About Kingstone Companies

Kingstone Companies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Kingstone Insurance Company (KICO), underwrites property and casualty insurance exclusively through retail and wholesale agents and brokers in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire. The company offers property and casualty insurance products to individuals through its wholly owned subsidiary, Kingstone Insurance Company (KICO), domiciled in the state of New York. KICO is a licensed property and casualty insurance company in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire. KICO is offering its property and casualty insurance products in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. In addition, through its subsidiary, Cosi Agency, Inc. (Cosi), a multi-state licensed general agency, the company accesses alternative distribution channels. Cosi receives commission revenue from KICO for the policies it places with others and pays commissions to these agencies. Cosi retains the profit between the commission revenue received and the commission expense paid. Property and Casualty Insurance Property and casualty insurance companies provide policies in exchange for premiums paid by their customers (the insureds). An insurance policy is a contract between the insurance company and its insureds where the insurance company agrees to pay for losses that are covered under the contract. Such contracts are subject to legal interpretation by courts, sometimes involving legislative rulings and/or arbitration. Property insurance generally covers the financial consequences of accidental losses to the insured’s property, such as a home and the personal property in it, or a business owner’s building, inventory and equipment. Casualty insurance (also referred to as liability insurance) generally covers the financial consequences related to the legal liability of an individual or an organization resulting from negligent acts and omissions that cause bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party. Claims for property coverage generally are reported and settled in a relatively short period of time, whereas those for casualty coverage may take many years to settle. The company generates revenues from earned premiums, ceding commissions from quota share reinsurance, net investment income generated from its investment portfolio, and net realized gains and losses on investment securities. The company also collects a variety of policy fees, including installment fees, reinstatement fees, and non-sufficient fund fees related to situations involving extended premium payment plans. Earned premiums represent premiums received from insureds, which are recognized as revenue over the period of time that coverage is provided (i.e., ratably over the life of the policy). KICO invests the premiums, earning investment income and generating net realized and unrealized gains and losses on associated investments. The company is a multi-line regional property and casualty insurance company writing business exclusively through retail and wholesale agents and brokers (producers) appointed by its wholly owned subsidiary, KICO. The company is licensed to write insurance policies in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The company is actively writing business in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Additionally, the company’s subsidiary, Cosi, a multi-state licensed general agency, receives commission revenue from KICO for the policies it places with others and pays commissions to these agencies. The company’s strategy is to be the preferred multi-line property and casualty insurance company for selected producers in the geographic markets in which it operates. Product Lines The company’s product lines include the following: Personal Lines - The company’s largest line of business is personal lines, consisting of homeowners and dwelling fire multi-peril, cooperative/condominiums, renters, and personal umbrella policies. Personal lines policies accounted for 93.5% of the company’s gross written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2022. Livery Physical Damage - The company writes for-hire vehicle physical damage only policies for livery and car service vehicles and taxicabs, primarily based in New York City. These policies insure only the physical damage portion of insurance for such vehicles, with no liability coverage included. Other – The company writes canine legal liability policies and have a small participation in mandatory state joint underwriting associations. Distribution The company generates business through its relationships with over 700 producers. The company carefully selects its producers by evaluating numerous factors, such as their need for its products, premium production potential, loss history with other insurance companies that they represent, product and market knowledge, and agency size. The company only distributes through agents and has never sought to distribute its products direct to the consumer. The company monitors and evaluates the performance of its producers through periodic reviews of volume and profitability. The company’s senior executives are actively involved in managing its producer relationships. The company’s producers have access to a KICO producer interface and website portal that provides them the ability to quote risks for various products and to review policy forms and underwriting guidelines for all lines of business. Regulation The company, as the parent of KICO, is subject to the insurance holding company laws of the state of New York. These laws generally require an insurance company to register with the New York State Department of Financial Services and to furnish annually financial and other information about the operations of companies within its holding company system. History The company was founded in 1886. It was incorporated in 1961. The company was formerly known as Commercial Mutual Insurance Company and changed its name to DCAP Group, Inc. in 1999 and then to Kingstone Companies, Inc. in 2009.