At December 31, 2014, securities in an unrealized loss position for a period of twelve months or longer reflected unrealized losses of $772,000; approximately $769,000 of the total related to forty-eight fixed maturities, while one equity security reflected an unrealized loss of $3,000. We currently have no plans to sell these forty-nine securities, and we expect to fully recover our cost basis. We reviewed these securities and determined that we did not need to record impairment charges at December 31, 2014. Similarly, we did not record impairment charges at December 31, 2013.
Policy acquisition costs increased $13,746,000, or 37%, in 2013. These costs vary directly with the growth in gross premiums earned, which increased 40%. General and administrative expenses increased $2,818,000, or 24%, in 2013 due to an increase in salaries and related expenses to support our growth.
We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. We measure deferred tax assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which we expect to recover or settle those temporary differences. Should a change in tax rates occur, we recognize the effect on deferred tax assets and
During the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, we recorded no other-than-temporary impairment charges related to our equity positions. We have never recorded an OTTI charge on our debt-security investments.
We estimate the fair value of our investments using the closing prices on the last business day of the reporting period, obtained from active markets such as the NYSE, NASDAQ, and NYSE MKT. For securities for which quoted prices in active markets are unavailable, we use a third-party pricing service that utilizes quoted prices in active markets for similar instruments, benchmark interest rates, broker quotes and other relevant inputs to estimate the fair value of those securities for which quoted prices are unavailable. Our estimates of fair value reflect the interest rate environment that existed as of the close of business on December 31, 2014 and 2013. Changes in interest rates subsequent to December 31, 2014 may affect the fair value of our investments.
Our long-term debt at December 31, 2014 and 2013 consisted of a note payable to the Florida State Board of Administration. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, we owed $13,529,000 and $14,706,000, respectively, on the note and the interest rate was 2.50% and 2.64%, respectively.
As of December 31, 2014, we have not taken any uncertain tax positions with regard to our tax returns.
The insurance industry is heavily-regulated. State laws and regulations, as well as national regulatory agency requirements, govern the operations of all insurers such as our insurance affiliate. The various laws and regulations require that insurers maintain minimum amounts of statutory surplus and risk-based capital, they restrict insurers' ability to pay dividends, they specify allowable investment types and investment mixes, and they subject insurers to assessments. At December 31, 2014, and during the twelve months then ended, our insurance affiliate met all regulatory requirements of the states in which it operates, and did not incur any significant assessments.
The following table presents certain information related to the activity of our non-vested common stock grants: