Independence Holding Co. reports financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.
We analyze the earnings along side the following peers of Independence Holding Co. – Genworth Financial, Inc. Class A, MetLife, Inc., Lincoln National Corporation, CNO Financial Group, Inc., Prudential Financial, Inc., Kansas City Life Insurance Company and Assurant, Inc. (GNW-US, MET-US, LNC-US, CNO-US, PRU-US, KCLI-US and AIZ-US) that have also reported for this period.
Highlights
- Summary numbers: Revenues of USD 83.75 million, Net Earnings of USD 5.23 million.
- Year-on-year change in operating cash flow of 323.93% is about the same as the change in earnings, likely no significant movement in accruals or reserves.
- Earnings growth due to the contribution of unusual items
The table below shows the preliminary results and recent trends for key metrics such as revenues and net income (See complete table at the end of this report):
2017-09-30 | 2017-06-30 | 2017-03-31 | 2016-12-31 | 2016-09-30 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Relevant Numbers (Quarterly) | |||||
Revenues (mil) | 83.75 | 82.24 | 71.84 | 78.7 | 81.02 |
Revenue Growth (%YOY) | 3.37 | 5.99 | -5.34 | -36.85 | -37.91 |
Earnings (mil) | 5.23 | 14.33 | 4.94 | 7.64 | 4.32 |
Earnings Growth (%YOY) | 20.96 | 233.59 | 231.28 | 54.94 | -70.71 |
Net Margin (%) | 6.24 | 17.43 | 6.87 | 9.71 | 5.34 |
EPS | 0.34 | 0.86 | 0.29 | 0.49 | 0.25 |
Return on Equity (%) | 1.23 | 3.34 | 1.13 | 1.74 | 0.96 |
Return on Assets (%) | 2 | 5.43 | 1.78 | 2.55 | 1.36 |
Access our Ratings and Scores for Independence Holding Co.
Market Share Versus Profits


IHC-US’s change in revenue this period compared to the same period last year of 3.37% is almost the same as its change in earnings, and is about average among the announced results thus far in its peer group, suggesting that IHC-US is holding onto its market share. Also, for comparison purposes, revenues changed by 1.84% and earnings by -63.51% compared to the immediate last period.

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Earnings Growth Analysis
Insurance companies sometimes tradeoff for improvements in premiums earned by relaxing standards in underwriting policies. A quick way to check against such activity is to compare the changes in loan loss provisions as well any chnages in the level of policy claims. If either of these checks point to a decline in the underwriting standards, it is quite possible that the company’s performance is a result of underwriting policy changes that could have a longer term impact compared to the shorter term pop in premiums earned.


The company’s earnings growth has been influenced by the following factors: (1) Year-on-year improvements in premiums earned as a percent of total revenues from 83.11% to 90.31% and (2) underwriting policy improvements. As a result, its loss ratio improved from 56.85% to 44.34% year-on-year. In addition, premiums earned as a percent of revenues were 87.46% and the loss ratio 51.89% in the immediate last period.

Cash Versus Earnings – Sustainable Performance?
It is important to examine a company�s cash versus earnings numbers to gauge whether its performance is sustainable.

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IHC-US’s change in operating cash flow of 323.93% compared to the same period last year is about the same as its change in earnings this period. Additionally, this change in operating cash flow is about average among its peer group. This suggests that the company did not use accruals or reserves to manage earnings this period, and that, all else being equal, the earnings number is sustainable.
Margins
The company’s operating margins after interest fell from 12.24% to 9.41%. In spite of this, the company’s earnings rose, influenced primarily by one-time items, which contributed to an improvement in pretax margins from 8.64% to 9.41%.

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Access our Ratings and Scores for Independence Holding Co.
Company Profile
Independence Holding Co. engages in underwriting, administering and/or distributing group and individual specialty products, including disability, supplemental health, pet, and group life insurance through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Medical Stop-Loss, Specialty Health, Group Disability, and Individual Accident and Health, and Other. The Medical Stop-Loss segment are short-duration and accounted for based on actuarial estimates of the amount of loss inherent in that period’s claims or open claims for prior periods, including losses incurred for claims that have not been reported. The Specialty Health segment is the liability for policy benefits and claims for fully insured medical and dental business and are established using historical claim development patterns. The Group Disability segment is comprised of long term disability and disability benefits law. The Individual Accident and Health and Other segment is a combination of closed lines of business as well as certain small existing lines. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.
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