Applied Underwriters Chairman, Steve Menzies, Reports “Excellent” Financial Results for 2021 and “Apologizes” for 90-Day Operational, Post-Pandemic Delay in Filing Some of the Company’s Audits

Privately held, national insurer, with $1B in capital and surplus, experiences strong financial and underwriting results in 2021 and Q1 2022, as reported in complete filed financial statements; regulators grant filing extension for all remaining outstanding audits

Omaha, Nebraska -- July 13, 2022 -- Commenting on the Company’s timely filed financial statements for 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, Applied Underwriters Chairman Steve Menzies calls the results for the North American Casualty Co. (NAC), and its subsidiary and affiliated insurance companies, “excellent and emblematic of our very strong and sustained underwriting results and increasing growth in key strategic areas.”

According to Mr. Menzies, while all of the Company’s affiliated carriers have completed and filed their audits, NAC has requested, and was granted, an extension by all of its various state regulators: “There is no disagreement with the previous auditor, including in the previous twenty-four months concerning accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedures. As is our usual practice, we are in full regulatory compliance, but we were compelled by our former auditor’s inability to meet the required schedule given constrained post-pandemic resources. Audit work did not begin until late in the Fall and then remotely.”

Mr. Menzies continued: “The extensions will cross with our AM Best ratings cycle which could result in some temporary, negative considerations until the remaining audits are filed. We apologize for any concern or confusion this may cause. NAC is well capitalized with approximately $1 billion in capital and surplus and wrote business in 2021 at a premium to surplus ratio of approximately 0.43 to 1. Our balance sheet and underwriting results have both been consistently and continuously characterized as very strong by AM Best. The Company relies on independent, third-party actuarial studies, all of which were completed and filed on time, and which were in line with expected strong underwriting and claims adjusting results.”

Mr. Menzies concluded, “I am sincerely unhappy with the delay, and we are remiss for not having taken corrective action sooner. Yet, then again, I was also sincerely unhappy to wait patiently in an airport recently for 18 hours for a flight. It is difficult to comprehend why basic goods and services have become diminished and disconnected everywhere in our lives. We have no choice but to adapt and revise the ways in which we conduct business, and, we now have a leading national accounting firm’s top team dedicated to getting the remaining audits completed.”

For further information contact:
Ryan Gerding, Public Relations, at +1 (913) 602-8531 or at press@auw.com.

About Applied Underwriters (www.auw.com)
Applied Underwriters® is a global risk services firm that helps businesses and people manage uncertainty through its business services, insurance and reinsurance solutions. As a company, Applied Underwriters has been distinguished by its innovative approaches to client care and by its strong financial strength. Applied Underwriters operates widely throughout the US, UK, EU and Middle East. Its operational headquarters is located in Omaha, Nebraska.

About North American Casualty Company (www.nacasualty.com)
Ratings issuer AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of ‘a’ of companies collectively referred to as North American Casualty Group (NAC). According to the ratings agency, “the ratings reflect NAC’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.” The companies with the affirmed ratings are: California Insurance Company, Continental Indemnity Company, Illinois Insurance Company, and Pennsylvania Insurance Company, domiciled in New Mexico; Texas Insurance Company, domiciled in Texas; Oklahoma Property and Casualty Insurance Company, domiciled in Oklahoma; and Florida Casualty Insurance Company, domiciled in Florida.