Horace Mann Reports $31M-$34M In Weather-Related Losses

State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL)

July 14--More than a dozen severe wind and hail storms contributed to catastrophic losses totaling $31 million to $34 million from April through June, according to an update Horace Mann Educators Corp. released prior to its regular earnings report.

The Springfield insurance and financial services company released a similar early report in 2016 as a result of weather-related losses that were higher than projected. Tuesday's update comes after the company reported record catastrophic losses of $17.2 million from wind, hail and tornadoes in the first three months of the year.

"The high level of storm activity we experienced in the first quarter continued in the second quarter," President and CEO Marita Zuraitis said in the report. "We continued to experience a significant amount of severe convective storm activity, and as a result, both catastrophic and non-catastrophic weather-related losses were higher than levels we typically see based on our historic loss patterns."

The company reported losses from 16 severe wind and hail storms from April through June, with the greatest losses resulting from hail storms in Colorado in May and Minnesota in June. The $31 million to $34 million estimate equals 49 cents to 53 cents per share, according to the company. Horace Mann expects to provide additional information in a regular earnings report later this month.

Nationwide industry losses totaling $7.3 billion in the first three months of the year were the highest since the Northridge earthquake of 1994, according to a June report from the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. Three severe wind storms alone accounted for $1 billion.

Industry profits of $7.7 billion in the first three months of the year were down 42.2 percent from the same period of 2016, according to the association.