Tierra Verde, Florida. The real estate consists of 7.1 acres of waterfront property, a dry rack storage building with gross area of 57,500 square feet, and two buildings with retail space having an aggregate gross area of approximately 23,000 square feet. This marina facility is owned and operated by us. Approximately 5% of the available retail space is occupied by us, 77% of the retail space is leased to non-affiliates, and the remaining space is available for lease.
In December 2017, our Board of Directors approved a one-year plan for 2018 under which we may purchase up to $20,000,000 of our common shares in open market purchases, block transactions and privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable federal securities laws. The approved amount excludes brokerage fees. See Note 19 - “Stockholders’ Equity” to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2017 was approximately $16,426,000, which consisted primarily of cash received from net premiums written and reinsurance recoveries less cash disbursed for operating expenses, losses and loss adjustment expenses and interest payments. Net cash used in investing activities of $80,164,000 was primarily due to the purchases of available-for-sale and trading securities of $165,196,000, the limited partnership investments of $4,226,000, and the real estate investments of $11,878,000, offset by the proceeds from sales of available-for-sale securities of $74,416,000, the distributions of $11,758,000 from limited partnership investments and the redemptions and repayments of fixed-maturity securities of $14,897,000. Net cash provided by financing activities totaled $39,030,000, which was primarily due to the proceeds from issuance of 4.25% Convertible Senior Notes of $143,750,000, offset by $40,250,000 used in the repurchases of our 8% senior notes, $4,975,000 of related underwriting and issuance costs, $45,872,000 used in our share repurchases and $12,833,000 of net cash dividend payments.
Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2016 was approximately $87,975,000, which consisted primarily of cash received from net premiums written less cash disbursed for operating expenses, losses and loss adjustment expenses and interest payments. Net cash used in investing activities of $49,028,000 was primarily due to the purchases of available-for-sale securities of $107,964,000, $12,056,000 of net cash used in acquiring one business, and the limited partnership investments of $4,670,000, offset by the proceeds from sales of available-for-sale securities of $63,581,000 and the $10,200,000 proceeds from the acquisition, development and construction arrangement. Net cash used in financing activities totaled $26,157,000, which was primarily due to $11,347,000 used in the repurchases of our convertible senior notes, $20,026,000 used in our share repurchase plan and $11,691,000 of net cash dividend payments, offset by $18,200,000 in aggregate proceeds from the issuance of two promissory notes.
Effective January 1, 2017, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718), which amends the accounting for share-based payment transactions including the related income taxes, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. Amendments related to the timing of when excess tax benefits are recognized, minimum statutory withholding requirements, and forfeitures, which is applied using a modified retrospective transition method, have no impact on the Company’s comparative consolidated financial statements. In addition, the retrospective application of the amendments related to the presentation of employee taxes paid does not have an impact on the Company’s comparative consolidated statement of cash flows. Upon adoption of this standard, the Company elected to account for forfeitures of share-based awards when they occur and apply the amendments related to the presentation of excess tax benefits on the statement of cash flows prospectively. Under the new standard, the Company is required to recognize any excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies in the Company’s consolidated statement of income.
The Company has a 100% equity interest in one venture (treated as a joint venture under U.S. GAAP) that owns a commercial property in Riverview, Florida. The Company consolidates this joint venture as its primary beneficiary (see Consolidated Variable Interest Entity in Note 4 - “Investments”).
Property and Equipment. Property and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization, which is included in other operating expenses. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives as follows: building, 39 years; computer hardware and software, 3 years; and office and furniture equipment, 3 to 7 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the lease term or the asset’s useful life. Land is not depreciated. Expenditures for improvements are capitalized to the property accounts. Replacements and maintenance and repairs that do not improve or extend the life of the respective assets are expensed as incurred. The Company capitalizes both internal and external costs for internally developed software during the application development stage. During the preliminary project and post-implementation stage, internal-use software development costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalized software costs are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of 7 years.
In February 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-02 (“ASU 2018-02”), Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220), primarily allowing a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Early adoption is permitted. The Company elected to early adopt this standard in the first quarter of 2018, which has no impact to the Company’s financial position.
The Company holds investments in fixed-maturity securities and equity securities that are classified as available-for-sale. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the cost or amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses, and estimated fair value of the Company’s available-for-sale securities by security type were as follows:
(j) Unless extended or terminated for reasons specified in the agreement, the capital commitment is expected to expire on December 1, 2018.
Estimated fair values of the Company’s available-for-sale and trading securities are determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, using valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Fair values are generally measured using quoted prices in active markets for identical securities or other inputs that are observable either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar securities. In those instances where observable inputs are not available, fair values are measured using unobservable inputs. Unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the security and are developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. Fair value estimates derived from unobservable inputs are significantly affected by the assumptions used, including the discount rates and the estimated amounts and timing of future cash flows. The derived fair value estimates cannot be substantiated by comparison to independent markets and are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that would be realized in a current market exchange.
Depreciation and amortization expense under property and equipment was $1,237, $1,272 and $1,338, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.
The Company has a state net operating loss carryforward of $7,665 for the 2017 tax year which will expire on December 31, 2037. In addition, the Company has state capital loss carryforwards of $1,926 and $1,826 for the 2016 and 2015 tax years, respectively. The 2015 capital loss carryforward is available for tax years up to and including the 2020 tax year. The 2016 capital loss carryforward is available for tax years up to and including the 2021 tax year.
A summary of the numerator and denominator of the basic and fully diluted (loss) earnings per common share is presented below: