SPRINGFIELD, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2019:

“Horace Mann has entered the second half of 2019 well positioned for long-term success with the completion of several important transactions. At the same time, second-quarter underlying results showed the benefits of additional progress on internal initiatives. Catastrophe losses were in line with our guidance,” said President and CEO Marita Zuraitis. “We are better equipped than ever before to meet the financial needs of the education market and advance our long-term growth strategy.

“Reinsuring our legacy annuity block in June released capital that we used to acquire National Teachers Associates. The reinsurance transaction also significantly reduced future interest-spread risk. Completing the NTA acquisition in July diversified our business mix and redeployed capital into higher-margin products.

“The end result is a larger, more diverse company that is poised for strong earnings growth and accelerated shareholder value creation,” Zuraitis noted, “Return on equity is expected to move closer to double digits as we leverage our improved business mix and focus on initiatives to enhance growth and profitability. For 2019, we’ve modestly increased our guidance for core EPS to $2.05 to $2.25, reflecting second quarter results. The contribution of NTA’s earnings in the second half of the year will be offset by the lower Retirement core earnings following the reinsurance transaction, which began in the second quarter.”

On July 1, 2019, Horace Mann completed the acquisition of NTA and will begin reporting NTA results as its Supplemental segment beginning in the third quarter of 2019. As a part of Horace Mann, NTA will continue to provide supplemental insurance products to the education market, building on nearly 50 years of experience in the sector. NTA specializes in developing, marketing and underwriting supplemental insurance products, including cancer and heart.

Property and Casualty Segment Sees 6.3 Point Improvement in Underlying Loss Ratio; Catastrophe Losses In Line With Guidance

(All comparisons vs. same period in 2018, unless noted otherwise)

For the second quarter of 2019, the Property and Casualty combined ratio was 103.8% on improved underwriting results and modest favorable reserve development, with net income and core earnings of $5.1 million. Rate actions were the primary factor in the slight increase in written premiums, as well as in the 5.9 point improvement in the auto underlying loss ratio and the 7.3 point improvement in the property underlying loss ratio. For the first six months of 2019, the combined ratio was 99.7%, a strong result considering the seasonality of catastrophe losses.

Second-quarter catastrophe losses were $22.1 million. Guidance for full-year 2019 catastrophe losses remains $45 to $55 million, as second-quarter events were expected to drive 50% of the total for the year. Losses in this year’s second quarter were from 17 wind, thunderstorm and hail events, the most significant of which was a severe storm in late May that affected customers from Colorado to the East Coast.

Auto and property policy retention rates for the current quarter were 81.3% and 87.7%, respectively, which are slightly below full year 2018 retention rates.

Retirement Segment Benefits from Net Investment Spread of 233 Basis Points

Effective April 1, 2019, Horace Mann reinsured a block of approximately $2.9 billion of policy liabilities related to legacy individual annuities written in 2002 or earlier. The block includes $2.2 billion of fixed annuities that represented approximately 50% of Horace Mann’s fixed annuity assets under management at March 31, 2019, and $700 million of variable annuities. Investments supporting the reinsured fixed annuity block were transferred to a dedicated trust controlled by the reinsurer.

The annuity reinsurance transaction is accounted for under the deposit method. Under the deposit method of accounting, the consideration paid by Horace Mann is reported as a deposit asset on reinsurance that is adjusted consistent with the reinsurance agreement terms, along with recognizing accreted investment income. Accreted investment income is calculated based on the ultimate anticipated cash flows from the annuity reinsurance transaction.

As a result of the reinsurance transaction, in the second quarter management impaired $28.0 million of goodwill that had been associated with the Retirement segment.

(All comparisons vs. same period in 2018, unless noted otherwise)

As of June 30, 2019, Horace Mann had $4.2 billion in assets under management, which included $2.2 billion in fixed annuities, $1.6 billion of variable annuities and $0.4 billion of fixed indexed annuities. The average crediting rate on traditional fixed annuities was 2.5% in the second quarter, down from 3.6% in the first quarter due to the reinsurance transaction. Assets under administration were up from a year ago due to the inclusion of Benefit Consultants Group’s (BCG) advisory and recordkeeping assets effective January 2, 2019.

Annuity sales deposits* increased 8.8% in the second quarter on higher demand from educators for the retirement savings solutions we offer. Total cash value persistency remained strong at 94.3% for variable annuities and 93.9% for fixed annuities.

The reinsurance transaction was the primary driver of second quarter results. Unfavorable DAC unlocking was largely due to the accelerated amortization of the DAC asset associated with the reinsured block. The annualized net interest spread for the second quarter was 233 basis points, up from 142 points in the first quarter, benefiting from the lower average deferred crediting rate on the retained block of fixed annuities.

Life Segment Sales and Earnings Consistent with Prior Year

(All comparisons vs. same period in 2018, unless noted otherwise)

Demand remains healthy in the education market for life products. Recurring premium product sales were flat with the strong prior year quarter. The decline in total Life sales* was due to a lower level of single premium product sales.

Life core earnings* were down $0.7 million for the quarter due to lower net investment income. Life persistency of 95.5% was slightly better than the prior year period.

Investment Results Impacted by Reinsurance Transaction

Total net investment income includes net investment income on the investment portfolio managed by Horace Mann as well as accreted investment income on the deposit asset on reinsurance.

(All comparisons vs. same period in 2018, unless noted otherwise)

Total net investment income declined 3.7%. Pretax investment portfolio yield declined 12 basis points from the prior year due to lower new money rates and prepayments that were somewhat offset by continued strong returns on alternative investments.

Due to the reinsurance transaction, Horace Mann recognized a pretax realized investment gain of $135.3 million, or $106.9 million after tax, related to the transferred assets. Other pretax net investment gains of $11.0 million were primarily due to gains on securities sold to partially fund the purchase of NTA. Net unrealized investment gains on fixed maturity securities increased significantly from last year due to a decline in interest rates, which has resulted in higher fair values of fixed maturity securities.

Capital Position Supports Business Investments

At June 30, 2019, shareholders’ equity was $1.5 billion, or $36.41 per share. Excluding net unrealized investment gains on fixed maturity securities, shareholders’ equity was $1.2 billion, or $31.48 per share. The improvement in book value excluding unrealized investment gains on fixed maturity securities primarily reflected the realized gain on assets transferred in the annuity reinsurance transaction.

Second-quarter expenses of $2.4 million, after tax, related to the reinsurance and NTA transactions were included in the Corporate and Other segment. On June 24, 2019, Horace Mann replaced its current line of credit with a new five-year Credit Agreement that increased the amount available on this senior revolving credit facility to $225 million from $150 million. On July 1, the Company utilized the credit line to partially fund the acquisition of NTA. As of August 1, 2019, $135 million was outstanding on the line of credit with the debt-to-capital ratio at 24.6%.

Quarterly Webcast

Horace Mann’s senior management will discuss the company’s second quarter financial results with investors on August 6, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call will be webcast live at investors.horacemann.com and archived later in the day for replay.

About Horace Mann

Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE: HMN) is the largest financial services company focused on providing America’s educators and school employees with insurance and retirement solutions. Founded by Educators for Educators^® in 1945, the company is headquartered in Springfield, Illinois. For more information, visit horacemann.com.

Safe Harbor Statement and Non-GAAP Measures

Statements included in this news release that are not historical in nature are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Horace Mann is not under any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Please refer to the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2019 and the company’s past and future filings and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for information concerning important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Information contained in this news release include measures which are based on methodologies other than accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the closest GAAP measures are contained in the Appendix to the Investor Supplement and additional descriptions of the non-GAAP measures are contained in the Glossary of Selected Terms included as an exhibit to the company’s SEC filings.