Universal says net income rose 24 percent

Insurer still will seek rate hikes

Fort Lauderdale-based Universal Insurance Holdings reported a 23.7 percent increase in net income for the first quarter of 2017, yet still plans to seek rate increases for its policyholders this year.

Earnings per share increased by 21.7 percent to 86 cents, according to the latest earnings report for thecompany, which is known to most Florida customers as Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company. The improvementwas driven by increases in “every major revenue category,” efforts to keep expenses low and a lower tax rate compared to a year earlier, the report said.

The report pushed the company’s stock upward by $2.70 or 11.56 percent to $26.05 in trading on the Nasdaq.

Asked by an analyst on the company’s earnings call Wednesday whether management plans to seek rate increases this year, Universal chairman and CEO Sean P. Downes said the company was almost done calculating what to submit to state regulators. “Things could change here in aweek or two, but I believewe’ll be filing for some mid-range single-digit increase sometime next month.”

If approved, the increase would likely take effect Sept. 1, he said.

Downes also told analysts that costs from assignmentof benefits-related litigation were “relatively flat” compared with 2016, with thenumberofAOBlawsuits “up a little” and costs per claim slightly lower.

That’s largely because of the company’s focus on quickly responding to claims, and its reliance on a team of 20 internal attorneys instead of hiring thirdparty attorneys from outside the company, Downes said.

In response to an email asking why the company expects to raise its rates, spokesman Travis Miller of Radey Law Firm said Universal reduced its rates an average 2.4 percent in 2014,