KINGSTON, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2023 / Kingstone Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:KINS) (the "Company" or "Kingstone"), a Northeast regional property and casualty insurance holding company, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. The Company will host a conference call for analysts and investors on August 11, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, as previously announced on July 13, 2023.

2023 Second Quarter Financial and Operational Highlights

(All results are compared to prior year quarterly period unless otherwise noted)

• Direct written premiums ¹ were $47.6 million, down 4.3% from $49.8 million; New York direct written premiums ¹ were up 6.2% and the other states' direct written premiums ¹ were down (45.9)%
• Net premiums earned were $29.5 million, up 5.8% from $27.9 million; New York net premiums earned were up 10.2% and the other states' net premiums earned were down (15.3)%
• Net loss ratio was 66.4%, down slightly from 66.9% for the same period last year; underlying loss ratio ¹ (i.e, excluding the impact of catastrophes and prior year loss development) improved to 61.7%, down from 65.5% in 2022
• Net underwriting expense ratio decreased to 32.5% from 36.4%
• Net combined ratio decreased to 98.9% from 103.3%
• Net combined ratio excluding catastrophes and prior year loss development ¹ was 94.3% compared to 101.9%
• Operating EBITDA ¹ increased to $1.02 million from $(5.71) million from the quarter ended March 31, 2023
• Loss per share of $(0.05) compared to loss per share of $(0.51); net operating loss per share ¹ of $(0.06) compared to $(0.17). Losses attributable to catastrophes were $(0.10) per share compared to $(0.01)
• Book value per share of $2.98, down 32.6% from the prior quarter book value per share of $4.42. Book value per share excluding Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) ¹ was $4.36
• Personal Lines Policies-In-Force declined by 8.6%; decreased by 2.3% in New York and by 27.0% in the other states.

¹ These measures are not based on accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") and are defined and reconciled below to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Management Commentary

Meryl Golden, Kingstone's Chief Operating Officer, commented, "We are delighted to have achieved an underwriting profit this quarter and with the material improvement in our financial results. Our attritional losses and expenses were lower than last year and our portfolio has stabilized. We believe the headwinds are abating and while we have more work to do to improve our business and return to consistent profitability, we feel confident that we are turning the corner."

Jennifer Gravelle, Kingstone's Chief Financial Offer, continued, "Starting this quarter we will be sharing the net loss ratio and policies-in-force for our New York personal lines business separated from the other states so you can more clearly see the progress we are making in transforming the company and returning to our roots as the premier writer of coastal property insurance in Downstate NY. We will also be sharing Operating EBITDA as we believe it better illustrates the strength of our business. We are confident that we are doing all of the right things to deliver long-term value to our shareholders."

See "Forward-Looking Statements"

Financial Highlights Table

1 These measures are not based on GAAP and are defined and reconciled below to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

The following tables contain policies in force, direct written premiums ¹ , net premiums earned, loss and loss adjustment expenses, and net loss ratio for our New York and non-New York business:

¹ These measures are not based on accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") and are defined and reconciled below to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

2022 Second Quarter Financial Review

Net loss:

Net loss during the three-month period ended June 30, 2023 was $0.5 million as compared to a net loss of $5.4 million in the prior year period. The $4.9 million decrease in net loss in the latest three-month period is primarily attributable to an increase in gains on investments of $4.7 million.

Earnings (Loss) per share ("EPS"):

Kingstone reported a loss of $(0.05) per diluted share for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to a loss of $(0.51) per diluted share for the three months ended June 30, 2022. EPS for the three-month periods ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 were based on 10.8 million and 10.7 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding, respectively.

Direct Written Premiums, ¹ Net Written Premiums ¹ and Net Premiums Earned

Direct written premiums ¹ for the second quarter of 2023 were $47.6 million, a decrease of $2.1 million, or 4.3%, from $49.8 million in the prior year period. Most of the decrease was in Personal Lines, which decreased $2.8 million, or 5.9%.

Net written premiums ¹ decreased $1.4 million, or 4.8%, to $28.6 million during the three-month period ended June 30, 2023 from $30.0 million in the prior year period. The decrease was primarily in Personal Lines, which decreased $2.1 million, or 7.7%.

Net premiums earned for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 increased 5.8% to $29.5 million, compared to $27.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. The $1.6 million increase was primarily attributable to an increase in Personal Lines of $0.9 million and Livery Physical Damage of $0.7 million.

Net Loss Ratio :

For the quarter ended June 30, 2023, the Company's net loss ratio was 66.4%, compared to 66.9% in the prior year period.

While the underlying loss ratio (i.e., net loss ratio excluding the impact of catastrophes and prior year loss development) was improved for the three months ended June 30, 2023 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2022, the catastrophe loss had a bigger impact for the 2023 period.

There were three wind events classified as catastrophes for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The total net catastrophe losses for the calendar quarter were $1.4 million, which contributed 4.7 points to the net loss ratio. This compares to a 0.4-point impact from catastrophe events for the three months ended June 30, 2022.

The underlying loss ratio was 61.7% for the three months ended June 30, 2023, a decrease of 3.8 points from the 65.5% underlying loss ratio recorded for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The loss experience for the 2023 period was improved due to lower frequency, which is believed to be the result of the Company's new Select products as well as the Company's active efforts to manage less profitable segments. Such improvement in loss experience was offset by an elevated number of large losses, similar to what was observed in the first three months of 2023.

Prior year development was stable for the three months ended June 30, 2023. There was an overall favorable development of $16,000, which had a marginal impact on the net loss ratio.

¹ These measures are not based on GAAP and are defined and reconciled below to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Net Underwriting Expense Ratio :

For the quarter ended June 30, 2023, the net underwriting expense ratio was 32.5% as compared to 36.4% in the prior year period, a decrease of 3.9 percentage points. The decrease in the quarter was primarily attributable to a reduction in commission and underwriting expenses as a percentage of net earned premium.

Balance Sheet / Investment Portfolio

Kingstone's cash and investment holdings were $175.4 million at June 30, 2023 compared to $193.8 million at June 30, 2022. The Company's investment holdings are comprised primarily of investment grade corporate, mortgage-backed and municipal securities, with fixed income investments representing approximately 89.0% of total investments at June 30, 2023 and 82.7% at June 30, 2022. The Company's effective duration on its fixed-income portfolio is 4.6 years.

Net investment income increased to $1.5 million for the second quarter of 2023 from $0.6 million in the prior year period. Last year's net investment income was understated due to the reversal of a prior year accrued interest income error in third party investment reporting. Higher interest rates on cash balances also factored into the increase.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income/Loss (AOCI), net of tax

As of June 30, 2023, AOCI was a loss of $(14.9) million compared to a loss of $(12.0) million at June 30, 2022. The decrease in AOCI at June 30, 2023 of $2.9 million as compared to June 30, 2022 is attributable to the increase in interest rates most notably occurring in Q1 and Q2 2022.

Share Repurchase Program

The Company did not repurchase any shares during the quarter.

Book Value

The Company's book value per share at June 30, 2023 was $2.98, a decline of 32.6% compared to $4.42 at June 30, 2022.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.KINGSTONECOMPANIES.COM.

Conference Call Details

Management will discuss the Company's operations and financial results in a conference call on Friday, August 11, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The dial-in numbers are:
(877) 407-3105 (U.S.)
(201) 493-6794 (International)

Accompanying Webcast

The call will be simultaneously webcast over the Internet via the Kingstone website or by clicking on the conference call link:

Kingstone Companies Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results Webcast

The webcast will be archived and accessible for approximately 30 days.

Definitions and Non-GAAP Measures

Direct written premiums represent the total premiums charged on policies issued by the Company during the respective fiscal period. Net premiums written are direct written premiums less premiums ceded to reinsurers. Net premiums earned, the GAAP measure most comparable to direct written premiums and net premiums written, are net premiums written that are pro-rata earned during the fiscal period presented. All of the Company's policies are written for a twelve-month period. Management uses direct written premiums and net premiums written, along with other measures, to gauge the Company's performance and evaluate results.

Net operating income (loss) - is net income (loss) exclusive of realized investment gains (losses), net of tax. Net income (loss) is the GAAP measure most closely comparable to net operating income (loss).

Management uses net operating income (loss) along with other measures to gauge the Company's performance and evaluate results, which can be skewed when including realized investment gains (losses), and may vary significantly between periods. Net operating income (loss) is provided as supplemental information, not as a substitute for net income (loss) and does not reflect the Company's overall profitability.

Operating EBITDA - is net income (loss) exclusive of interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization, and realized investment gains (losses). Net income (loss) is the GAAP measure most closely comparable to operating EBITDA.

Management uses operating EBITDA along with other measures to gauge the Company's performance and evaluate results, which can be skewed when including interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization, and realized investment gains (losses), and may vary significantly between periods. Operating EBITDA is provided as supplemental information, not as a substitute for net income (loss) and does not reflect the Company's overall profitability.

Book value per share excluding accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income - is book value per share excluding the impact of accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income or AOCI. Management uses book value per share excluding accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income to evaluate the results to exclude the impact of interest rate changes on our fixed income portfolio.

Net combined ratio excluding effect of catastrophes and prior year loss development - is a non-GAAP ratio, which is computed as the difference between GAAP net combined ratio and the effect of catastrophes and prior year loss development on the net combined ratio.

We believe that these ratios are useful to investors and they are used by management to reveal the trends in our business that may be obscured by catastrophe losses and prior year loss development. Catastrophe losses cause our loss ratios to vary significantly between periods as a result of their incidence of occurrence and magnitude, and can have a significant impact on the net loss ratio and net combined ratio. Prior year loss development can cause our loss ratio to vary significantly between periods and separating this information allows us to better compare the results for the current accident period over time. We believe these measures are useful for investors to evaluate these components separately and in the aggregate when reviewing our underwriting performance. We also provide them to facilitate a comparison to our outlook on the net combined ratio excluding the effect of catastrophes and prior year loss development. The most directly comparable GAAP measure is the net combined ratio. The net combined ratio excluding the effect of catastrophes and prior year loss development should not be considered a substitute for the net combined ratio and does not reflect the Company's net combined ratio.

The table below reconciles direct written premiums and net written premiums to net premiums earned for the periods presented:

The following table reconciles net operating loss to net loss for the periods indicated:

The following table reconciles operating EBITDA to net loss for the periods indicated:

The following table reconciles book value per share excluding accumulated other comprehensive loss to book value per share as of the dates indicated:

The following table reconciles the net combined ratio excluding catastrophes and prior year loss development to the net combined ratio for the periods presented:

The following table reconciles the net combined ratio excluding catastrophes to the net combined ratio for the periods presented:

The following table reconciles the net loss ratio excluding catastrophes and prior year loss development to the net loss ratio for the periods presented:

The following table summarizes gross and net written premiums, net premiums earned, net loss and loss adjustment expenses and net loss ratio by major product type, which were determined based primarily on similar economic characteristics and risks of loss.

1. "Other" includes, among other things, premiums and loss and loss adjustment expenses from our participation in a mandatory state joint underwriting association and loss and loss adjustment expenses from commercial auto.
2. In July 2019, the Company decided that it will no longer underwrite Commercial Liability risks. See discussions above regarding the discontinuation of this line of business.
3. See discussion with regard to "Direct Written Premiums, Net Written Premiums and Net Premiums Earned" above.
4. See discussions above with regard to "Net Loss Ratio".

About Kingstone Companies, Inc.

Kingstone is a northeast regional property and casualty insurance holding company whose principal operating subsidiary is Kingstone Insurance Company ("KICO"). KICO is a New York domiciled carrier writing business through retail and wholesale agents and brokers. KICO offers primarily personal lines insurance products in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Kingstone is also licensed in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Maine.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, may be forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. For more details on factors that could affect expectations, see Part I, Item 1A ("Risk Factors") of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Part I, Item 2 of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2023 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following:

• As a property and casualty insurer, we may face significant losses from catastrophes and severe weather events.
• Unanticipated increases in the severity or frequency of claims may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
• We are exposed to significant financial and capital markets risk which may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and our net investment income can vary from period to period.
• The insurance industry is subject to extensive regulation that may affect our operating costs and limit the growth of our business, and changes within this regulatory environment may adversely affect our operating costs and limit the growth of our business.
• Changing climate conditions may adversely affect our financial condition, profitability or cash flows.
• Because a significant portion of our revenue is currently derived from sources located in New York, our business may be adversely affected by conditions in such state.
• We are highly dependent on a relatively small number of insurance brokers for a large portion of our revenues.
• Actual claims incurred may exceed current reserves established for claims, which may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
• We rely on our information technology and telecommunication systems, and the failure of these systems could materially and adversely affect our business.

Kingstone undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

CONTACT:

Kingstone Companies, Inc.
Jennifer Gravelle
Chief Financial Officer
(845) 768-1970

SOURCE: Kingstone Companies, Inc.