Business Services Industry

American Physicians Capital, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2009 Results

Business Wire, April 30, 2009

Other factors not currently anticipated by management may also materially and adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity or results of operations. APCapital does not undertake, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update or alter its statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Return on Equity

As a way of evaluating our capital management strategies we measure and monitor our return on equity, or ROE, in addition to our results of operations. We measure ROE as our net income for the period divided by our total shareholders’ equity as of the beginning of the period. Other companies sometimes calculate ROE by dividing annualized net income by an average of beginning and ending shareholders’ equity. Accordingly, the ROE percentage we provide may not be comparable with those provided by other companies. We also use a modified version of ROE as the basis for determining performance-based compensation.

Definition of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

APCapital uses operating income, a non-GAAP financial measure, to evaluate APCapital’s underwriting performance. Operating income differs from net income by excluding the after-tax effect of realized capital gains and (losses).

Although the investment of premiums to generate investment income and capital gains or (losses) is an integral part of an insurance company’s operations, APCapital’s decisions to realize capital gains or (losses) are independent of the insurance underwriting process. In addition, under applicable GAAP accounting requirements, losses may be recognized for accounting purposes as the result of other than temporary declines in the value of investment securities, without actual realization. APCapital believes that the level of realized gains and (losses) for any particular period is not indicative of the performance of our ongoing underlying insurance operations in a particular period. As a result, APCapital believes that providing operating income (loss) information makes it easier for users of APCapital’s financial information to evaluate the success of APCapital’s underlying insurance operations.

In addition to APCapital’s reported loss ratios, management also uses accident year loss ratios, a non-GAAP financial measure, to evaluate APCapital’s current underwriting performance. The accident year loss ratio excludes the effect of prior years’ loss reserve development. APCapital believes that this ratio is useful to investors as it focuses on the relationships between current premiums earned and losses incurred related to the current year. Although considerable variability is inherent in the estimates of losses incurred related to the current year, APCapital believes that the current estimates are reasonable.


 

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