Investments | Note 4. Investments The amortized cost, allowance for credit losses, carrying amount, gross unrecognized gains and losses, and the fair value of those investments classified as held-to-maturity at September 30, 2024 are summarized as follows: Amortized Allowance for Credit Losses Carrying Gross Gross Fair (in thousands) States and political subdivisions $ 387,702 $ ( 35 ) $ 387,667 $ 4,190 $ ( 9,006 ) $ 382,851 Corporate bonds 37,453 ( 100 ) 37,353 12 ( 1,094 ) 36,271 U.S. agency-based mortgage-backed securities 2,877 — 2,877 33 ( 81 ) 2,829 U.S. Treasury securities and obligations 8,456 — 8,456 31 ( 101 ) 8,386 Asset-backed securities 17 ( 1 ) 16 — — 16 Totals $ 436,505 $ ( 136 ) $ 436,369 $ 4,266 $ ( 10,282 ) $ 430,353 The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses, fair value, and the allowance for credit losses of those investments classified as available-for-sale at September 30, 2024 are summarized as follows: Amortized Gross Gross Fair Allowance for (in thousands) States and political subdivisions $ 147,821 $ 939 $ ( 5,153 ) $ 143,607 $ — Corporate bonds 151,114 3,404 ( 1,439 ) 153,079 — U.S. agency-based mortgage-backed securities 4,702 — ( 341 ) 4,361 — U.S. Treasury securities and obligations 14,858 — ( 791 ) 14,067 — Totals $ 318,495 $ 4,343 $ ( 7,724 ) $ 315,114 $ — The cost, gross unrealized gains and losses, and the fair value of equity securities at September 30, 2024 are summarized as follows: Cost Gross Gross Fair (in thousands) Equity securities: Domestic common stock $ 36,020 $ 21,692 $ — $ 57,712 Total equity securities $ 36,020 $ 21,692 $ — $ 57,712 The amortized cost, allowance for credit losses, carrying amount, gross unrecognized gains and losses, and the fair value of those investments classified as held-to-maturity at December 31, 2023 are summarized as follows: Amortized Allowance for Credit Losses Carrying Gross Gross Fair (in thousands) States and political subdivisions $ 416,916 $ ( 38 ) $ 416,878 $ 4,166 $ ( 12,074 ) $ 408,970 Corporate bonds 52,321 ( 142 ) 52,179 — ( 2,231 ) 49,948 U.S. agency-based mortgage-backed securities 3,297 — 3,297 25 ( 123 ) 3,199 U.S. Treasury securities and obligations 11,186 — 11,186 26 ( 273 ) 10,939 Asset-backed securities 37 ( 2 ) 35 1 — 36 Totals $ 483,757 $ ( 182 ) $ 483,575 $ 4,218 $ ( 14,701 ) $ 473,092 The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses, fair value, and the allowance for credit losses of those investments classified as available-for-sale at December 31, 2023 are summarized as follows: Amortized Gross Gross Fair Allowance for (in thousands) States and political subdivisions $ 138,031 $ 583 $ ( 6,719 ) $ 131,895 $ — Corporate bonds 168,134 2,105 ( 3,486 ) 166,753 — U.S. agency-based mortgage-backed securities 5,190 — ( 445 ) 4,745 — U.S. Treasury securities and obligations 14,816 — ( 1,145 ) 13,671 — Totals $ 326,171 $ 2,688 $ ( 11,795 ) $ 317,064 $ — The cost, gross unrealized gains and losses, and the fair value of equity securities at December 31, 2023 are summarized as follows: Cost Gross Gross Fair (in thousands) Equity securities: Domestic common stock $ 44,046 $ 13,101 $ — $ 57,147 Total equity securities $ 44,046 $ 13,101 $ — $ 57,147 A summary of the carrying amounts and fair value of investments in fixed maturity securities classified as held-to-maturity, by contractual maturity, is as follows: September 30, 2024 December 31, 2023 Carrying Fair Carrying Fair (in thousands) Maturity: Within one year $ 47,290 $ 46,978 $ 64,129 $ 63,703 After one year through five years 115,402 112,425 136,854 131,396 After five years through ten years 113,949 110,703 114,990 110,814 After ten years 156,835 157,402 164,270 163,944 U.S. agency-based mortgage-backed securities 2,877 2,829 3,297 3,199 Asset-backed securities 16 16 35 36 Totals $ 436,369 $ 430,353 $ 483,575 $ 473,092 A summary of the amortized cost and fair value of investments in fixed maturity securities classified as available-for-sale, by contractual maturity, is as follows: September 30, 2024 December 31, 2023 Amortized Fair Amortized Fair (in thousands) Maturity: Within one year $ 17,898 $ 17,728 $ 25,995 $ 25,875 After one year through five years 104,803 103,134 106,178 102,201 After five years through ten years 73,094 73,199 82,664 80,911 After ten years 117,998 116,692 106,144 103,332 U.S. agency-based mortgage-backed securities 4,702 4,361 5,190 4,745 Totals $ 318,495 $ 315,114 $ 326,171 $ 317,064 The following table summarizes the fair value and gross unrealized losses on securities classified as available-for-sale, aggregated by major investment category and length of time that the individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position as of September 30, 2024 : Less Than 12 Months 12 Months or Greater Total Fair Value of Gross Fair Value of Gross Fair Value of Gross (in thousands) September 30, 2024 Available-for-Sale States and political subdivisions $ 61,392 $ 3,595 $ 21,334 $ 1,558 $ 82,726 $ 5,153 Corporate bonds 30,359 786 25,343 653 55,702 1,439 U.S. agency-based mortgage-backed securities 4,122 312 239 29 4,361 341 U.S. Treasury securities and obligations — — 14,067 791 14,067 791 Total available-for-sale securities $ 95,873 $ 4,693 $ 60,983 $ 3,031 $ 156,856 $ 7,724 At September 30, 2024, we held 132 individual fixed maturity securities classified as available-for-sale that were in an unrealized loss position. The following table summarizes the fair value and gross unrealized losses on securities classified as available-for-sale, aggregated by major investment category and length of time that the individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position as of December 31, 2023 : Less Than 12 Months 12 Months or Greater Total Fair Value of Gross Fair Value of Gross Fair Value of Gross (in thousands) December 31, 2023 Available-for-Sale States and political subdivisions $ 14,115 $ 111 $ 72,358 $ 6,608 $ 86,473 $ 6,719 Corporate bonds 26,178 96 93,538 3,390 119,716 3,486 U.S. agency-based mortgage-backed securities — — 4,745 445 4,745 445 U.S. Treasury securities and obligations — — 13,672 1,145 13,672 1,145 Total available-for-sale securities $ 40,293 $ 207 $ 184,313 $ 11,588 $ 224,606 $ 11,795 The following table illustrates the changes in the allowance for credit losses by major security type of the investments classified as held-to-maturity for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. States and Corporate U.S. Agency U.S. Asset-Backed Totals (in thousands) Balance at June 30, 2024 $ 36 $ 111 $ — $ — $ 2 $ 149 Provision for credit loss benefit ( 1 ) ( 11 ) — — ( 1 ) ( 13 ) Balance at September 30, 2024 $ 35 $ 100 $ — $ — $ 1 $ 136 The following table illustrates the changes in the allowance for credit losses by major security type of the investments classified as held-to-maturity for the nine months ended September 30, 2024. States and Corporate U.S. Agency U.S. Asset-Backed Totals (in thousands) Balance at December 31, 2023 $ 38 $ 142 $ — $ — $ 2 $ 182 Provision for credit loss benefit ( 3 ) ( 42 ) — — ( 1 ) ( 46 ) Balance at September 30, 2024 $ 35 $ 100 $ — $ — $ 1 $ 136 The Company has established an allowance for credit losses on 436 held-to-maturity securities totaling $ 0.1 million. The majority of those securities were issued by states and political subdivisions ( 417 securities) and corporate bonds ( 16 securities). The Company has no allowance for credit losses on investments classified as available-for-sale for the period ended September 30, 2024. The credit rating used for held-to-maturity fixed income securities is the rating for each security as published by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch to determine the probability of default. If there are two ratings, the lower rating is used. If there are three ratings, the median rating is used. If there is one rating, that rating is used. For corporate fixed income securities (given a rating), the probability of default comes from Moody’s annual study of corporate bond defaults published each February. The maximum maturity using the default rate is 20 years (any maturity greater than 20 years will use the 20-year rate). For municipal fixed income securities (given a rating), the probability of default comes from Moody’s study of municipal bond defaul ts published annually. The calculation of the credit loss allowance takes the amortized cost of the fixed income security and assumes default and recovery based on the average recovery rates from the Moody’s default studies. The amortized cost of the security, minus the amount recovered, is the estimated full amount the Company could lose in a default scenario. Then this amount is multiplied by the probability of default to determine the allowance for credit loss. The lower the security is rated, the higher likelihood of default, and therefore a higher allowance for credit loss. The longer to the maturity date of a security, the higher the default risk. The table below presents the amortized cost of held-to-maturity securities aggregated by credit quality indicator as of September 30, 2024. States and Corporate U.S. Agency U.S. Asset-Backed Totals Amortized Cost (in thousands) AAA/AA/A ratings $ 385,526 $ 13,367 $ 2,877 $ 8,456 $ 7 $ 410,233 Baa/BBB ratings 2,176 24,086 — — 10 26,272 Total $ 387,702 $ 37,453 $ 2,877 $ 8,456 $ 17 $ 436,505 Net realized gains in the quarter ended September 30, 2024 were $ 0.2 million resulting from the redemption of fixed maturity securities. Net realized gains in the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were $ 5.1 million resulting from the sale of equity and fixed maturity securities classified as available-for-sale. Net realized losses in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 were $ 0.2 million resulting primarily from the sale of equity and fixed maturity securities classified as available-for-sale. Net realized gains in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 were $ 5.5 million resulting primarily from the sale of equity and fixed maturity securities classified as available-for-sale. During the third quarter of 2024, we recognized through income $ 3.9 million of net unrealized gains on equity securities. During the third quarter of 2023, we recognized through income $ 7.3 million of net unrealized losses on equity securities. During the nine months ended September 30, 2024, we recognized through income $ 8.6 million of net unrealized gains on equity securities. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, we recognized through income $ 3.9 million of net unrealized losses on equity securities. Investment income is recognized as it is earned. The discount or premium on fixed maturity securities is amortized using the “constant yield” method. Anticipated prepayments, where applicable, are considered when determining the amortization of premiums or discounts. Realized investment gains and losses are determined using the specific identification method. |