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Assurant has announced a net third quarter loss of $7 million, including lower income at its Specialty Property Division, one of Clark County’s largest employers.
The company’s overall net operating income was about $117 million, or $1.71 per share, compared to net income of $150 million, or $2.05 per share in the third quarter last year. Net operating income for the first nine months of this year was $389 million, down slightly compared to $403 million at the same time last year.
Assurant Specialty Property provides insurance and related services in partnership with financial institutions and other major clients. There are currently more than 1,500 employees at the company’s Springfield location, and approximately 150 at its Dayton office, according to information from company officials.
Company officials said Assurant is taking steps to become more profitable long-term. The company is in the process of exiting the health insurance market, previously announcing it will sell its Assurant Employee Benefits division.
“In the quarter, we made significant progress in our strategic realignment as we announced the sale of Assurant Employee Benefits and established an organizational framework to support sustainable, profitable growth long-term,” said Alan Colberg, Assurant’s president and CEO, in a press release. “These actions, along with the capital flexibility we have available during the course of the next 18 months, will support our aspirations for out-performance.”
The company is expected to finalize the sale of its Assurant Employee Benefits business by the first quarter next year.
The Specialty Property Division, a major employer in Springfield, saw about $87 million in net operating income, a 17 percent decrease compared to the third quarter last year. That loss was mostly due to the loss of client business, but was partially offset by lower non-catastrophe losses and growth in the multi-family housing business.
Earlier this year, the company announced it would close its Dayton office next year and transfer those workers back to Springfield. That move impacted about 150 Dayton workers, but did not result in a loss of jobs.
Assurant announced plans to open the Dayton office on Needmore Road in 2013 because of client growth, and because the Springfield office was full at the time.
Since last fall, however, the company has cut more than 200 jobs at its locations in Springfield and Dayton due to restructuring and the loss of business from a client.
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