A message from Craig Johnson
FCCI’s Chairman of the Board, President & CEO
Picture of Craig Johnson
Each year, as I sit down to write this letter, I reflect on the year as a whole and look for an overarching theme that defined our company, our teammates and our results over those 12 months.
For 2017, it was an easy choice. In February, we kicked off an All-Teammate Meeting with the theme, All In. It fit the FCCI culture and way of doing business so well, it became more than a rallying cry for just that meeting. It became the defining theme of 2017. FCCI teammates are All In when it comes to doing their best for our customers. They are All In when it comes to supporting each other and our company. And they are All In for our communities. This total commitment led to numerous accomplishments over the course of the year. Most importantly, we kept our promises by servicing policies with the utmost dedication, paying claims promptly and fairly, and continuing to manage our business prudently to ensure our financial strength remains solid for the long term. That strength matters because it’s what our policyholders depend on when they have a loss, and it’s what enables our agents to recommend us without reservation. Just as business owners prepare for an impending storm by boarding up and securing facilities, we prepare at FCCI through measures such as employing experienced and professional teammates, strong underwriting discipline, geographic diversification, sound reinsurance programs, financial prudence and proactive claims handling. 2017 turned out to be exactly the type of year we plan for, but hope we never see. By midyear, U.S. property & casualty underwriting losses across the industry were more than double what they were in 2016, and that was before third quarter disaster claims from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. While I wish these events and the devastating impacts they had on many lives and businesses could have been avoided, I am proud of how our All In teammates responded, working together to meet the needs of those who depend on us to help begin the process of repairing their lives and livelihoods. Not only were we able to manage storm-related claims efficiently and assist our policyholders from a position of strength, we also achieved record results in several areas. We reached a record high of $821.8 million in direct written premium, up $34.9 million from the previous year. This is an especially important measure of growth and success for FCCI because it represents the trust our agents and policyholders place in us. We truly appreciate this trust and the opportunity to serve a record number of policyholders. Our profit for the year totaled $31.4 million, and we achieved a combined ratio of 101.8%. We are very pleased with these results, especially having incurred more than $27 million of weather-related claims during the year. Our financial position has never been more sound. Our GAAP equity and statutory surplus reached historic highs for FCCI at $758.7 million and $594.5 million, respectively, increases of $45.7 and $22.5 million over 2016 results. Our cash & investments total more than $1.8 billion, and our total assets are nearly $2.4 billion, both testaments to our financial strength. Our company is growing in a disciplined and measured way, with 828 teammates who understand that their mission is to serve and to support our agents, policyholders and each other with unwavering dedication. We continue to adhere to our founding principles and culture of doing what is right, upholding our promises and remaining charitable. During 2017, our generous and gracious teammates volunteered 2,540 company-paid hours to strengthen and support our communities and help those less fortunate. This All In commitment to giving back is a very important part of what makes FCCI special. Our recipe for success is simple: partner with a select group of insurance agency professionals who are trusted advisors, insure businesses that demonstrate a concern for safety and integrity, employ teammates who are committed to providing unparalleled service, and continue to focus on operating efficiently and investing conservatively. At the end of the day, what matters most at FCCI is not any number in this report. It’s our ability to withstand storms and quickly get back to our mission – helping businesses thrive, manage risks and face the future with confidence. It’s why we are All In at FCCI.
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
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Highlights of 2017