Security National Financial Corp: Form 10-Q for the period ended Sep 30, 2024

Overview

The Company’s operations over the last several years generally reflect three strategies which the Company expects to continue: (i) increased attention to “niche” insurance products, such as the Company’s funeral plan policies and traditional whole life products; (ii) increased emphasis on the cemetery and mortuary business; and (iii) capitalizing on an improving housing market by originating mortgage loans.

Insurance Operations

The Company’s life insurance business includes funeral plans and interest-sensitive life insurance, as well as other traditional life, accident and health insurance products. The Company places specific marketing emphasis on funeral plans through pre-need planning.

A funeral plan is a small face value life insurance policy that generally has face coverage of up to $30,000. The Company believes that funeral plans represent a marketing niche that is less competitive because most insurance companies do not offer similar coverage. The purpose of the funeral plan policy is to pay the costs and expenses incurred at the time of a person’s death. On a per thousand-dollar cost of insurance basis, these policies can be more expensive to the policyholder than many types of non-burial insurance due to their low face amount, requiring the fixed cost of the policy administration to be distributed over a smaller policy size, and the simplified underwriting practices that result in higher mortality costs.

The following table shows the condensed financial results of the insurance operations for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2024 and 2023. See Note 7 to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

Profitability for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024 increased due to (a) a $4,136,000 increase in insurance premiums and other considerations, (b) a $3,555,000 decrease in death, surrenders and other policy benefits, (c) a $2,507,000 decrease in amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs, (d) a $2,196,000 increase in gains on investments and other assets, and (e) a $548,000 decrease in interest expense, which were partially offset by (i) a $1,791,000 increase in selling, general and administrative expenses, (ii) a $1,117,000 increase in future policy benefits, (iii) a $1,006,000 decrease in intersegment revenue, (iv) a $707,000 decrease in net investment income, (v) a $173,000 decrease in other revenues, (vi) a $76,000 decrease in mortgage fee income, and (vii) a $36,000 increase in intersegment interest expense and other expenses.

Cemetery and Mortuary Operations

The Company sells mortuary services and products through its nine mortuaries in Utah and three mortuaries in New Mexico. The Company also sells cemetery products and services through its five cemeteries in Utah, one cemetery in San Diego County, California, and one cemetery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At-need product sales and services are recognized as revenue when the services are performed or when the products are delivered. Pre-need cemetery product sales are deferred until the merchandise is delivered and services performed. Recognition of revenue for cemetery land sales occurs when 10% of the purchase price is received.

The following table shows the condensed financial results of the cemetery and mortuary operations for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2024 and 2023. See Note 7 to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

Profitability in the nine month period ended September 30, 2024 increased due to (a) a $1,704,000 increase in gains on investments and other assets, (b) a $445,000 increase in mortuary at-need sales, (c) a $344,000 increase in cemetery pre-need sales, (d) a $143,000 increase in other revenues, (e) a $19,000 decrease in intersegment interest expense and other expenses, and (f) a $1,000 increase in intersegment revenues, which were partially offset by (i) a $324,000 decrease in net investment income, (ii) a $224,000 increase in amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs, (iii) a $132,000 decrease in cemetery at-need sales, (iv) a $62,000 increase in selling, general and administrative expenses, and (v) a $12,000 increase in cost of goods and services sold.

Mortgage Operations

The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, SecurityNational Mortgage Company (“SecurityNational Mortgage), is a mortgage lender incorporated under the laws of the State of Utah and approved and regulated by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a department of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which originates mortgages loans that qualify for government insurance in the event of default by the borrower, in addition to various conventional mortgage loan products. SecurityNational Mortgage originates and refinances mortgage loans on a retail basis. Mortgage loans originated or refinanced by the SecurityNational Mortgage are funded through loan purchase agreements with Security National Life, Kilpatrick Life and unaffiliated financial institutions.

SecurityNational Mortgage receives fees from borrowers that are involved in mortgage loan originations and refinancings, and secondary fees earned from third party investors that purchase the mortgage loans. Mortgage loans are generally sold with mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”) released to third-party investors or retained by SecurityNational Mortgage. SecurityNational Mortgage currently retains the mortgage servicing rights on approximately 0.32% of its loan origination volume. These mortgage loans are serviced by either SecurityNational Mortgage or an approved third-party sub-servicer.

Mortgage rates have followed the US Treasury yields up in response to the increased inflation and the expectation that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise rates in the near term. As expected, the rapid increase in mortgage rates has resulted in a decrease in loan originations classified as ‘refinance.’ Higher mortgage rates have also had a negative effect on loan originations classified as ‘purchases,’ although not as significant as those in the refinance classification.

For the nine month periods ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, SecurityNational Mortgage originated 5,505 loans ($1,723,036,000 total volume) and 5,680 loans ($1,708,831,000 total volume), respectively.

The following table shows the condensed financial results of the mortgage operations for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2024 and 2023. See Note 7 to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

Profitability for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024 increased due to (a) a $4,834,000 increase in the fair value of loans held for sale, (b) a $3,067,000 decrease in other expenses, (c) a $3,050,000 decrease in personnel expenses, (d) a $1,807,000 increase in income from loan originations, (e) a $1,528,000 increase in the fair value of loan commitments, (f) a $1,231,000 decrease in rent and rent related expenses, (g) a $990,000 increase in other revenues, (h) a $986,000 decrease in intersegment interest expense and other expenses, (i) a $569,000 decrease in costs related to funding mortgage loans, (j) a $332,000 decrease in advertising expenses, (k) a $310,000 decrease in interest expense, (l) a $36,000 increase in intersegment revenues, and (m) a $29,000 decrease in depreciation on property and equipment, which were partially offset by (i) a $4,324,000 increase in commissions, (ii) a $3,421,000 decrease in secondary gains from investors, (iii) a $1,256,000 decrease in gains on investments and other assets, and (iv) a $374,000 decrease in net investment income.

Consolidated Results of Operations

Three month period ended September 30, 2024, Compared to Three month period ended September 30, 2023

Total revenues increased by $8,032,000, or 10.0%, to $88,274,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $80,242,000 for the comparable period in 2023. Contributing to this increase in total revenues was a $5,288,000 increase in mortgage fee income, a $2,280,000 increase in gains on investments and other assets, a $1,229,000 increase in other revenues, and a $1,104,000 increase in insurance premiums and other considerations, which were partially offset by a $1,449,000 decrease in net investment income and a $420,000 decrease in net mortuary and cemetery sales.

Mortgage fee income increased by $5,288,000, or 21.2%, to $30,224,000, for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $24,936,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily due to a $3,068,000 increase in the fair value of loans held for sale, a $1,324,000 increase in the fair value of loan commitments, a $539,000 increase in loan fees and interest income net of an increase in the provision for loan loss reserve, and a $357,000 increase in secondary gains from mortgage loans sold to third-party investors into the secondary market.

Insurance premiums and other considerations increased by $1,104,000, or 3.8%, to $30,011,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $28,907,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily due to an increase of $1,199,000 in renewal premiums, which was partially offset by a decrease of $95,000 in first year premiums.

Net investment income decreased by $1,449,000, or 7.5%, to $17,799,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $19,248,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily attributable to a $2,811,000 decrease in mortgage loan interest and a $198,000 decrease in real estate income, which were partially offset by a $668,000 increase in insurance assignment income, a $618,000 increase in interest on cash and cash equivalents, a $117,000 decrease in investment expenses, a $59,000 increase in fixed maturity securities income, a $59,000 increase in other investment income, a $34,000 increase in policy loan interest, and a $5,000 increase in equity securities income.

Net mortuary and cemetery sales decreased by $420,000, or 5.8%, to $6,814,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $7,234,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily due to a $612,000 decrease in cemetery pre-need sales and a $113,000 decrease in cemetery at-need sales, which were partially offset by a $305,000 increase in mortuary at-need sales.

Gains (losses) on investments and other assets increased by $2,280,000 to $1,348,000 in net gains for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $932,000 in net losses for the comparable period in 2023. This increase in gains on investments and other assets was primarily due to a $3,414,000 increase in gains on equity securities, primarily attributable to increases in the fair value of these equity securities, a $76,000 increase in gains on other assets, and a $35,000 increase in gains on real estate, which were partially offset by a $1,161,000 decrease in gains on mortgage loans held for investment and an $84,000 decrease in gains on fixed maturity securities.

Other revenues increased by $1,228,000, or 144.7%, to $2,077,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $849,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to a $1,350,000 legal settlement, which was partially offset by a decrease of $107,000 in other miscellaneous revenues and a decrease of $15,000 in servicing fee revenue due to a decrease in the retention of mortgage servicing rights.

Death benefits, surrenders and other policy benefits, and future policy benefits decreased by an aggregate of $2,268,000 or 8.9%, to $23,354,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $25,622,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily the result of a $1,108,000 decrease in death benefits, a $888,000 decrease in future policy benefits and a $272,000 decrease in surrender and other policy benefits.

Amortization of deferred policy and pre-need acquisition costs and value of business acquired decreased by $2,193,000, or 49.0%, to $2,287,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $4,480,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily due to increased payment consistency from premium-paying products.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $2,587,000, or 6.1%, to $45,239,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $42,652,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily the result of a $2,737,000 increase in commissions, a $1,015,000 increase in personnel expenses, a $132,000 increase in costs related to funding mortgage loans, and a $21,000 increase in depreciation on property and equipment, which were partially offset by a $933,000 decrease in other expenses, a $298,000 decrease in rent and rent related expenses, and a $87,000 decrease in advertising expense.

Interest expense decreased by $91,000, or 7.9%, to $1,061,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $1,152,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $23,000 in interest expense on mortgage warehouse lines of credit for loans held for sale and a decrease of $68,000 in interest expense on bank loans.

Cost of goods and services sold-mortuaries and cemeteries decreased by $60,000, or 5.1%, to $1,117,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $1,177,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $39,000 in cemetery at-need sales and a decrease of $27,000 in mortuary at-need sales, which were partially offset by an increase of $6,000 in cemetery pre-need sales.

In summary total benefits and expenses were $73,059,000, or 82.8% of total revenues, for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, as compared to $75,083,000, or 93.6% of total revenues, for the comparable period in 2023.

Nine month period ended September 30, 2024, Compared to Nine month period ended September 30, 2023

Total revenues increased by $11,664,000, or 4.8%, to $255,253,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $243,589,000 for the comparable period in 2023. Contributing to this increase in total revenues was a $4,671,000 increase in mortgage fee income, a $4,136,000 increase in insurance premiums and other considerations, a $2,645,000 increase in gains on investments and other assets, a $959,000 increase in other revenues, and a $658,000 increase in net mortuary and cemetery sales, which were partially offset by a $1,405,000 decrease in net investment income.

Mortgage fee income increased by $4,671,000, or 6.1%, to $81,675,000, for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $77,004,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily due to a $4,572,000 increase in the fair value of loans held for sale, a $1,807,000 increase in loan fees and interest income net of an increase in the provision for loan loss reserve, and a $1,789,000 increase in the fair value of loan commitments, which were partially offset by a $3,497,000 decrease in secondary gains from mortgage loans sold to third-party investors into the secondary market due to the decline in origination activity because of increasing interest rates.

Insurance premiums and other considerations increased by $4,136,000, or 4.8%, to $89,824,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $85,688,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily due to an increase of $2,576,000 in first year premiums and an increase of $1,560,000 in renewal premiums.

Net investment income decreased by $1,405,000, or 2.5%, to $55,790,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $57,195,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily attributable to a $4,930,000 decrease in mortgage loan interest and a $1,660,000 decrease in real estate income, which were partially offset by a $2,457,000 increase in interest on cash and cash equivalents, a $1,401,000 increase in insurance assignment income, a $652,000 increase in fixed maturity securities income, a $375,000 decrease in investment expenses, a $116,000 increase in other investment income, a $116,000 increase in policy loan interest, and a $68,000 increase in equity securities income.

Net mortuary and cemetery sales increased by $658,000, or 3.2%, to $21,532,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $20,874,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily due to a $445,000 increase in mortuary at-need sales and a $344,000 increase in cemetery pre-need sales, which were partially offset by a $131,000 decrease in cemetery at-need sales.

Gains (losses) on investments and other assets increased by $2,645,000 to $2,640,000 in net gains for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $5,000 in net losses for the comparable period in 2023. This increase in gains on investments and other assets was primarily due to a $3,664,000 increase in gains on equity securities mostly attributable to increases in the fair value of these equity securities, a $163,000 increase in gains on real estate, and a $121,000 increase in gains on fixed maturity securities, which were partially offset by a $1,161,000 decrease in gains on mortgage loans held for investment and a $142,000 decrease in gains on other assets.

Other revenues increased by $959,000, or 33.9%, to $3,792,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $2,833,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to a $1,350,000 legal settlement, which was partially offset by a decrease of $207,000 in other miscellaneous revenues and a decrease of $184,000 in servicing fee revenue due to a decrease in the retention of mortgage servicing rights.

Death benefits, surrenders and other policy benefits, and future policy benefits decreased by an aggregate of $2,438,000 or 3.2%, to $73,956,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $76,394,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily the result of a $3,458,000 decrease in death benefits and a $97,000 increase in surrender and other policy benefits, which were partially offset by a $1,117,000 increase in future policy benefits.

Amortization of deferred policy and pre-need acquisition costs and value of business acquired decreased by $2,283,000, or 16.8%, to $11,332,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $13,615,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily due to increased payment consistency from premium-paying products.

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by $2,100,000, or 1.6%, to $128,952,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $131,052,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily the result of a $2,831,000 decrease in other expenses, a $1,207,000 decrease in rent and rent related expenses, a $798,000 decrease in personnel expenses, a $569,000 decrease in costs related to funding mortgage loans, and a $482,000 decrease in advertising expense, which were partially offset by a $3,761,000 increase in commissions and a $26,000 increase in depreciation in property and equipment.

Interest expense decreased by $858,000, or 21.3%, to $3,162,000 for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, from $4,020,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $310,000 in interest expense on mortgage warehouse lines of credit for loans held for sale and a decrease of $548,000 in interest expense on bank loans.

Cost of goods and services sold-mortuaries and cemeteries increased by $12,000, or 0.3%, to $3,627,000 for the three month period ended September 30, 2024, from $3,615,000 for the comparable period in 2023. This increase was primarily due to an increase of $74,000 in cemetery pre-need sales and an increase of $31,000 in cemetery at-need sales, which were partially offset by a decrease of $93,000 in mortuary at-need sales.

In summary total benefits and expenses were $221,030,000, or 86.6% of total revenues, for the nine month period ended September 30, 2024, as compared to $228,696,000, or 93.9% of total revenues, for the comparable period in 2023.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company’s life insurance subsidiaries and cemetery and mortuary subsidiaries realize cash flow from premiums, contract payments and sales on personal services rendered for cemetery and mortuary business, from interest and dividends on invested assets, and from the proceeds from the sale or maturity of investments. The mortgage subsidiaries realize cash flow from fees generated by originating and refinancing mortgage loans and fees from mortgage loans held for sale that are sold to investors into the secondary market. It should be noted that current conditions in the financial markets and economy may affect the realization of these expected cash flows. The Company considers these sources of cash flow to be adequate to fund future policyholder and cemetery and mortuary liabilities, which generally are long-term, and adequate to pay current policyholder claims, annuity payments, expenses related to the issuance of new policies, the maintenance of existing policies, debt service, and to meet current operating expenses.

During the nine month periods ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company’s operations provided cash of approximately $34,894,000 and of approximately $18,384,000, respectively. The increase in cash provided by operations was due primarily to the increase in net earnings.

The Company expects to pay out liabilities under its funeral plans over the long term given the nature of those plans. Funeral plans are small face value life insurance policies that payout upon a person’s death to cover funeral burial costs; policyholders generally keep these policies in force until, and do not surrender prior to, death. Because of the long-term nature of these liabilities, the Company can hold to maturity or for the targeted investment period its corresponding bond, real estate, and mortgage loan investments, thus reducing the risk of liquidating these long-term investments because of any sudden changes in their fair values.

The Company attempts to match the duration of invested assets with its policyholder and cemetery and mortuary liabilities. The Company may sell investments other than those held to maturity in the portfolio to help in this timing matching. The Company purchases short-term investments on a temporary basis to meet the expected short-term requirements of the Company’s insurance products. The Company’s investment philosophy is intended to provide a rate of return for the expected duration of its cemetery and mortuary policies that will exceed the accruing of liabilities under those policies regardless of future interest rate movements.

The Company’s investment policy is also to invest predominantly in fixed maturity securities, real estate, mortgage loans, and warehousing of mortgage loans. The warehoused mortgage loans are typically held for sale on a short-term basis before selling the loans to investors in accordance with the requirements and laws governing the Company’s life insurance subsidiaries. Bonds owned by the insurance subsidiaries amounted to $326,914,000 (at estimated fair value) and $362,663,000 (at estimated fair value) as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. This represented 35.4% and 38.7% of the total investments of the Company as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Generally, all bonds owned by the life insurance subsidiaries are rated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Under this rating system, there are six categories used for rating bonds. As of September 30, 2024, 2.1% (or $7,232,000) and as of December 31, 2023, 1.8% (or $6,954,000) of the Company’s total bond investments were invested in bonds in rating categories three through six, which are considered non-investment grade.

The Company’s life insurance subsidiaries are subject to risk-based capital guidelines established by statutory regulators requiring minimum capital levels based on the perceived risk of assets, liabilities, disintermediation, and business risk. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the life insurance subsidiaries were in compliance with the regulatory criteria.

The Company’s total capitalization of stockholders’ equity, bank and other loans payable was $453,312,000 as of September 30, 2024, as compared to $418,450,000 as of December 31, 2023. This increase was primarily due to an increase of $33,427,000 in stockholders’ equity and an increase of $1,435,000 in bank loans and other loans payable. Stockholders’ equity as a percent of total capitalization was 76.4% and 74.8% as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

Lapse rates measure the amount of insurance terminated during a particular period. The Company’s lapse rate for life insurance in 2023 was 4.4% as compared to a lapse rate of 4.3% for 2022. The 2024 lapse rate to date has been approximately the same as 2023.

The combined statutory capital and surplus of the Company’s life insurance subsidiaries was approximately $121,504,000 and $107,385,000 as of September 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively. The life insurance subsidiaries cannot pay a dividend to their parent company without the approval of state insurance regulatory authorities.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of September 30, 2024, the Company carried out an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports that the Company files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified by the SEC’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Company’s CEO and CFO, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. The executive officers have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2024, and that the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q fairly present, in all material respects, the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have not been any significant changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the most recently completed fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.