Favorable premium trends in the General Insurance Group's workers' compensation, general liability, and several other general insurance coverages were mainly responsible for 2013's revenue growth. The Company's targeted insurance underwriting services in such fields as aviation, construction, energy, home warranty, trucking, and large account risk management provided the main impetus to this growth. Similar trends for workers' compensation and liability insurance lines within the construction, trucking, and large account risk management business were experienced in 2012. The combination of a generally improving rate environment for most coverages and the slowly strengthening pace of U.S. economic activity were major contributing factors in this regard.
The Company records the benefits, claims and related settlement costs that have been incurred during each accounting period. Total claim costs are affected by the amount of paid claims and the adequacy of reserve estimates established for current and prior years' claim occurrences at each balance sheet date.
marine assets. Consequently, the wide variety of policies issued and commercial insurance customers served require that loss reserves be analyzed and established in the context of the unique or different attributes of each block or class of business produced by the Company. For example, accident liability claims emanating from insured trucking companies or from general aviation customers become known relatively quickly, whereas claims of a general liability nature arising from the building activities of a construction company may emerge over extended periods of time. Similarly, claims filed pursuant to errors and omissions or directors and officers' liability coverages are usually not prone to immediate evaluation or quantification inasmuch as many such claims may be litigated over several years and their ultimate costs may be affected by the vagaries of judged or jury verdicts. Approximately 92% of the general insurance group's claim reserves stem from liability insurance coverages for commercial customers which typically require more extended periods of investigation and at times protracted litigation before they are finally settled. As a consequence of these and other factors, Old Republic does not utilize a single, overarching loss reserving approach.
There is currently a single instance in which the Company seeks to recover from an insured for previously paid claims. In its counterclaim in the pending arbitration with Countrywide, RMIC is seeking to rescind a June 2006 amendment to a mortgage insurance policy that it contends was fraudulently induced by Countrywide (Countrywide Fin'l Corp. v. Republic Mortg. Ins. Co., Case No. 72 195 Y 0011510 (AAA). The Countrywide parties are Countrywide Financial Corporation, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Bank of America, N.A., in its own capacity and as successor by merger of BAC Home Loan Servicing L.P.). The amendment made coverage for a loan immediately incontestable for borrower misrepresentation. The Company seeks a declaration that the amendment is null and void and to recover the claim amounts totaling at least $26.6 that it paid notwithstanding the existence of borrower misrepresentations that otherwise would have supported a rescission of coverage for those loans. The Company does not anticipate recoveries from
At December 31, 2013, the Company held 558 fixed maturity and 5 equity securities in an unrealized loss position, representing 30.8% as to fixed maturities and 7.2% as to equity securities of the total number of such issues it held. At December 31, 2012, the Company held 102 fixed maturity and 14 equity securities in an unrealized loss position, representing 5.7% as to fixed maturities and 21.9% as to equity securities of the total number of such issues it held. Of the securities in an unrealized loss position, 10 and 4 fixed maturity securities and 0 and 1 equity security, had been in a continuous unrealized loss position for more than 12 months as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. The unrealized losses on these securities are primarily attributable to an increase in the interest rate environment. As part of its assessment of other-than-temporary impairments, the Company considers its intent to continue to hold, and the likelihood that it will not be required to sell investment securities in an unrealized loss position until cost recovery, principally on the basis of its asset and liability maturity matching procedures.
Level 1 securities include U.S. and Canadian Treasury notes, publicly traded common stocks, the quoted net asset value ("NAV") mutual funds, and most short-term investments in highly liquid money market instruments. Level 2 securities generally include corporate bonds, municipal bonds, certain U.S. and Canadian government agency securities. Securities classified within Level 3 include non-publicly traded bonds, short-term investments, and equity securities. There were no significant changes in the fair value of assets measured with the use of significant unobservable inputs as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012.
The plans are defined benefit plans pursuant to which pension payments are based primarily on years of service and employee compensation near retirement. It is the Company's policy to fund the plans' costs as they accrue. The Old Republic Plan has been closed to new participants since December 31, 2004; the PMA Plan was frozen as of December 31, 2005. The benefit levels in the Old Republic Plan were similarly frozen as of December 31, 2013. The benefit curtailment triggered a revaluation of the plan as of September 30, 2013. The impact of the curtailment resulted in increased operating expenses of $.6, a reduction of the pension obligation liability of $26.6, and a resulting increase to other comprehensive income of $17.7, net of tax. Under the terms of the freeze, the plans remain closed to new participants and eligible employees retain all of the vested rights as of the effective date of the freeze, but additional benefits do not accrue thereafter.
Each of the plans had accumulated and projected benefit obligations in excess of plan assets at December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011. The Company expects to make cash contributions of approximately $26.0 in calendar year 2014.
The projected benefit obligations and net periodic benefit costs for the plans were determined using the following weighted-average assumptions:
Scheduled maturities of the above debt at year end are as follows: 2014: $4.2; 2015: $3.3; 2016: $3.5; 2017: $3.9; and 2018: $554.2. During 2013, 2012 and 2011, $23.1, $34.6 and $51.1, respectively, of interest expense on debt was charged to consolidated operations.
On November 3, 2010, Bank of America, N.A. ("B of A") filed suit against Old Republic Insurance Company ("ORIC") in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Bank of America, N.A. v. Old Republic Insurance Company) alleging breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing and bad faith with respect to ORIC's handling of certain claims under a policy of credit indemnity insurance issued to B of A. The policy is not related to those issued to Countrywide, which are the subject of the above-noted separate litigation. The B of A suit seeks a declaratory judgment with respect to the interpretation of certain policy terms, B of A's compliance with certain terms and conditions of the policy, and the propriety of certain positions and procedures taken by ORIC in response to claims filed by B of A. The suit also seeks unspecified money damages, pre and post judgment interest and punitive damages. On January 23, 2012, ORIC filed a counterclaim seeking damages based on B of A's alleged interference with ORIC's subrogation rights.