BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(Business Wire)--
Second paragraph, second sentence of release should read: 2.6
million shares of our common stock (sted 2.2 million shares of our
common stock).
The corrected release reads:
PROASSURANCE ANNOUNCES $100 MILLION REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATION
The Board of Directors of ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA)
today authorized $100 million to repurchase our shares or retire
outstanding debt. The authorization is effective immediately, but the
timing and quantity of any purchases will depend on market conditions
and changes in our capital requirements. Additionally, our repurchase
activity is subject to limitations that may be imposed on such
purchases by applicable securities laws and regulations and the rules
of the New York Stock Exchange.
We have expended the $150 million authorized by our Board in April
2007 for use in repurchasing shares and redeeming debt securities. We
used that authorization to purchase approximately 2.6 million shares
of our common stock and redeem $15.5 million of trust preferred debt.
"Our Board has carefully considered how we should best utilize the
capital entrusted to us by our investors. While we continue to
systematically screen appropriate business expansion and acquisition
opportunities, we are confident that buying our shares in a prudent
manner helps us enhance shareholder value," said ProAssurance's Chief
Executive Officer, W. Stancil Starnes.
About ProAssurance
ProAssurance Corporation is the nation's fifth largest writer of
medical professional liability insurance through our principal
subsidiaries The Medical Assurance Company, Inc., ProNational
Insurance Company, NCRIC, Inc., Physicians Insurance Company of
Wisconsin, Inc., and Red Mountain Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. We
also write professional liability coverage through Woodbrook Casualty
Insurance, Inc. ProAssurance is recognized as one of the top
performing insurance companies in America by virtue of its inclusion
in the Ward's 50 for the past two years.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this News Release that are not historical facts
are specifically identified as forward-looking statements. These
statements are based upon our estimates and anticipation of future
events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to vary materially from the expected results
described in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are identified by words such as, but not limited to,
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "hope," "hopeful,"
"intend," "may," "optimistic," "potential," "preliminary," "project,"
"should," "will," and other analogous expressions. There are numerous
important factors that could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Thus,
sentences and phrases that we use to convey our view of future events
and trends are expressly designated as forward-looking statements as
are sections of this news release clearly identified as giving our
outlook on future business.
Forward-looking statements relating to our business include, among
other things: statements concerning liquidity and capital
requirements, return on equity, financial ratios, net income,
premiums, losses and loss reserves, premium rates and retention of
current business, competition and market conditions, the expansion of
product lines, the development or acquisition of business in new
geographical areas, the availability of acceptable reinsurance,
actions by regulators and rating agencies, court actions, legislative
actions, payment or performance of obligations under indebtedness,
payment of dividends, and other matters. These forward-looking
statements highlight significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties,
including, among other things, the following important factors that
could affect the actual outcome of future events:
-- general economic conditions, either nationally or in our
market area, that are different than anticipated;
-- regulatory and legislative actions or decisions that adversely
affect our business plans or operations;
-- inflation, particularly in loss costs trends;
-- changes in the interest rate environment;
-- performance of financial markets affecting the fair value of
our investments or making it difficult to determine the value
of our investments;
-- changes in laws or government regulations affecting medical
professional liability insurance;
-- changes to our ratings assigned by rating agencies;
-- the effects of changes in the health care delivery system;
-- uncertainties inherent in the estimate of loss and loss
adjustment expense reserves and reinsurance, and changes in
the availability, cost, quality, or collectability of
insurance/reinsurance;
-- the results of litigation, including pre-or-post-trial
motions, trials and/or appeals we undertake;
-- bad faith litigation which may arise from our handling of any
particular claim, including failure to settle;
-- changes in competition among insurance providers and related
pricing weaknesses in some markets;
-- loss of independent agents;
-- our ability to purchase reinsurance and collect payments from
our reinsurers;
-- increase in guaranty fund assessments;
-- our ability to achieve continued growth through expansion into
other states or through acquisitions or business combinations;
-- the expected benefits from acquisitions may not be achieved or
may be delayed longer than expected due to, among other
reasons, business disruption, loss of customers and employees,
increased operating costs or inability to achieve cost
savings, and assumption of greater than expected liabilities;
-- changes in accounting policies and practices that may be
adopted by our regulatory agencies and the Financial
Accounting Standards Board;
-- changes in our organization, compensation and benefit plans;
and
-- our ability to recruit and retain senior management.
You should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date made. The factors listed
above could affect our financial performance and could cause actual
results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or
statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current
statements. Except as required by law or regulations, we do not
undertake and specifically decline any obligation to publicly release
the result of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such
statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or
unanticipated events.
Our results may differ materially from those we expect and discuss
in any forward-looking statements. The principal risk factors that may
cause these differences are described in various documents we file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as our current
reports on Form 8-K, and our regular reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K,
particularly in "Item 1A, Risk Factors."
ProAssurance Corporation
Frank B. O'Neil
Sr. Vice President, Corporate Communications
& Investor Relations
800-282-6242 or 205-877-4461
foneil@ProAssurance.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
