The invested assets of the insurance company subsidiaries consist substantially of marketable, investment grade debt securities, and include U.S. government securities, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, mutual funds and collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), in addition to some recent investments made into limited partnership interests and a real estate investment trust. Investment income is comprised primarily of interest earned on these securities, net of related investment expenses. Although investments are generally purchased with the intention to hold them until maturity, realized gains and losses could occur from time to time as changes are made to our holdings based upon changes in interest rates or the credit quality of specific securities.
Our investments are recorded at fair value, which is typically based on publicly available quoted prices. From time to time, the carrying value of our investments may be temporarily impaired because of the inherent volatility of publicly-traded investments. Management reviews investments for impairment on a quarterly basis. Any decline in the fair value of any available-for-sale security below cost that is deemed to be other-than-temporary would result in a reduction in the amortized cost of the security.
During the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, the Company paid $0.7 million, $0.5 million and $0.2 million, respectively, in income taxes and $1.7 million, $1.7 million and $3.0 million, respectively, in interest.
The Company believes that the remaining securities having unrealized losses at December 31, 2014 were not other-than-temporarily impaired. The Company also does not intend to sell any of these securities and it is more likely than not that the Company will not be required to sell any of these securities before the recovery of their amortized cost basis.
The unfavorable change in the estimate of unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses of $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 was primarily due to higher than expected severity with Florida personal injury protection claims and with Georgia bodily injury claims in older accident periods, and unfavorable loss adjustment expense development that was primarily related to higher than expected legal expenses for bodily injury claims for accident years 2010 and prior.
For the year ended December 31, 2012, the computation of diluted net loss per share did not include approximately 0.1 million shares of unvested restricted common stock as their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. Options to purchase 1.6 million shares for the year ended December 31, 2012 were not included in the computation of diluted net income (loss) per share as their exercise prices were in excess of the average stock prices for the periods presented.
In January 2014, one current and three former employees filed a class action lawsuit against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The case is styled Lykins, et al. v. First Acceptance Corporation, et al. The suit alleges the Company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by misclassifying its insurance agents as exempt employees. Plaintiffs seek unpaid wages, overtime, attorneys’ fees and costs. The Company answered the plaintiffs’ Complaint and denied all of the allegations contained therein. In April 2014, the case was conditionally certified as a class action, and a notice regarding the case was sent to all potential class members. Approximately 200 individuals chose to participate in the case during the opt-in period which closed on July 15, 2014. The Company strongly disagrees with the allegations and will put forth a vigorous defense. The case is still in its early stages of discovery. This litigation will likely have a lengthy duration. Therefore, an estimate of the ultimate impact of this litigation on the Company, if any, cannot be made at this time.