Safety Insurance reported Q3 2008 earnings on November 3.

This small insurer continues to bring home the bacon, albeit a slightly smaller cut each quarter. While other insurers were stumbling left and right from Gustav, Ike and investment losses, Safety fared considerably better. For the records Safety Insurance:

• increased book value to all time high of $36.40
• delivered an all time high investment income of $11.7M
• continued its phenomenal run of keeping combined ratio under 100%. It has done this every quarter since I started keeping records in Q1 2005. Fifteen unbroken quarters and a very respectable 92.6% this quarter. That means Safety pocket 7.4cents for every dollar in written premiums, before their investment income.
• maintained their $0.40 dividend. Which at Thursday’s close of $36.45 translates to a 4.4% yield.

The observant will note that SAFT is trading at a price/book ratio of 1. Their entire operations and future cash flows can currently be bought for free. For every dollar you pay you get one dollar in investment grade securities.

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May 2008 - Safety in Numbers