Horace Mann Educators First-Quarter Profit Up 20.8% on Property/Casualty Business
April 23, 2015 by Fran Matso Lysiak, senior associate editor, BestWeek: fran.lysiak@ambest.com
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Horace Mann Educators Corp.’s first-quarter 2015 profit increased 20.8%, led by its property/casualty insurance business.
Net income rose to $34.3 million.
“Led by improvement in property and casualty segment earnings, Horace Mann produced a strong start to 2015,” said Marita Zuraitis, president and chief executive officer, in a statement. The property/casualty combined ratio in the quarter improved 3.3. points to 90.4, “reflecting continued improvement in underlying results for both auto and property, partially offset by an increase in catastrophe losses,” she said. The segment saw improvements in frequency and severity, the company said.
Property/casualty insurance net income increased 26% to $17.6 million.
The Springfield, Illinois-based Horace Mann said it’s the largest national multiline insurance company focusing on educators. The company sells automobile and homeowners insurance, annuities, life insurance and other financial products.
Total first-quarter revenues increased 3.4% to $270.1 million.
Net income in Horace Mann’s annuity business was “slightly higher than the prior year, despite the pressures of the interest rate environment,” Zuraitis said. Sales of annuities were up nearly 30% in the quarter, led by sales of its indexed annuity product, she said.
In the life insurance business, net income fell 12.8% to $3.4 million. The decline was due to higher mortality losses, Zuraitis said.
Horace Mann Insurance Co. currently has a Best’s Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent).
Early afternoon April 23, Horace Mann Educators Corp. (NYSE: HMN) stock was trading at $36.40 a share, up 4% from the previous close.