ProAssurance Reports 4thQ 2002 Increases

Alabama-based ProAssurance recorded net income of $11.97 million, or $0.43 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2002, compared with $4.25 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, in the same period in 2001.

The company said it had net income of $12.2 million, or $0.46 per diluted share for the year ended Dec. 31, 2002. Comparison data for the year ended Dec. 31, 2001 was not announced because ProAssurance did not exist as a consolidated entity until June 27, 2001.

Operating income per diluted share was $0.16 for the fourth quarter of 2002, a 60 percent increase over the same quarter in 2001, and $0.58 for the full-year 2002. The company’s professional liability segment continued to improve as the effects of rate increases flow to the bottom line. Additionally, ProAssurance said its personal lines segment remained a major contributor to the company’s overall profitability. Book value per share increased nine percent in 2002.

Chairman A. Derrill Crowe, said the increase in operating income was primarily the result of ProAssurance’s focus on insurance basics over the past two years. “For some time now we’ve been dedicating our attention to careful underwriting, adequate pricing and our commitment to customer service, especially in the area of claims. The results of our focus on adequate pricing are becoming evident. But while we’ve paid close attention to the revenue side, we’ve also paid closer attention to expenses, both claims-related and administrative. The payoff is now showing up in our bottom line, which we measure by operating income,” Crowe said.

The companies in ProAssurance’s professional liability segment are The Medical Assurance Company Inc., Medical Assurance of West Virginia Inc., ProNational Insurance Company and Red Mountain Casualty Insurance Company Inc. Each focuses on the delivery of professional liability insurance to physicians and surgeons, dentists, hospitals, and others involved in the delivery of health care.