President's Message
We are pleased to report that 2012 was another successful year for Lawyers Mutual, thanks in great part to the hard work and dedication of its employees and your continued loyalty. One of the major financial highlights was that policyholder surplus grew to just over $50M. (Policyholder surplus is the difference between our admitted assets and liabilities and is used in determining an insurance company’s financial strength.)
Largely because of our policyholder surplus growth, which was due to strong underwriting and investment results, we are excited to again be able to reward your loyalty with a policyholder dividend in the amount of approximately $1 million, which will equal approximately 6% of the premium on your 2012 policy. (As with the dividend last year, the dividend will be paid upon expiration of the 2012 policy.) One distinct advantage enjoyed by policyholders of a mutual insurance company is the ability to share in our financial success through dividends. And we plan to continue to return capital to you, our policyholders, when financially prudent.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen many changes in the North Carolina lawyers professional liability insurance market. Carriers have come and gone, some have decided that they will no longer write firms that practice in certain areas of the law, and yet others have taken significant rate increases. In these times of change, we will continue to provide stability, just as we have done many times in the past.
During 2012, we celebrated our 35th Anniversary. We wanted to capture our history and honor those responsible for Lawyers Mutual. I hope that you’ll spend a few minutes viewing History: A Visionary Company. It tells the story of their service and commitment to the North Carolina Bar.
It is an honor to be a small part of a company that has continuously served North Carolina lawyers for 35 years.