Item 1. Business

Overview

ICC Holdings, Inc. is a Pennsylvania corporation that was organized in 2016. As used in this Form 10-K, references to the "Company," "we," "us," and "our" refer to the consolidated group. On a stand-alone basis ICC Holdings, Inc. is referred to as the "Parent Company." The consolidated group consists of the holding company, ICC Holdings, Inc.; Two Rivers Realty Investments, LLC, a real estate services and holding company; Beverage Insurance Agency, Inc., dba Beverage Insurance Specialty, a wholesale insurance agency; Estrella Innovative Solutions, Inc., an outsourcing company; Southern Hospitality Education, LLC, dba Katkin, a full-service food safety and education company; Guild Insurance Inc. (Guild), an operating insurance agency acquired in October 2023; and Illinois Casualty Company (ICC), an operating insurance company. ICC is an Illinois domiciled company. ICC owns Two Rivers Investment Properties, LLC, a real estate services and holding company, and ICC Re Limited, a vehicle to participate in various Lloyd's of London (Lloyd's) syndicate's underwriting activity.

 

We are a specialty insurance carrier primarily underwriting commercial multi-peril, liquor liability, workers’ compensation, and umbrella liability coverages for the food and beverage industry through our subsidiary insurance company, ICC. ICC writes business in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin and markets through independent agents. Approximately 23.1% and 22.6% of the premium was written in Illinois for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. The Company operates as a single segment.

We primarily market our products through a network of 184 independent agents in the states that we write in. ICC's financial strength rating of "A-" (Excellent) has been reaffirmed as of August 10, 2023, which is the fourth highest out of fifteen possible ratings. The Long-Term ICR is stable. A.M. Best also reaffirmed the Long-Term ICR of ICC Holdings, Inc. at "bbb-" (Good). The outlook assigned to the credit ratings of the Company is stable, as of August 10, 2023. We expect that ICC’s upcoming evaluation by A.M. Best should occur on May 9, 2024; therefore, the ratings from this evaluation will not be available at the time of this report.

Since inception, ICC has specialized in providing customized insurance products and aggressive claims defense for customers exclusively in the food and beverage industry.

ICC was founded as an inter-insurance exchange in 1950 based upon the recognition that establishments serving alcohol require unique insurance protection. Beginning in 1998, we expanded the scope of our product offerings beyond liquor liability to include property, general liability, and umbrella. Workers’ compensation coverage was added in 2007. Our goal is to meet the full range of business insurance needs of our clients in the food and beverage industry.

In 1999, ICC recognized the significant need to automate. Upon determining available commercial software was inadequate to meet our long-term vision, we contracted the development of an integrated platform to handle agency, policy, and vendor management. Introduced in 2001, the first module successfully improved productivity and reporting capabilities. We built on that success by adding document imaging, claims, billing, and risk management modules. As it has grown, our information management system has provided us with a unique and comprehensive ability to automate processes, track and examine risk traits, and monitor claims development. As a result, ICC has constructed and leveraged a multi-variant pricing algorithm that allows us to better analyze our business to more effectively price to actual exposure.

ICC mutualized in 2004 and began to expand its territory geographically within the Midwest. We are an admitted carrier in 19 states: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. As we expand our territory and product lines, we maintain our focus and commitment to the food and beverage industry. As a result, we have developed an expertise in our niche, particularly within the areas of underwriting, loss control, and claims management. ICC continues to leverage that experience into the ongoing development of innovative insurance products and services uniquely tailored to the food and beverage industry.

ICC is subject to examination and comprehensive regulation by the Illinois Department of Insurance. See Item 1. Business — Regulation.

Our executive offices are located at 225 20th Street, Rock Island, Illinois 61201, and our phone number is (309) 793-1700. Our corporate website address is http://IR.ICCHoldingsInc.com. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and such information should not be considered to be part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our Business Strategies

We believe that our mission is to deliver expertly crafted insurance products and services for the food and beverage industry. Accordingly, we believe that this focus positions us to write profitable business in both hard insurance markets (where industry capital is constricted, competition is low, and premium rates are rising) and soft insurance markets (where industry capital is rising, competition is high and premium rates are falling). As part of our business process, we have developed our business strategy and focus using the following guiding principles to reflect the essence of who we aspire to be:

To effectuate our mission and guiding principles, we have identified the following core strategies to achieve our long-term success:

Competitive Growth Strategies

Technology – We believe that existing and developing technology and information systems are impacting and will continue to impact the insurance industry’s use of risk analysis in the underwriting process, providing tools for reduction of claims, and modernizing the claims handling process. As part of our focus, we have internally developed a completely integrated policy management system. This system allows us to leverage loss control data for predictive analytics in both the claims and underwriting areas. For example, in the underwriting area, we create pricing models taking into account the unique characteristics of our customers, with industry-specific variables such as latest hour of close, type and frequency of on-site entertainment, and average alcoholic beverage pricing. We also have achieved better efficiency by moving to a more paperless organization and have integrated off-site employees in our claims, underwriting, accounting, loss control, and IT development areas. We intend to remain a leader in the industry in utilizing technology and data analysis to price our coverage based on the risk assumed, reduce accidents, and provide prompt claims response.

Industry Expertise – We have provided the food and beverage industry with insurance products and services since 1950. By leveraging over 70 years of experience in this industry, we better understand our customers and their needs. This understanding allows us to more accurately price our products and services and defend claims aggressively and economically using the experience of our in-house legal department and an established network of specialized defense attorneys. We are recognized as the exclusively endorsed property and liability insurance provider for the: Arizona Licensed Beverage Association; Colorado Licensed Beverage Association; Tavern League of Colorado; Illinois Licensed Beverage Association; Michigan Licensed Beverage Association; Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association; Ohio Bar Owners Association; and Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association. We provide insurance agents and policyholders with education on industry topics, such as liquor liability, alcohol server training, food handling, allergen safety, sexual harassment prevention, and bar and night club security. Our employees are also regular panel speakers at local and national claims conferences and other industry association events. 

Enterprise Risk Management – As part of our effort to grow responsibly, we have put in place a cross-functional, multi-dimensional enterprise risk management program. The program is focused on financial, organization, operational, tactical, market, and legal risks and is managed at two different levels: the enterprise risk committee of our board of directors and our internal enterprise risk management committee. The focus of the enterprise risk committee of our board of directors is on oversight of top tier risk, emerging risks, and risk optimization. The internal enterprise risk committee is comprised of our executive team, which is focused on conducting a review of all risks attendant to the Company approximately once a year; rating triaged risks for severity, frequency, and control; completing risk control reports for stress testing, risk tolerance, and mitigation plans; measuring and monitoring risk on an ongoing basis; and tying enterprise risk management to individual performance evaluations and compensation.

Growth Strategies

While we have established a significant market share in our existing territories, we believe that there is still opportunity for growth within our existing footprint. We will continue to seek out insurance agency partners who have a commitment to our niche and an ability to sell the value represented by our products. Our long-term growth plan also involves expanding geographically into states where we believe current insurance laws provide an attractive market within our niche for our existing products and services. We will consider geographic expansion opportunities that allow us to leverage existing agency relationships whose footprints overlap our own. Growth opportunities will always be carefully evaluated with long term profitability at the forefront of the decision-making process.

Although we do not have any current plans or intent to expand or grow our business by acquisition, we will consider the opportunities that are presented to us.

Reaction to Market Cycles

Many insurance companies sporadically target businesses within our niche; however, a relatively small number make a long-term commitment to the niche through changing insurance market cycles. When the insurance market is "hard" and premium growth is achievable in less specialized segments, many carriers exit this niche. Large and diversified insurance carriers have the ability to shift their focus and resources to less challenging areas. When market conditions "soften," those same carriers often aggressively move back into our niche for premium growth. Because we specialize in this niche, we do not shift resources to other market segments. Therefore, the Company generally maintains pricing stability throughout market cycles by relying on our strong loss control, underwriting and claims expertise, and our customer service commitment. We react to market cycles by adjusting our appetite for risks based on pricing and cycle conditions, but we maintain a consistent commitment to the food and beverage industry. Due to the relatively small number of insurance companies that make a long-term commitment to this niche, the insurance market does not fluctuate to the same extent as the insurance market for the general commercial market.

Our Challenges

Our business faces significant challenges that can impede our goal of growing our business while realizing operating profits, including the following:

Changes in the Economy

Factors such as business revenue, consumer spending, the volatility and strength of the capital markets, and inflation can all affect the business and economic environment. These same factors affect our ability to generate revenue and profits. Insurance premiums in our market are heavily dependent upon our customer revenues, payroll, property values, and ability to operate their businesses as normal. In an economic downturn characterized by higher unemployment, declines in spending and disposable income, the demand for insurance products is adversely affected. Changes in the economy may lead our customers to have less need for insurance coverage, to modify coverage or to not renew with the Company, all of which affect our ability to generate revenue.

Estimating Our Loss Reserves.

We maintain loss reserves to cover our estimated ultimate liability for unpaid losses and settlement expenses for reported and unreported claims incurred as of the end of each accounting period. These reserves represent management’s estimates of what the ultimate settlement and administration of claims will cost. Pursuant to applicable insurance regulations, these reserves are reviewed by an independent actuary on at least an annual basis. Setting reserves is inherently uncertain and there can be no assurance that current or future reserves will prove adequate. If our loss reserves are inadequate, it will have an unfavorable impact on our results. See Item 1. Business — Losses and Settlement Expense for a summary of the favorable and unfavorable developments in our loss reserves in the previous 10-year period.

Reliance on Independent Agents.

Our product is distributed through a contracted network of primarily independent insurance agents. Agents are typically contracted with a number of insurance carriers. The producers within an agency will determine which product is most appropriate to recommend to their client or prospective client. The agency will select a product based on a variety of factors such as: premium; coverage; service including billing and claims; agency compensation; and agency/company relationship. Establishing and maintaining long-term financially successful agency relationships is very important to the long-term success of a company. As discussed previously, we acquired Guild Insurance, Inc. in the fourth quarter of 2023. We do not anticipate this will have a material impact on our agency relationships.

Maintaining Our Financial Strength Ratings.

In June 2021, A.M. Best upgraded ICC’s financial strength rating to "A-" from "B++" stable outlook. This rating was reaffirmed as of August 10, 2023. A key to achieving our goal of significant growth in our premiums written is maintaining an A.M. Best rating of "A-" or better. Increasing our capitalization and maintaining strong operating performance are significant rating components reviewed by A.M. Best. This is combined with a review of various other rating requirements. If we are not able to increase our rating or if A.M. Best downgrades our rating, it is likely that we will not be able to compete as effectively and our ability to sell insurance policies could decline. As a result, our financial results would be adversely affected. A.M. Best reviews our rating approximately once per year.

Attracting, Developing and Retaining Experienced Personnel.

To sustain our growth as a property and casualty insurance company operating in a specialty niche market, we must continue to attract, develop, and retain management, marketing, distribution, underwriting, customer service, and claims personnel with expertise in the products we offer. The loss of key personnel, or our inability to recruit, develop, and retain additional qualified personnel, could materially and adversely affect our business, growth, and profitability.

Competitive Strengths

Our opportunity for growth is driven by our competitive strengths, which include the following:

Use of Data and Metrics to Improve our Underwriting Results.

Our analysis of data available through both governmental and other industry resources, combined with our internal data, drives our underwriting and pricing decisions. We have developed a multi-variant risk grading system and pricing algorithms that combine both objective and subjective inputs that drive both whether to provide coverage and pricing. This information helps us avoid providing coverage to higher risk insureds while improving our overall risk profile. Most risks we insure are inspected within the first 60 days of policy binding, which permits us to cancel the policy if we determine that the insured is not an acceptable risk or pricing is inadequate. Each inspection consists of an extensive risk profile questionnaire as well as 25 to 100 pictures of the insured’s place of business. We believe this approach reduces claims frequency.

Focus on niche food and beverage business.

We target niche markets within the food and beverage industry that support adequate pricing and believe we can adapt to changing market needs ahead of our competitors through our strategic focus. We develop and deliver specialty insurance products priced to meet our customers’ needs and strive to generate consistent underwriting profit. We believe that our extensive experience and expertise specific to underwriting and claims management in the food and beverage industry will allow continued loss ratio improvement going forward. The Company is committed to retaining this underwriting and claim handling expertise as a core competency as the volume of business increases.

Strong market presence with name recognition and long-standing producer relationships.

We have been writing insurance for the food and beverage industry in Illinois since 1950. Approximately 23.1% of current direct premium was generated in Illinois for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Great care is taken in building the ICC brand in all states of operation and the Company holds a significant market share in nearly all states serviced. ICC acknowledges that each state, each agency, and each customer is unique. A commitment to the quality of products and services is universally important and recognized.

Scalable operations positioned for growth.

We are focused on automation and operating efficiencies across our core functional areas. We have consistently increased premium per full time equivalent employee for five consecutive years with the exception of 2020 during which we experienced a decrease in written premium per full time equivalent employee due to the disproportionate negative impact COVID-19 had on the Company’s market niche. We believe we are well positioned in both terms of personnel and systems to increase written premiums and to expand into new geographic markets with better than industry level profitability using the efficient operating infrastructure we have developed.

Experienced management team.

We are managed by an experienced group of executives led by Arron K. Sutherland, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sutherland has served in his current position since June 2010, joined ICC in 2006 and has worked in the insurance industry for over 26 years. Michael R. Smith, our Vice President – Chief Financial Officer, has served with ICC since 2011. Mr. Smith has more than 26 years of experience in the insurance industry. Howard J. Beck, our Vice President – Chief Underwriting Officer, has been with ICC since 2004 and has 31 years of insurance experience and 27 years of property and casualty underwriting experience. Norman D. Schmeichel, our Vice President – Chief Information Officer, has served with ICC since 2002. Mr. Schmeichel has more than 26 years of experience in information technologies and 19 years of experience in the insurance industry. Additionally, Julia B. Suiter, our Vice President – Chief Legal Officer, has served with ICC since 2009 and has over 26 years of experience in insurance defense and contract law. Kathleen S. Springer, our Vice President – Chief Human Resources Officer, has served with ICC since 2008 and has over 26 years of experience in benefits, compensation, and talent acquisition and more than 12 years of experience in the insurance industry. As a group, our executive officers have on average more than 24 years’ experience in the property and casualty insurance industry.

Products

ICC has specialized in the food and beverage industry since 1950. Our product language is based on Insurance Services Offices (ISO) forms, which is an industry standard, but tailored to the specific needs of our clients. We began by writing liquor liability or dram shop insurance and that remains a prominent line of business today. Commercial property and liability are written in a single policy as a business owners policy (BOP). ICC also writes workers’ compensation and commercial umbrella policies which are written as complementary lines to the BOP and liquor liability and are not offered on a stand-alone basis. As of December 31, 2023, ICC had 5,904 BOP policies, 7,095 liquor liability policies, 1,710 workers’ compensation policies, and 1,512 commercial umbrella policies. 89.7% of BOP policies and 96.5% of liquor liability policies are for either restaurants or taverns. While we do not currently write commercial auto insurance, we do insure risks associated with the delivery of food or beverage.

Lloyd's Syndicates

On December 12, 2023, the Company became a member of Lloyd's through ICC Re Limited. As a member of Lloyd's, the Company is required to maintain capital at Lloyd's, referred to as Funds at Lloyd's (FAL), to support underwriting of property and casualty and reinsurance business.

Marketing and Distribution

Our commercial insurance product is sold by over 184 independent insurance agents, also referred to as producers. These agencies access multiple insurance companies and are typically established businesses in the communities in which they operate. We view these agents as our primary customers because they are in a position to recommend either our insurance products or those of a competitor to their customers. We consider our relationships with these agencies to be a core strength of the Company. As discussed previously, we acquired Guild Insurance, Inc. in the fourth quarter of 2023. We do not anticipate this will have a material impact on our agency relationships.

We manage our producers through quarterly business reviews utilizing various internally generated reports. Our quantitative agency review (QAR) measures each agency on a variety of weighted metrics and ranks them from high to low. The measurement is updated on a weekly basis and is available for all company employees’ review.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, three of our producers were responsible for more than 5% of our direct premiums written and our top 10 producers accounted for approximately 42.0% of direct premiums written.

Our agency partners are supported by our Marketing Department. These representatives also identify and train new agents. We conduct regularly scheduled webinars for agents as well as onsite training on company products and services. These include technical training about our products as well as sales training to effectively market our products. We also offer our agents industry specific training that qualifies for continuing education credit for state insurance license requirements.

Agents are compensated through a fixed base commission with an opportunity for profit sharing depending on the producer’s premiums written and profitability. Agents receive commission as a percentage of premiums (generally 15% for most lines, except workers' compensation policies which are generally at 7.5%) as their primary compensation from us. We offer a contingent compensation plan as an incentive for producers to place high-quality business with us and to support our loss control efforts. We believe that the contingent compensation paid to our producers is comparable with those offered by other insurance companies and is designed to reward agents for growth and profitability.

Our marketing efforts are also supported by our claims, litigation, billing, underwriting, and loss control departments. As industry specialists, we can offer expertise in all interactions with agents and/or policyholders. For example, our claims philosophy is to provide prompt and efficient service and claims processing, resulting in a positive experience for both the agents and policyholders. We take an aggressive, defense-oriented position on third party liability claims, which is recognized and appreciated by our policyholders. We believe that these positive experiences result in higher policyholder retention and create new business opportunities for our agents. While we rely on our agents for front line distribution and customer support, underwriting, billing, loss control, and claim handling responsibilities are retained by us. Many of our agents have had direct relationships with us for a number of years.

Underwriting, Risk Assessment and Pricing

Our underwriting philosophy is aimed at consistently generating profits through sound risk selection, stringent loss control, and pricing discipline. One key element in sound risk selection is our use of risk characteristic metrics. Through our practice of focused underwriting, we have identified predictive metrics of data that many other insurance companies do not recognize or measure. Use of these metrics allows us to more effectively price risks, thereby improving our profitability and allowing us to compete favorably with other insurance carriers. We are also very active in leveraging our onsite loss control inspections. An example would be the monitoring of kitchen fire suppression systems servicing to reduce kitchen fire losses.

Our philosophy is to understand our industry and be disciplined in our underwriting efforts. We will not compromise profitability for top line growth.

Our competitive strategy in underwriting is:

Our underwriting department works in teams with each agent assigned to one of two teams. We underwrite our accounts by evaluating each risk with consistently applied standards. Each policy undergoes a thorough evaluation process prior to every renewal.

Our underwriting staff of 26 employees has an average of 11 years of insurance industry experience. Howard J. Beck, our Vice President – Chief Underwriting Officer, has been with ICC since 2004 and has over 31 years of insurance experience with 27 years of property and casualty underwriting experience. .

We strive to be disciplined in our pricing by pursuing targeted rate changes to continually improve our underwriting profitability while still being able to attract and retain profitable customers. Our pricing reviews involve evaluating our claims experience, loss trends, data acquired from inspections, applications, and other data sources to identify characteristics that drive the frequency and severity of our claims. These results drive changes to rates and rating metrics as well as understanding what portions of our business are most profitable.

This knowledge and analysis enables us to price risks accurately, improve account retention, and drive profitable new business.

Claims and Litigation Management

Our claims team supports our underwriting strategy by working to provide a timely, good faith claims handling response to our policyholders. Claims excellence is achieved by timely investigation and handling of claims, settlement of meritorious claims for equitable amounts, maintenance of adequate case reserves, and control of claims loss settlement expenses.

Claims on insurance policies are received directly from the insured or through our independent agents. Our claims department supports our producer relationship strategy by working to provide a consistently responsive level of claim service to our policyholders.

Vice President – Chief Legal Officer, Julia Suiter, provides oversight of our claims and legal departments. She has over 26 years of experience in insurance defense litigation and contract law. Ms. Suiter, supervises a legal department staff that includes a Litigation Manager, Litigation Counsel, a Paralegal, a Claims Manager, and a claims staff of 19 employees with considerable years of experience in processing property and casualty insurance claims.

Technology

Our technology efforts are focused on supporting our strategy of differentiating ourselves from our competitors through use of data mining, business intelligence solutions, and data analysis to determine profitability of new and existing business and to better price risks that we underwrite.

We have streamlined internal processes to achieve operational efficiencies through the implementation of a policy and claim imaging and workflow system. This system provides online access to electronic copies of policies, quotes, inspections, and any other correspondence enabling our associates to quickly and efficiently underwrite policies, adjust claims, and respond to our producers’ inquiries.

Since the system integrates all aspects of the policy life cycle, from underwriting to billing to claims, we can better automate all internal workflows through electronic routing thus lowering costs and providing better service to our customers. This system allows us to leverage loss control data for predictive analytics in both the claims and underwriting areas. For example, in the underwriting area, we can create pricing models taking into account the unique characteristics of our customers, such as neighborhoods, entertainment on site, and average alcoholic beverage pricing.

We have implemented best in class virus or malware protections while still enabling our employees to work from any location. We are tested on a periodic basis to ensure our protections are sufficient.

We have the ability to scale since we are almost entirely a paperless organization. This allows us to integrate off-site employees just as if they are in the office. We intend to remain a leader in the industry by utilizing technology and data analysis to price our coverage based on the risk assumed and to both reduce accidents and provide a prompt response to claims.

As part of our disaster recovery program, we utilize a third-party backup software package to provide a complete copy of our production systems at an off-site location that is updated on a daily basis. We also have a generator that will allow the home office to operate in the event power or access to our headquarters is disrupted. We test this disaster recovery plan annually as well as continually expand its capabilities to eliminate business interruption to the best of our ability.

Reinsurance

In accordance with insurance industry practice, we reinsure a portion of our exposure and pay to the reinsurers a portion of the premiums received on all policies reinsured. Insurance policies written by us are reinsured with other insurance companies principally to:

Reinsurance can be facultative or treaty. Under facultative reinsurance, each policy or portion of a risk is reinsured individually. Under treaty reinsurance, an agreed-upon portion of a class of business is automatically reinsured. Reinsurance also can be classified as quota share reinsurance, pro rata reinsurance or excess of loss reinsurance. Under quota share reinsurance and pro rata reinsurance, the insurance company issuing the policy cedes a percentage of its insurance liability to the reinsurer in exchange for a like percentage of premiums, less a ceding commission. The company issuing the policy in turn recovers from the reinsurer the reinsurer’s share of all loss and settlement expenses incurred on those risks. Under excess of loss reinsurance, an insurer limits its liability to all or a particular portion of the amount in excess of a predetermined deductible or retention. Regardless of type, reinsurance does not legally discharge the insurance company issuing the policy from primary liability for the full amount due under the reinsured policies. However, the assuming reinsurer is obligated to reimburse the company issuing the policy to the extent of the coverage ceded.

We determine the amount and scope of reinsurance coverage to purchase each year based on a number of factors. These factors include the evaluation of the risks accepted, consultations with reinsurance intermediates and a review of market conditions, including the availability and pricing of reinsurance. A primary factor in the selection of reinsurers from whom we purchase reinsurance is their financial strength. Our reinsurance arrangements are generally renegotiated annually. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we ceded to reinsurers $10.5 million of written premiums, compared to $9.5 million of written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2022. We expect 2024’s reinsurance spend to increase slightly over 2023.

The chart below illustrates the 2024 reinsurance coverage under our excess of loss treaty for individual liability and property risks (with the defined terms following the chart):

We retain the first $1.0 million of workers’ compensation losses. Losses in excess of the $1.0 million are covered under our casualty excess of loss program within the Casualty XOL Tower up to $11.0 million. Above $11.0 million, losses are covered under a workers’ compensation cover within the WC XOL Tower that provides $14.5 million in excess of $11.0 million. We have an additional cover that provides $15.0 million of coverage in excess of $25.5 million.

Casualty risks (Casualty XOL Tower) (business owners liability other than hired and non-owned auto, liquor liability, and umbrella) are covered for $10.0 million in loss above a $1.0 million retention for each loss occurrence. Hired and non-owned losses have a $750,000 retention instead of the standard $1.0 million retention on casualty. The Company only offers limits up to $2.0M and accordingly buys reinsurance up to the $2.0M limit.

Property per risk excess of loss program (Property Per Risk XOL Tower) provides coverage above our $1.0 million retention up to $12.0 million on a treaty basis and facultative for a few risks above that to their full limits.

Property catastrophe reinsurance (Section A Property Cat Occurrence) provides coverage in any one event for $13.5 million of loss in excess of our $1.5 million retention.

The insolvency or inability of any reinsurer to meet its obligations to us could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Our reinsurance providers, the majority of whom are longstanding partners who understand our business, are all carefully selected with the help of our reinsurance broker. We monitor the solvency of reinsurers through regular review of their financial statements and, if available, their A.M. Best ratings. All of our reinsurance partners have at least an "A-" rating from A.M. Best. According to A.M. Best, companies with a rating of "A-" or better "have an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders."

The following table sets forth the largest amounts of loss and loss expenses unpaid and recoverable from reinsurers as of December 31, 2023:

Losses and Settlement Expense Reserves

We are required by applicable insurance laws and regulations to maintain reserves for payment of loss and settlement expenses. These reserves are established for both reported claims and for claims incurred but not reported (IBNR), arising from the policies we have issued. The laws and regulations require that provision be made for the ultimate cost of those claims without regard to how long it takes to settle them or the time value of money. The determination of reserves involves actuarial and statistical projections of what we expect to be the cost of the ultimate settlement and administration of such claims. The reserves are set based on facts and circumstances then known, estimates of future trends in claims severity, and other variable factors such as inflation and changing judicial theories of liability.

Estimating the ultimate liability for losses and settlement expense is an inherently uncertain process. Therefore, the reserve for losses and settlement expense does not represent an exact calculation of that liability. Our reserve policy recognizes this uncertainty by maintaining reserves at a level providing for the possibility of adverse development relative to the estimation process. We do not discount our reserves to recognize the time value of money.

When a claim is reported to us, our claims personnel establish a "case reserve" for the estimated amount of the ultimate payment. This estimate reflects an informed judgment based upon general insurance reserving practices and on the experience and knowledge of our claims staff. In estimating the appropriate reserve, our claims staff considers the nature and value of the specific claim, the severity of injury or damage, and the policy provisions relating to the type of loss. Case reserves are adjusted by our claims staff as more information becomes available. It is our policy to resolve each claim as expeditiously as possible.

We maintain IBNR reserves to provide for already incurred claims that have not yet been reported and developments on reported claims. The IBNR reserve is determined by estimating our ultimate net liability for both reported and IBNR claims and then subtracting the case reserves and paid loss and settlement expense for reported claims.

Each quarter, we compute our estimated ultimate liability using principles and procedures applicable to the lines of business written. However, because the establishment of loss reserves is an inherently uncertain process, we cannot provide assurance that ultimate losses will not exceed the established loss reserves. Adjustments in aggregate reserves, if any, are reflected in the operating results of the period during which such adjustments are made.

The following table provides information about open claims, reserves, and paid loss and settlement expense on a direct basis only:

The following table provides a reconciliation of beginning and ending unpaid losses and settlement expense reserve balances for the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, prepared in accordance with GAAP.

¹ See page 71 for an explanation of CECL.

The estimation process for determining the liability for unpaid losses and settlement expense inherently results in adjustments each year for claims incurred (but not paid) in preceding years. Negative amounts reported for claims incurred related to prior years are a result of claims being settled for amounts less than originally estimated (favorable development). Positive amounts reported for claims incurred related to prior years are a result of claims being settled for amounts greater than originally estimated (unfavorable or adverse development).

Reconciliation of Reserve for Loss and Settlement Expenses

The following table shows the development of our reserves for unpaid loss and settlement expense from 2014 through 2023 on a GAAP basis. The top line of the table shows the liabilities at the balance sheet date, including losses incurred but not yet reported. The upper portion of the table shows the cumulative amounts subsequently paid as of successive years with respect to the liability. The lower portion of the table shows the re-estimated amount of the previously recorded liability based on experience as of the end of each succeeding year. The estimates change as more information becomes known about the frequency and severity of claims for individual years. The redundancy (deficiency) exists when the re-estimated liability for each reporting period is less (greater) than the prior liability estimate. The "cumulative redundancy (deficiency)" depicted in the table, for any particular calendar year, represents the aggregate change in the initial estimates over all subsequent calendar years.

Gross deficiencies and redundancies may be significantly more or less than net deficiencies and redundancies due to the nature and extent of applicable reinsurance.

As noted in the table below, since 2014 the Company has principally selected initial ultimate loss picks that have proven to be deficient over time.

Investments

Our investments in debt are classified as available for sale (AFS) and are carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses reflected as a component of comprehensive earnings and equity net of deferred taxes. Our investments in equity securities are carried at fair value with subsequent changes in fair value recorded in net earnings. The goal of our investment activities is to complement and support our overall mission. As such, the investment portfolio’s goal is to maximize after-tax investment income and price appreciation while maintaining the portfolio’s target risk profile. Our returns on these investments are subject to changes in interest rates, credit markets, equity prices, and numerous other factors beyond our control and can affect the value of our investments.

An important component of our operating results has been the return on invested assets. Our investment objectives are (i) to preserve and grow capital and surplus, in order to improve our competitive position and allow for expansion of insurance operations; (ii) to ensure sufficient cash flow and liquidity to fund expected liability payments and otherwise support our underwriting strategy; (iii) to provide a reasonable and stable level of income; and (iv) to maintain a portfolio which will assist in attaining the highest possible rating from A.M. Best. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations —Quantitative and Qualitative Information about Market Risk.

In addition to any investments prohibited by the insurance laws and regulations of Illinois and any other applicable states, our investment policy prohibits the following investments and investing activities:

Our board of directors developed our investment policy and reviews the policy periodically. Exceptions to prohibitions discussed above are allowed only with express authorization by the board of directors' investment committee, but under no circumstance can such exception exceed 5% of our invested assets.

Our investment portfolio is managed by two independent third party firms. The board of directors' investment committee reviews the performance of each firm periodically.

The following table sets forth information concerning our investments in available for sale (AFS) securities, as of December 31:

The following table summarizes the distribution of our portfolio of fixed maturity investments as a percentage of total estimated fair value based on credit ratings assigned by Standard & Poor’s Corporation (S&P), as of December 31:

¹ The ratings set forth in this table are based on the ratings assigned by S&P. If S&P’s ratings were unavailable, the equivalent ratings supplied by Moody’s Investor Service, Fitch Investors Service, Inc. or the NAIC were used where available.

² Represents percent of fair value for classification as a percent of the total portfolio.

The table below sets forth the maturity profile of our debt securities, as of December 31, 2023. Expected maturities could differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations, with or without call or prepayment penalties.

¹ Debt securities are carried at fair value in our financial statements.

On December 31, 2023, the average maturity of our fixed maturity investment portfolio was 8.4 years, and the average duration was 5.6 years. As a result, the fair value of our investments may fluctuate significantly in response to changes in interest rates. In addition, we may experience investment losses to the extent our liquidity needs require the disposition of fixed maturity securities in unfavorable interest rate environments.

We use quoted values and other data provided by independent pricing services as inputs in our process for determining fair values of our investments. The pricing services cover substantially all the securities in our portfolio for which publicly quoted values are not available. The pricing services’ evaluations represent an exit price, a good faith opinion as to what a buyer in the marketplace would pay for a security in a current sale. The pricing is based on observable inputs either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in markets that are active, quoted prices for similar securities at the measurement date, or other inputs that are observable.

Our independent third-party investment managers provide us with pricing information that they obtain from independent pricing services, to determine the fair value of our fixed maturity securities. After performing a detailed review of the information obtained from the pricing service, limited adjustments may be made by the managers to the values provided.

Our average cash and invested assets, net investment income, and return on average cash and invested assets for the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022 were as follows:

A.M. Best Rating

A.M. Best Company, Inc. ("A.M. Best") rates insurance companies based on factors of concern to policyholders. A.M. Best currently assigns an "A-" (Excellent) rating to ICC. This rating is the fourth highest out of 15 rating classifications. We expect that the next rating evaluation by A.M. Best will occur on May 9, 2024; therefore, the report from this evaluation has not yet been released. According to the A.M. Best guidelines, companies rated "A-" are considered by A.M. Best to have "an excellent ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations." The rating evaluates the claims paying ability of a company and is not a recommendation on the merits of an investment in our common stock.

In evaluating a company’s financial and operating performance, A.M. Best reviews:

In its ratings report on ICC, A.M. Best stated that ICC’s rating reflected ICC’s balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile, and appropriate enterprise risk management. A.M. Best also stated that ICC’s balance sheet reflects the company’s strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) and its favorable underwriting leverage measures compared with the commercial casualty composite averages. A.M. Best has assigned the Parent Company’s outlook to the Issuer Credit Rating as stable.

Competition

Our competition varies geographically based upon the states in which we operate and by the segment of the food and beverage industry (e.g., bars versus fine dining). When evaluating the franchise and fine dining segment of the food and beverage industry, we compete with national insurance carriers, such as Allied Insurance Company, Travelers Insurance Company, and The Hartford Insurance Company. For risks with greater alcohol and entertainment exposures, competition for liquor liability comes from primarily excess and surplus lines companies such as USLI and Conifer. In some states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) competition is primarily from Midwest based regional carriers, such as Society Mutual Insurance Company, Midwest Family Mutual Insurance Company, SPRISKA, and West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, with products targeting the food and beverage industry. Because of the challenging judicial climate in Missouri, we do not face much competition from the larger regional or national insurance companies. Most competitors are excess and surplus lines companies (E&S) especially for risks with higher alcohol sales or entertainment. In our eastern-most states of Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the primary competitors are well established national carriers with a strong presence in those states such as Auto Owners, Erie, and Cincinnati. In our most western states of Arizona and Colorado, we initially found market opportunities due to a lack of strong regional competition although the landscape has changed in both states. Society Mutual and SPRISKA are now in Colorado and Badger Mutual and SPRISKA are aggressive in Arizona. We entered Utah at a time when we are seeing other competitors reduce their appetite in that state and our main competitor is Everspan Indemnity Insurance Company. 

Despite significant competition, we believe we will continue to maintain strong market share.

¹ National Restaurant Association 

Human Capital Resources

We recognize that our employees are our most valuable asset. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workforce and promoting a culture of respect where individual viewpoints are heard. The Company’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), with oversight by the executive team, leads our talent management initiatives. The CHRO’s key responsibilities include developing programs that advocate diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Company’s recruiting, selection, training, and development practices.

The Company’s Total Rewards program is a competitive compensation package that supports the Company’s commitment to attracting and retaining a talented workforce. In addition to base salaries or hourly wages, Total Rewards includes an annual profit-sharing incentive for all employees, an executive long-term incentive plan, and retirement, health, disability, and life insurance benefits. Local, regional, and national compensation surveys are used by the Human Resources Department to ensure a competitive compensation package exists for the Company’s positions.

An important component of the annual profit-sharing incentive is the Company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), a qualified retirement plan that grants shares of the Company’s stock to eligible employees. The ESOP provides an avenue for employees to actively participate in building value in alignment with the interests of other shareholders. In addition to the ESOP, certain members of management participate in a discretionary bonus program where restricted stock units are awarded annually.

As of December 31, 2023, we had 105.5 full-time equivalent employees. None of these employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, and we believe that our employee relations are good.

Regulation

General

We are subject to extensive regulation, particularly at the state level. The method, extent, and substance of such regulation varies by state, but generally has its source in statutes and regulations that establish standards and requirements for conducting the business of insurance and that delegate regulatory authority to state insurance regulatory agencies. In general, such regulation is intended for the protection of those who purchase or use insurance products, not the companies that write the policies. These laws and regulations have a significant impact on our business and relate to a wide variety of matters including accounting methods, agent and company licensure, claims procedures, corporate governance, examinations, investing practices, policy forms, pricing, trade practices, reserve adequacy, and underwriting standards.

State insurance laws and regulations require ICC to file financial statements with state insurance departments everywhere it does business, and the operations of ICC and its accounts are subject to examination by those departments at any time. ICC prepares statutory financial statements in accordance with accounting practices and procedures prescribed or permitted by these departments.

Premium rate regulation varies greatly among jurisdictions and lines of insurance. In most states in which our subsidiary writes insurance, premium rates for the various lines of insurance are subject to either prior approval or limited review upon implementation. States require rates for property-casualty insurance that are adequate, not excessive, and not unfairly discriminatory.

Many jurisdictions have laws and regulations that limit an insurer’s ability to withdraw from a particular market. For example, states may limit an insurer’s ability to cancel or non-renew policies. Laws and regulations that limit cancellation and non-renewal may restrict our ability to exit unprofitable marketplaces in a timely manner.

Examinations

Examinations are conducted by the Illinois Department of Insurance every three to five years. The Illinois Department of Insurance last completed its examination of ICC in May 2023 covering the period from 2017-2021. The report from this exam became available to other states or the public on June 6, 2023. The 2021 examination did not result in any adjustments to our financial position. In addition, there were no substantive qualitative matters indicated in the examination report that had a material adverse impact on our operations.

NAIC Risk-Based Capital Requirements

In addition to state-imposed insurance laws and regulations, the NAIC has adopted risk-based capital requirements that require insurance companies to calculate and report information under a risk-based formula. These risk-based capital requirements attempt to measure statutory capital and surplus needs based on the risks in a company’s mix of products and investment portfolio. Under the formula, a company first determines its "authorized control level" risk-based capital. This authorized control level takes into account (i) the risk with respect to the insurer’s assets; (ii) the risk of adverse insurance experience with respect to the insurer’s liabilities and obligations, (iii) the interest rate risk with respect to the insurer’s business; and (iv) all other business risks and such other relevant risks as are set forth in the risk-based capital instructions. A company’s "total adjusted capital" is the sum of statutory capital and surplus and such other items as the risk-based capital instructions may provide. The formula is designed to allow state insurance regulators to identify weakly capitalized companies.

The requirements provide for four different levels of regulatory attention. The "company action level" is triggered if a company’s total adjusted capital is less than 2.0 times its authorized control level but greater than or equal to 1.5 times its authorized control level. At the company action level, the company must submit a comprehensive plan to the regulatory authority that discusses proposed corrective actions to improve the capital position. The "regulatory action level" is triggered if a company’s total adjusted capital is less than 1.5 times but greater than or equal to 1.0 times its authorized control level. At the regulatory action level, the regulatory authority will perform a special examination of the company and issue an order specifying corrective actions that must be followed. The "authorized control level" is triggered if a company’s total adjusted capital is less than 1.0 times but greater than or equal to 0.7 times its authorized control level; at this level, the regulatory authority may take action it deems necessary, including placing the company under regulatory control. The "mandatory control level" is triggered if a company’s total adjusted capital is less than 0.7 times its authorized control level; at this level, the regulatory authority is mandated to place the company under its control. The capital levels of ICC have never triggered any of these regulatory capital levels. We cannot provide assurance, however, that the capital requirements applicable to ICC will not increase in the future.

NAIC Ratios

The NAIC also has developed a set of 13 financial ratios referred to as the Insurance Regulatory Information System (IRIS). On the basis of statutory financial statements filed with state insurance regulators, the NAIC annually calculates these IRIS ratios to assist state insurance regulators in monitoring the financial condition of insurance companies. The NAIC has established an acceptable range for each of the IRIS financial ratios. If four or more of its IRIS ratios fall outside the range deemed acceptable by the NAIC, an insurance company may receive inquiries from individual state insurance departments. During the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, ICC did not receive inquiries from regulators on results for any of the IRIS tests.

Enterprise Risk Assessment

In 2012, the NAIC adopted the NAIC Amendments. The NAIC Amendments, when adopted by the various states, are designed to respond to perceived gaps in the regulation of insurance holding company systems in the United States. One of the major changes is a requirement that an insurance holding company system’s ultimate controlling person submit annually to its lead state insurance regulator an "enterprise risk report" that identifies activities, circumstances or events involving one or more affiliates of an insurer that, if not remedied properly, are likely to have a material adverse effect upon the financial condition or liquidity of the insurer or its insurance holding company system as a whole. Other changes include requiring a controlling person to submit prior notice to its domiciliary insurance regulator of its divestiture of control, having detailed minimum requirements for cost sharing and management agreements between an insurer and its affiliates and expanding of the agreements between an insurer and its affiliates to be filed with its domiciliary insurance regulator. In addition, in 2012 the NAIC adopted the Own Risk Solvency Assessment (ORSA) Model Act. The ORSA Model Act, when adopted by the various states, requires an insurance holding company system’s chief risk officer to submit at least annually to its lead state insurance regulator a confidential internal assessment appropriate to the nature, scale, and complexity of an insurer, conducted by that insurer of the material and relevant risks identified by the insurer associated with an insurer’s current business plan and the sufficiency of capital resources to support those risks. Although ICC is exempt from ORSA because of its size, we have incorporated elements of ORSA, that we believe constitute "best practices," into our annual internal enterprise risk assessment.

Market Conduct Regulation

State insurance laws and regulations include numerous provisions governing trade practices and the marketplace activities of insurers, including provisions governing the form and content of disclosure to consumers, illustrations, advertising, sales practices, and complaint handling. State regulatory authorities generally enforce these provisions through periodic market conduct examinations.

Property and Casualty Regulation

Our property and casualty operations are subject to rate and policy form approval, as well as laws and regulations covering a range of trade and claim settlement practices. State insurance regulatory authorities have broad discretion in approving an insurer’s proposed rates. The extent to which a state restricts underwriting and pricing of a line of business may adversely affect an insurer’s ability to operate that business profitably in that state on a consistent basis.

State insurance laws and regulations require us to participate in mandatory property-liability "shared market," "pooling" or similar arrangements that provide certain types of insurance coverage to individuals or others who otherwise are unable to purchase coverage voluntarily provided by private insurers. Shared market mechanisms include assigned risk plans and fair access to insurance requirement or "FAIR" plans. In addition, some states require insurers to participate in reinsurance pools for claims that exceed specified amounts. Our participation in these mandatory shared market or pooling mechanisms generally is related to the amount of our direct writings for the type of coverage written by the specific arrangement in the applicable state. We cannot predict the financial impact of our participation in these arrangements. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Guaranty Fund Laws

All states have guaranty fund laws under which insurers doing business in the state can be assessed to fund policyholder liabilities of insolvent insurance companies. Under these laws, an insurer is subject to assessment depending upon its market share in the state of a given line of business. For the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, we incurred $14,000 and $0, respectively, in assessments pursuant to state insurance guaranty association laws. We establish reserves relating to insurance companies that are subject to insolvency proceedings when we are notified of assessments by the guaranty associations. We cannot predict the amount and timing of any future assessments on ICC under these laws. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.