is classified as a charge to the common shareholders' equity account until it is allocated to participating employees' accounts contemporaneously with the repayment of the ESSOP debt incurred for its acquisition. Such unallocated shares are not considered outstanding for purposes of calculating earnings per share. Dividends on unallocated shares are used to pay debt service costs.

(c) Cash Dividend Restrictions - The payment of cash dividends by the Company is principally dependent upon the amount of its insurance subsidiaries' statutory policyholders' surplus available for dividend distribution. The insurance subsidiaries' ability to pay cash dividends to the Company is in turn generally restricted by law or subject to approval of the insurance regulatory authorities. These authorities recognize only statutory accounting practices for determining financial position, results of operations, and the ability of an insurer to pay dividends to its shareholders. Based on year-end 2019 data, the maximum amount of dividends payable to the Company by its insurance and a small number of non-insurance company subsidiaries during 2020 without the prior approval of appropriate regulatory authorities is approximately $611.6. Cash dividends declared during 2019, 2018 and 2017 to the Company by its subsidiaries amounted to $399.5, $412.3 and $367.3, respectively.

(d) Cash Dividends - In September 2019, the Company paid a special cash dividend of $1.00 per share. In late December 2017 the Board declared a special cash dividend of $1.00 per share which was paid on January 31, 2018.