Year-End 2009 Results
A message from Stu Henderson, President & CEO

As you know, there’s no such thing as a ‘quiet’ year in our industry.  If it’s not weather issues, it’s soft-market or legislative issues.  That’s why, even for a year where the soft-market and economic pressures once again created a very challenging environment for growth, 2009 was nonetheless an active and successful time for Western National and our independent agency partners.

It’s rare that we take much time to reflect on our non-financial accomplishments – after all, there are always new goals on which to focus our attention – but 2009 was a big year for those accomplishments at Western National, so it seems like an appropriate place to start.  Some of 2009’s highlights included:

• Earning an upgrade to a full “A” rating from A.M. Best and a place among the Ward’s 50 Property & Casualty Group (4 out of the 5 last years)
• Launching My Western National, which has given our mutual policyholders the opportunity to pay their bills and view their policies online
• Purchasing Illinois-based Titan Property & Casualty Insurance Company, which has expanded the group’s reach to ten states and provided a foundation for our upcoming BOP product
• Releasing program and product enhancements such as Agency Sweep, improved pay plan options, Employment Practices Liability, and more
• Launching accounts on Facebook and Twitter, which has allowed us to connect with agents, employees, policyholders, and other members of the growing online community
• Contributing more than $120,000 to aid those in need in the communities where we work and live

These achievements reflect the hard work of our dedicated employees and the result of input from our supportive partner agents.  We’re excited to see the mutual benefits of these efforts play out in the coming months.

Taking a look at Western National’s full-year financial results for 2009, the numbers tell a very positive story.  Significant financial measures for our group of companies include:

• Our Total Assets grew to $569.8 million (up $36.3 million, or 6.8 percent, from 12/31/2008)
• Our Net Income After Tax for the year totaled $20.4 million (up from $12.3 million in 2008)
• Our Combined Ratio was 94.2 percent (down from 96.7 percent in 2008)
• Our Policyholder Surplus grew to $235.1 million (up $24.6 million, or 11.6 percent, from 12/31/2008)

As you’re aware, 2009 was a tough year for premium growth.  Due in large part to market-driven factors such as lower rates and decreased exposures, net written premiums declined slightly (in spite of the fact that we wrote a record number of policies).  That being said, profitability remains our top priority, and the policies we wrote in 2009 were highly profitable.  The result is a bolstered Surplus – to the tune of nearly $25 million – to further back our most important objective: honoring the promise of protection we give to our policyholders.