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EX-31.1 - EXHIBIT 31.1 - CITIZENS, INC.cia-2015630x10qex311.htm
EX-32.1 - EXHIBIT 32.1 - CITIZENS, INC.cia-2015630x10qex321.htm
EX-31.2 - EXHIBIT 31.2 - CITIZENS, INC.cia-2015630x10qex312.htm
EX-32.2 - EXHIBIT 32.2 - CITIZENS, INC.cia-2015630x10qex322.htm
 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549
FORM 10-Q
___________________________

x Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2015
or
¨ Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the transition period from  _____ to _____
Commission File Number:  000-16509
CITIZENS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Colorado
84-0755371
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
 
 
400 East Anderson Lane, Austin, TX
78752
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
 
(512) 837-7100
 
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
 
N/A
 
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ¨  Yes x No
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). x Yes o  No
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definition of "large accelerated filer", "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer ¨
Accelerated filer x
Non-accelerated filer ¨
Smaller reporting company ¨
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ¨ Yes x No

As of July 31, 2015, the Registrant had 49,080,114 shares of Class A common stock, no par value, outstanding and 1,001,714 shares of Class B common stock outstanding.



 



























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TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
 
Page Number
Part I.
Financial Information
 
 
Item 1.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 2.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 3.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 4.
 
 
 
 
Part II.
Other Information
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 1.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 1A.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 2.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 3.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 4.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 5.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 6.


1


PART I.  FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
(In thousands)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
Assets
(Unaudited)
 
 
Investments:
 
 
 
Fixed maturities available-for-sale, at fair value (cost:  $702,655 and $667,966 in 2015 and 2014, respectively)
$
730,507

 
707,227

Fixed maturities held-to-maturity, at amortized cost (fair value:  $241,689 and $232,891 in 2015 and 2014, respectively)
236,186

 
224,932

Equity securities available-for-sale, at fair value (cost:  $69,242 and $68,787 in 2015 and 2014, respectively)
69,809

 
69,879

Mortgage loans on real estate
610

 
628

Policy loans
56,652

 
54,032

Real estate held for investment (less $1,648 and $1,575 accumulated depreciation in 2015 and 2014, respectively)
8,043

 
8,131

Other long-term investments
77

 
135

Total investments
1,101,884

 
1,064,964

Cash and cash equivalents
37,820

 
50,708

Accrued investment income
14,427

 
13,457

Reinsurance recoverable
4,362

 
4,425

Deferred policy acquisition costs
161,502

 
157,468

Cost of customer relationships acquired
22,616

 
23,542

Goodwill
17,255

 
17,255

Other intangible assets
974

 
976

Deferred tax asset
69,417

 
66,269

Property and equipment, net
6,176

 
6,352

Due premiums, net (less $1,417 and $1,364 allowance for doubtful accounts in 2015 and 2014, respectively)
11,144

 
10,777

Prepaid expenses
1,374

 
301

Other assets
1,233

 
1,061

Total assets
$
1,450,184

 
1,417,555


(Continued)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

2


CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
(In thousands, except share amounts)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
(Unaudited)
 
 
Liabilities:
 
 
 
Policy liabilities:
 
 
 
Future policy benefit reserves:
 
 
 
Life insurance
$
956,067

 
920,149

Annuities
62,260

 
59,727

Accident and health
1,241

 
1,216

Dividend accumulations
17,043

 
15,974

Premiums paid in advance
42,875

 
39,712

Policy claims payable
10,798

 
9,560

Other policyholders' funds
7,466

 
7,551

Total policy liabilities
1,097,750

 
1,053,889

Commissions payable
2,422

 
3,284

Federal income tax payable
75,562

 
78,818

Payable for securities in process of settlement
582

 

Other liabilities
24,621

 
23,205

Total liabilities
1,200,937

 
1,159,196

Commitments and contingencies (Note 7)


 


Stockholders' equity:
 

 
 

Class A, no par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 52,215,852 shares issued and outstanding in 2015 and 2014, including shares in treasury of 3,135,738 in 2015 and 2014
259,383

 
259,383

Class B, no par value, 2,000,000 shares authorized, 1,001,714 shares issued and outstanding in 2015 and 2014
3,184

 
3,184

Accumulated deficit
(20,536
)
 
(19,047
)
Accumulated other comprehensive income:
 

 
 

Unrealized gains on securities, net of tax
18,227

 
25,850

Treasury stock, at cost
(11,011
)
 
(11,011
)
Total stockholders' equity
249,247

 
258,359

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$
1,450,184

 
1,417,555



See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.


3


CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
Three Months Ended June 30,
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)


 
2015
 
2014
Revenues:
 
 
 
Premiums:
 
 
 
 
 
Life insurance
 
 
$
46,748

 
 
 
44,667

Accident and health insurance
 
 
421

 
 
 
390

Property insurance
 
 
1,291

 
 
 
1,272

Net investment income
 
 
11,201

 
 
 
10,083

Realized investment losses, net
 
 
(8
)
 
 
 
(73
)
Other income
 
 
426

 
 
 
163

Total revenues
 
 
60,079

 
 
 
56,502

Benefits and expenses:
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Claims and surrenders
 
 
19,240

 
 
 
16,668

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
 
 
19,760

 
 
 
19,979

Policyholders' dividends
 
 
2,540

 
 
 
2,412

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
 
 
41,540

 
 
 
39,059

Commissions
 
 
10,805

 
 
 
10,403

Other general expenses
 
 
10,445

 
 
 
7,448

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
 
 
(8,036
)
 
 
 
(7,423
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
 
 
5,647

 
 
 
4,893

Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
 
 
516

 
 
 
614

Total benefits and expenses
 
 
60,917

 
 
 
54,994

Income (loss) before federal income tax
 
 
(838
)
 
 
 
1,508

Federal income tax expense
 
 
1,076

 
 
 
358

Net income (loss)
 
 
(1,914
)
 
 
 
1,150

Per Share Amounts:
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

Basic earnings (losses) per share of Class A common stock
$
(0.04
)
 
 

 
0.03

 
 

Basic earnings (losses) per share of Class B common stock
(0.02
)
 
 

 
0.01

 
 

Diluted earnings (losses) per share of Class A common stock
(0.04
)
 
 

 
0.03

 
 

Diluted earnings (losses) per share of Class B common stock
(0.02
)
 
 

 
0.01

 
 

Other comprehensive income (loss):
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Unrealized holding gains (losses) arising during period
 

 
(16,778
)
 
 

 
12,296

Reclassification adjustment for losses included in net income
 

 
8

 
 

 
73

Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities, net
 

 
(16,770
)
 
 

 
12,369

Income tax expense (benefit) on unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities
 

 
(5,869
)
 
 

 
4,340

Other comprehensive income (loss)
 

 
(10,901
)
 
 

 
8,029

Comprehensive income (loss)
 

 
$
(12,815
)
 
 

 
9,179

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4



CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
Six Months Ended June 30,
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

 
2015
 
2014
Revenues:
 
 
 
 
 
Premiums:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Life insurance
 
 
$
89,647

 
 
 
86,064

Accident and health insurance
 
 
796

 
 
 
741

Property insurance
 
 
2,583

 
 
 
2,537

Net investment income
 
 
22,270

 
 
 
19,989

Realized investment losses, net
 
 
(79
)
 
 
 
(129
)
Other income
 
 
722

 
 
 
332

Total revenues
 
 
115,939

 
 
 
109,534

Benefits and expenses:
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Claims and surrenders
 
 
38,643

 
 
 
33,125

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
 
 
37,058

 
 
 
37,677

Policyholders' dividends
 
 
4,849

 
 
 
4,514

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
 
 
80,550

 
 
 
75,316

Commissions
 
 
20,664

 
 
 
20,313

Other general expenses
 
 
17,996

 
 
 
13,950

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
 
 
(14,892
)
 
 
 
(14,491
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
 
 
10,946

 
 
 
10,102

Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
 
 
1,163

 
 
 
1,145

Total benefits and expenses
 
 
116,427

 
 
 
106,335

Income (loss) before federal income tax
 
 
(488
)
 
 
 
3,199

Federal income tax expense
 
 
1,001

 
 
 
852

Net income (loss)
 
 
(1,489
)
 
 
 
2,347

Per Share Amounts:
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

Basic earnings (losses) per share of Class A common stock
$
(0.03
)
 
 

 
$
0.05

 
 

Basic earnings (losses) per share of Class B common stock
(0.02
)
 
 

 
0.02

 
 

Diluted earnings (losses) per share of Class A common stock
(0.03
)
 
 

 
0.05

 
 

Diluted earnings (losses) per share of Class B common stock
(0.02
)
 
 

 
0.02

 
 

Other comprehensive income (loss):
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Unrealized holding gains (losses) arising during period
 

 
(11,771
)
 
 

 
26,392

Reclassification adjustment for losses included in net income
 

 
44

 
 

 
105

Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities, net
 

 
(11,727
)
 
 

 
26,497

Income tax expense (benefit) on unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities
 

 
(4,104
)
 
 

 
9,294

Other comprehensive income (loss)
 

 
(7,623
)
 
 

 
17,203

Comprehensive income (loss)
 

 
$
(9,112
)
 
 

 
19,550

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

5


CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Six Months Ended June 30,
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
2014
Cash flows from operating activities:
 
 
 
Net income (loss)
$
(1,489
)
 
2,347

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
 

 
 

Realized losses on sale of investments and other assets
79

 
129

Net deferred policy acquisition costs
(3,946
)
 
(4,389
)
Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
1,163

 
1,145

Depreciation
386

 
745

Amortization of premiums and discounts on investments
5,583

 
4,505

Deferred federal income tax expense (benefit)
957

 
(1,438
)
Change in:
 

 
 

Accrued investment income
(970
)
 
(530
)
Reinsurance recoverable
63

 
(336
)
Due premiums
(367
)
 
1,129

Future policy benefit reserves
36,925

 
37,657

Other policyholders' liabilities
5,385

 
3,252

Federal income tax receivable
(3,256
)
 
33

Commissions payable and other liabilities
554

 
1,229

Other, net
(1,244
)
 
(2,055
)
Net cash provided by operating activities
39,823

 
43,423

Cash flows from investing activities:
 

 
 

Sale of fixed maturities, available-for-sale

 
580

Maturities and calls of fixed maturities, available-for-sale
19,024

 
23,530

Maturities and calls of fixed maturities, held-to-maturity
9,975

 
8,374

Purchase of fixed maturities, available-for-sale
(57,065
)
 
(47,239
)
Purchase of fixed maturities, held-to-maturity
(22,959
)
 
(11,586
)
Sale of equity securities, available-for-sale

 
11,105

Calls of equity securities, available-for-sale
150

 
200

Purchase of equity securities, available-for-sale
(602
)
 
(17,283
)
Principal payments on mortgage loans
18

 
21

Increase in policy loans, net
(2,620
)
 
(3,133
)
Sale of other long-term investments
58

 
1

Purchase of other long-term investments

 
(4
)
Purchase of property and equipment
(123
)
 
(340
)
Net cash used in acquisition

 
(4,810
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(54,144
)
 
(40,584
)

6


CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, Continued
Six Months Ended June 30,
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
 
2015
 
2014
Cash flows from financing activities:
 
 
 
Annuity deposits
$
3,995

 
2,587

Annuity withdrawals
(2,562
)
 
(2,582
)
Net cash provided by financing activities
1,433

 
5

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
(12,888
)
 
2,844

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
50,708

 
54,593

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
$
37,820

 
57,437

Supplemental disclosures of operating activities:
 

 
 

Cash paid during the period for income taxes, net
$
3,300

 
2,213


Supplemental Disclosures of Non-Cash Investing Activities:
None.

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.


7

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)


(1) Financial Statements

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements of Citizens, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP").

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts and operations of Citizens, Inc. ("Citizens"), a Colorado corporation, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, CICA Life Insurance Company of America ("CICA"), Security Plan Life Insurance Company ("SPLIC"), Security Plan Fire Insurance Company ("SPFIC"), Citizens National Life Insurance Company ("CNLIC"), Magnolia Guaranty Life Insurance Company ("MGLIC"), Computing Technology, Inc. ("CTI") and Insurance Investors, Inc. ("III").  Citizens and its wholly-owned subsidiaries are collectively referred to as "the Company," "we," "us" or "our."

The consolidated statements of financial position for June 30, 2015, and the consolidated statements of comprehensive income and cash flows for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 and cash flows for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, have been prepared by the Company without audit.  In the opinion of management, all adjustments to present fairly the financial position, results of operations, and changes in cash flows at June 30, 2015 and for comparative periods have been made.  The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  Accordingly, the financial statements do not include all of the information and footnotes required for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements, and notes thereto, for the year ended December 31, 2014.  Operating results for the interim periods disclosed herein are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for a full year or any future period.

We provide primarily life insurance and a small amount of health insurance policies through our insurance subsidiaries:  CICA, SPLIC, MGLIC and CNLIC.  CICA and CNLIC issue ordinary whole-life policies, credit life and disability, burial insurance, pre-need policies, and accident and health related policies, throughout the Midwest and southern United States.  CICA also issues ordinary whole-life and endowment policies to non-U.S. residents.  SPLIC offers final expense and home service life insurance in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, and SPFIC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SPLIC, writes a limited amount of property insurance in Louisiana. MGLIC provides industrial life policies through independent funeral homes in Mississippi.

CTI provides data processing systems and services, as well as furniture and equipment, to the Company.  III provides aviation transportation to the Company.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with U.S. GAAP, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.  Actual results could differ from those estimates.

The most significant estimates include those used in the evaluation of other-than-temporary impairments on debt and equity securities and valuation allowances on investments, actuarially determined assets and liabilities and assumptions, goodwill impairment, valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, and contingencies relating to litigation and regulatory matters.  Certain of these estimates are particularly sensitive to market conditions, and deterioration and/or volatility in the worldwide debt or equity markets could have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.



8

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

Significant Accounting Policies

For a description of significant accounting policies, see Note 1 of the notes to consolidated financial statements included in our 2014 Form 10-K Annual Report, which should be read in conjunction with these accompanying consolidated financial statements.

(2) Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Standards Recently Adopted

None.

Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC 605, Revenue Recognition. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance provides a five-step process to achieve that core principle. ASU 2014-09 requires disclosures enabling users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. Additionally, qualitative and quantitative disclosures are required about contracts with customers, significant judgments and changes in judgments, and assets recognized from the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract. ASU 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period, using one of two retrospective application methods. Early application is not permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effect that the adoption of this ASU will have on its financial statements.


9

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

(3) Segment Information

The Company has three reportable segments:  Life Insurance, Home Service Insurance, and Other Non-Insurance Enterprises.  The accounting policies of the segments are in accordance with U.S. GAAP and are the same as those used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.  The Company evaluates profit and loss performance based on U.S. GAAP income before federal income taxes for its three reportable segments.

The Company has no reportable differences between segments and consolidated operations.
 
Three Months Ended
 
June 30, 2015
 
Life
Insurance
 
Home
Service
Insurance
 
Other
Non-Insurance
Enterprises
 
Consolidated
 
(In thousands)
Revenues:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Premiums
$
36,707

 
11,753

 

 
48,460

Net investment income
7,387

 
3,441

 
373

 
11,201

Realized investment losses, net
(2
)
 
(6
)
 

 
(8
)
Other income
160

 
22

 
244

 
426

Total revenue
44,252

 
15,210

 
617

 
60,079

Benefits and expenses:
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Claims and surrenders
13,465

 
5,775

 

 
19,240

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
18,490

 
1,270

 

 
19,760

Policyholders' dividends
2,527

 
13

 

 
2,540

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
34,482

 
7,058

 

 
41,540

Commissions
6,815

 
3,990

 

 
10,805

Other general expenses
4,872

 
4,459

 
1,114

 
10,445

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
(6,423
)
 
(1,613
)
 

 
(8,036
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
4,941

 
706

 

 
5,647

Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
122

 
394

 

 
516

Total benefits and expenses
44,809

 
14,994

 
1,114

 
60,917

Income (loss) before income tax expense
$
(557
)
 
$
216

 
$
(497
)
 
$
(838
)

10

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)


 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30, 2015
 
Life
Insurance
 
Home
Service
Insurance
 
Other
Non-Insurance
Enterprises
 
Consolidated
 
(In thousands)
Revenues:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Premiums
$
69,686

 
23,340

 

 
93,026

Net investment income
14,618

 
6,905

 
747

 
22,270

Realized investment losses, net
(58
)
 
(21
)
 

 
(79
)
Other income
374

 
70

 
278

 
722

Total revenue
84,620

 
30,294

 
1,025

 
115,939

Benefits and expenses:
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Claims and surrenders
27,025

 
11,618

 

 
38,643

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
34,627

 
2,431

 

 
37,058

Policyholders' dividends
4,822

 
27

 

 
4,849

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
66,474

 
14,076

 

 
80,550

Commissions
12,841

 
7,823

 

 
20,664

Other general expenses
8,031

 
8,289

 
1,676

 
17,996

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
(11,766
)
 
(3,126
)
 

 
(14,892
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
9,490

 
1,456

 

 
10,946

Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
322

 
841

 

 
1,163

Total benefits and expenses
85,392

 
29,359

 
1,676

 
116,427

Income (loss) before income tax expense
$
(772
)
 
935

 
(651
)
 
(488
)





11

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

 
Three Months Ended
 
June 30, 2014
 
Life
Insurance
 
Home
Service
Insurance
 
Other
Non-Insurance
Enterprises
 
Consolidated
 
(In thousands)
Revenues:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Premiums
$
34,569

 
11,760

 

 
46,329

Net investment income
6,466

 
3,282

 
335

 
10,083

Realized investment gains (losses), net
(48
)
 
(26
)
 
1

 
(73
)
Other income
133

 
3

 
27

 
163

Total revenue
41,120

 
15,019

 
363

 
56,502

Benefits and expenses:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Claims and surrenders
11,163

 
5,505

 

 
16,668

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
18,849

 
1,130

 

 
19,979

Policyholders' dividends
2,397

 
15

 

 
2,412

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
32,409

 
6,650

 

 
39,059

Commissions
6,484

 
3,919

 

 
10,403

Other general expenses
2,965

 
3,499

 
984

 
7,448

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
(5,848
)
 
(1,575
)
 

 
(7,423
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
4,205

 
688

 

 
4,893

Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
120

 
494

 

 
614

Total benefits and expenses
40,335

 
13,675

 
984

 
54,994

Income (loss) before income tax expense
$
785

 
1,344

 
(621
)
 
1,508



12

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30, 2014
 
Life
Insurance
 
Home
Service
Insurance
 
Other
Non-Insurance
Enterprises
 
Consolidated
 
(In thousands)
Revenues:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Premiums
$
66,380

 
22,962

 

 
89,342

Net investment income
12,749

 
6,569

 
671

 
19,989

Realized investment gains (losses), net
(112
)
 
(18
)
 
1

 
(129
)
Other income
276

 
4

 
52

 
332

Total revenue
79,293

 
29,517

 
724

 
109,534

Benefits and expenses:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Claims and surrenders
21,978

 
11,147

 

 
33,125

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
35,825

 
1,852

 

 
37,677

Policyholders' dividends
4,483

 
31

 

 
4,514

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
62,286

 
13,030

 

 
75,316

Commissions
12,722

 
7,591

 

 
20,313

Other general expenses
5,805

 
6,668

 
1,477

 
13,950

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
(11,507
)
 
(2,984
)
 

 
(14,491
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
8,612

 
1,490

 

 
10,102

Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
291

 
854

 

 
1,145

Total benefits and expenses
78,209

 
26,649

 
1,477

 
106,335

Income (loss) before income tax expense
$
1,084

 
2,868

 
(753
)
 
3,199





13

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)


(4) Earnings Per Share

The following tables set forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share.
 
Three Months Ended
 
June 30, 2015
 
June 30, 2014
 
(In thousands,
except per share amounts)
Basic and diluted earnings per share:
 
 
 
Numerator:
 
 
 
 Net income (loss)
$
(1,914
)
 
1,150

 Net income (loss) allocated to Class A common stock
(1,895
)
 
1,138

 Net income (loss) allocated to Class B common stock
(19
)
 
12

 Net income (loss)
$
(1,914
)
 
1,150

Denominator:
 
 
 
 Weighted average shares of Class A outstanding - basic
49,080

 
49,080

 Weighted average shares of Class A outstanding - diluted
49,080

 
49,080

 Weighted average shares of Class B outstanding - basic and diluted
1,002

 
1,002

Basic earnings (losses) per share of Class A common stock
$
(0.04
)
 
0.03

Basic earnings (losses) per share of Class B common stock
(0.02
)
 
0.01

Diluted earnings (losses) per share of Class A common stock
(0.04
)
 
0.03

Diluted earnings (losses) per share of Class B common stock
(0.02
)
 
0.01


 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30, 2015
 
June 30, 2014
 
(In thousands,
except per share amounts)
Basic and diluted earnings per share:
 
 
 
Numerator:
 
 
 
Net income (loss)
$
(1,489
)
 
2,347

Net income (loss) allocated to Class A common stock
$
(1,474
)
 
2,323

Net income (loss) allocated to Class B common stock
(15
)
 
24

Net income (loss)
$
(1,489
)
 
2,347

Denominator:
 
 
 
Weighted average shares of Class A outstanding - basic
49,080

 
49,080

Weighted average shares of Class A outstanding - diluted
49,080

 
49,080

Weighted average shares of Class B outstanding - basic and diluted
1,002

 
1,002

Basic earnings (losses) per share of Class A common stock
$
(0.03
)
 
0.05

Basic earnings (losses) per share of Class B common stock
(0.02
)
 
0.02

Diluted earnings (losses) per share of Class A common stock
(0.03
)
 
0.05

Diluted earnings (losses) per share of Class B common stock
(0.02
)
 
0.02



14

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

(5) Investments

The Company invests primarily in fixed maturity securities, which totaled 84.8% of total cash, cash equivalents and investments at June 30, 2015.
 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
 
Carrying
Value
 
% of Total
Carrying Value
 
Carrying
Value
 
% of Total
Carrying Value
 
($ In thousands)
Fixed maturity securities
$
966,693

 
84.8
%
 
$
932,159

 
83.6
%
Equity securities
69,809

 
6.1
%
 
69,879

 
6.3
%
Mortgage loans
610

 
0.1
%
 
628

 
0.1
%
Policy loans
56,652

 
5.0
%
 
54,032

 
4.8
%
Real estate and other long-term investments
8,120

 
0.7
%
 
8,266

 
0.7
%
Cash and cash equivalents
37,820

 
3.3
%
 
50,708

 
4.5
%
Total cash, cash equivalents and investments
$
1,139,704

 
100.0
%
 
$
1,115,672

 
100.0
%


15

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)


The following tables represent the cost, gross unrealized gains and losses and fair value for fixed maturities and equity securities as of the periods indicated.
 
June 30, 2015
 
Cost or
Amortized
Cost
 
Gross
Unrealized
Gains
 
Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 
Fair
Value
 
(In thousands)
Fixed maturities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Available-for-sale:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U.S. Treasury securities
$
10,026

 
2,694

 

 
12,720

U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises
36,589

 
1,461

 

 
38,050

States and political subdivisions
440,526

 
15,741

 
3,854

 
452,413

Foreign governments
104

 
28

 

 
132

Corporate
212,342

 
13,343

 
1,809

 
223,876

Commercial mortgage-backed
183

 
7

 

 
190

Residential mortgage-backed
2,885

 
243

 
2

 
3,126

Total available-for-sale securities
702,655

 
33,517

 
5,665

 
730,507

Held-to-maturity securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises
2,013

 
149

 

 
2,162

States and political subdivisions
207,346

 
6,336

 
1,096

 
212,586

Corporate
26,827

 
739

 
625

 
26,941

Total held-to-maturity securities
236,186

 
7,224

 
1,721

 
241,689

Total fixed maturities
$
938,841

 
40,741

 
7,386

 
972,196

Equity securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Stock mutual funds
$
16,007

 
1,715

 
133

 
17,589

Bond mutual funds
51,576

 
2

 
1,243

 
50,335

Common stock
65

 

 
16

 
49

Preferred stock
1,594

 
244

 
2

 
1,836

Total equity securities
$
69,242

 
1,961

 
1,394

 
69,809



16

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

 
December 31, 2014
 
Cost or
Amortized
Cost
 
Gross
Unrealized
Gains
 
Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 
Fair
Value
 
(In thousands)
Fixed maturities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Available-for-sale securities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U.S. Treasury securities
$
10,056

 
2,924

 

 
12,980

U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises
38,312

 
1,937

 

 
40,249

States and political subdivisions
404,657

 
19,146

 
1,448

 
422,355

Foreign governments
104

 
31

 

 
135

Corporate
211,410

 
17,441

 
1,024

 
227,827

Commercial mortgage-backed
223

 
8

 

 
231

Residential mortgage-backed
3,204

 
249

 
3

 
3,450

Total available-for-sale securities
667,966

 
41,736

 
2,475

 
707,227

Held-to-maturity securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises
2,017

 
178

 

 
2,195

States and political subdivisions
192,875

 
7,782

 
388

 
200,269

Corporate
30,040

 
947

 
560

 
30,427

Total held-to-maturity securities
224,932

 
8,907

 
948

 
232,891

Total fixed maturity securities
$
892,898

 
50,643

 
3,423

 
940,118

Equity securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Stock mutual funds
$
16,005

 
1,657

 
66

 
17,596

Bond mutual funds
50,976

 
60

 
796

 
50,240

Common stock
65

 

 
14

 
51

Preferred stock
1,741

 
253

 
2

 
1,992

Total equity securities
$
68,787

 
1,970

 
878

 
69,879

 
Mortgage-backed securities are also referred to as securities not due at a single maturity date throughout this report.  The majority of the Company's equity securities are diversified stock and bond mutual funds.
 
Valuation of Investments in Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities

Held-to-maturity securities are reported in the financial statements at amortized cost and available-for-sale securities are reported at fair value.

The Company monitors all debt and equity securities on an on-going basis relative to changes in credit ratings, market prices, earnings trends and financial performance, in addition to specific region or industry reviews.  The assessment of whether impairments have occurred is based on a case-by-case evaluation of underlying reasons for the decline in fair value.  The Company determines other-than-temporary impairment by reviewing relevant evidence related to the specific security issuer as well as the Company's intent to sell the security, or if it is more likely than not that the Company would be required to sell a security before recovery of its amortized cost.

When an other-than-temporary impairment has occurred, the amount of the other-than-temporary impairment recognized in earnings depends on whether the Company intends to sell the security or more likely than not will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis.  If the Company intends to sell the security or more likely than not will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, the other-than-temporary impairment is recognized in earnings equal to the entire difference between the investment's cost and its fair value at the balance sheet date.  If the Company does not intend to sell the security and it is more likely than not that the Company will not be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized

17

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

cost basis, the other-than-temporary impairment is separated into the following: (a) the amount representing the credit loss; and (b) the amount related to all other factors.  The amount of the total other-than-temporary impairment related to the credit loss is recognized in earnings.  The amount of the total other-than-temporary impairment related to other factors is recognized in other comprehensive income, net of applicable taxes.  The previous amortized cost basis less the other-than-temporary impairment recognized in earnings becomes the new amortized cost basis of the investment.  The new amortized cost basis is not adjusted for subsequent recoveries in fair value.

The Company evaluates whether a credit impairment exists for debt securities by considering primarily the following factors: (a) changes in the financial condition of the security's underlying collateral; (b) whether the issuer is current on contractually obligated interest and principal payments; (c) changes in the financial condition, credit rating and near-term prospects of the issuer; (d) the length of time to which the fair value has been less than the amortized cost of the security; and (e) the payment structure of the security.  The Company's best estimate of expected future cash flows used to determine the credit loss amount is a quantitative and qualitative process.  Quantitative review includes information received from third party sources such as financial statements, pricing and rating changes, liquidity and other statistical information.  Qualitative factors include judgments related to business strategies, economic impacts on the issuer and overall judgment related to estimates and industry factors.  The Company's best estimate of future cash flows involves assumptions including, but not limited to, various performance indicators, such as historical and projected default and recovery rates, credit ratings, and current delinquency rates.  These assumptions require the use of significant management judgment and include the probability of issuer default and estimates regarding timing and amount of expected recoveries, which may include estimating the underlying collateral value.  In addition, projections of expected future debt security cash flows may change based upon new information regarding the performance of the issuer.

The primary factors considered in evaluating whether an impairment exists for an equity security include, but are not limited to: (a) the length of time and the extent to which the fair value has been less than the cost of the security; (b) changes in the financial condition, credit rating and near-term prospects of the issuer; (c) whether the issuer is current on contractually obligated payments; and (d) the intent and ability of the Company to retain the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for recovery.

No other-than-temporary impairments were recognized during the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 or 2014.


18

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

The following tables present the fair values and gross unrealized losses of fixed maturities and equity securities that have remained in a continuous unrealized loss position for the periods indicated.
 
June 30, 2015
 
Less than 12 months
 
Greater than 12 months
 
Total
 
Fair
Value
 
Unrealized
Losses
 
# of
Securities
 
Fair
Value
 
Unrealized
Losses
 
# of
Securities
 
Fair
Value
 
Unrealized
Losses
 
# of
Securities
 
(In thousands, except for # of securities)
Fixed maturities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Available-for-sale securities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
States and political subdivisions
$
139,803

 
1,956

 
98

 
19,524

 
1,898

 
10

 
159,327

 
3,854

 
108

Corporate
45,000

 
1,644

 
26

 
3,670

 
165

 
2

 
48,670

 
1,809

 
28

Residential mortgage-backed
2

 

 
1

 
141

 
2

 
3

 
143

 
2

 
4

Total available-for-sale securities
184,805

 
3,600

 
125

 
23,335

 
2,065

 
15

 
208,140

 
5,665

 
140

Held-to-maturity securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

States and political subdivisions
53,064

 
963

 
37

 
7,582

 
133

 
7

 
60,646

 
1,096

 
44

Corporate
3,225

 
254

 
2

 
5,190

 
371

 
2

 
8,415

 
625

 
4

Total held-to-maturity securities
56,289

 
1,217

 
39

 
12,772

 
504

 
9

 
69,061

 
1,721

 
48

Total fixed maturities
$
241,094

 
4,817

 
164

 
36,107

 
2,569

 
24

 
277,201

 
7,386

 
188

Equity securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Stock mutual funds
$
5,409

 
133

 
4

 

 

 

 
5,409

 
133

 
4

Bond mutual funds
50,070

 
1,243

 
6

 

 

 

 
50,070

 
1,243

 
6

Common stocks
46

 
1

 
2

 
2

 
15

 
9

 
48

 
16

 
11

   Preferred stocks
75

 
2

 
2

 

 

 

 
75

 
2

 
2

Total equities
$
55,600

 
1,379

 
14

 
2

 
15

 
9

 
55,602

 
1,394

 
23


As of June 30, 2015, the Company had 15 available-for-sale fixed maturity securities and 9 held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities that were in an unrealized loss position for greater than 12 months. We reported 9 common stock holding in an unrealized loss position for greater than 12 months as of June 30, 2015.


19

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

 
December 31, 2014
 
Less than 12 months
 
Greater than 12 months
 
Total
 
Fair
Value
 
Unrealized
Losses
 
# of
Securities
 
Fair
Value
 
Unrealized
Losses
 
# of
Securities
 
Fair
Value
 
Unrealized
Losses
 
# of
Securities
 
(In thousands, except for # of securities)
Fixed maturities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Available-for-sale securities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
States and political subdivisions
$
43,776

 
318

 
47

 
33,716

 
1,130

 
24

 
77,492

 
1,448

 
71

Corporate
26,671

 
780

 
24

 
2,530

 
244

 
2

 
29,201

 
1,024

 
26

Residential mortgage-backed
159

 
2

 
5

 
33

 
1

 
1

 
192

 
3

 
6

Total available-for-sale securities
70,606

 
1,100

 
76

 
36,279

 
1,375

 
27

 
106,885

 
2,475

 
103

Held-to-maturity securities:
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

States and political subdivisions
21,233

 
74

 
16

 
15,429

 
314

 
21

 
36,662

 
388

 
37

Corporate
3,866

 
285

 
4

 
2,746

 
275

 
2

 
6,612

 
560

 
6

Total held-to-maturity securities
25,099

 
359

 
20

 
18,175

 
589

 
23

 
43,274

 
948

 
43

Total fixed maturities
$
95,705

 
1,459

 
96

 
54,454

 
1,964

 
50

 
150,159

 
3,423

 
146

Equity securities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stock mutual funds
$
5,224

 
66

 
4

 

 

 

 
5,224

 
66

 
4

Bond mutual funds
26,228

 
796

 
4

 

 

 

 
26,228

 
796

 
4

Preferred stocks
234

 
2

 
4

 

 

 

 
234

 
2

 
4

Common stock
46

 
1

 
2

 
4

 
13

 
9

 
50

 
14

 
11

Total equities
$
31,732

 
865

 
14

 
4

 
13

 
9

 
31,736

 
878

 
23

 
We have reviewed these securities for the periods ended June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 and determined that no other-than-temporary impairment exists that have not been recognized based on our evaluation of the credit worthiness of the issuers and the fact that we do not intend to sell the investments nor is it likely that we will be required to sell the securities before recovery of their amortized cost bases which may be maturity.  We continue to monitor all securities on an on-going basis, and future information may become available which could result in impairments being recorded.


20

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

The amortized cost and fair value of fixed maturity securities at June 30, 2015 by contractual maturity are shown in the table below.  Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties. Securities not due at a single maturity date have been reflected based upon final stated maturity.
 
June 30, 2015
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
(In thousands)
Available-for-sale securities:
 
 
 
Due in one year or less
$
37,022

 
37,470

Due after one year through five years
124,548

 
130,746

Due after five years through ten years
98,026

 
102,870

Due after ten years
443,059

 
459,421

Total available-for-sale securities
702,655

 
730,507

Held-to-maturity securities:
 

 
 

Due in one year or less
12,549

 
12,599

Due after one year through five years
33,016

 
34,625

Due after five years through ten years
49,514

 
51,249

Due after ten years
141,107

 
143,216

Total held-to-maturity securities
236,186

 
241,689

Total fixed maturities
$
938,841

 
972,196


The Company uses the specific identification method of the individual security to determine the cost basis used in the calculation of realized gains and losses related to security sales.  Proceeds and gross realized gains from sales of securities for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 are summarized as follows.

 
Fixed Maturities Available-for-Sale
 
Equity Securities
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Proceeds
$

 
580

 

 
580

 

 
11,105

 

 
11,105

Gross realized gains
$

 
21

 

 
21

 

 
63

 

 
63

Gross realized losses
$

 

 

 

 

 
169

 

 
169


 
There were no sales of available-for-sale securities for the three and six month period ended June 30, 2015. There was one equity bond mutual fund sold at a loss during the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2014 as higher yielding bond mutual fund alternatives became more attractive than these U.S. Government backed funds as circumstances changed in the current environment. There were no securities sold from the held-to-maturity portfolio for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 or 2014.


21

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

(6) Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.  We hold available-for-sale fixed maturity securities and equity securities, which are carried at fair value.

Fair value measurements are generally based upon observable and unobservable inputs.  Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect our view of market assumptions in the absence of observable market information.  We utilize valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs.  All assets and liabilities carried at fair value are required to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

Level 1 - Quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets.
Level 2 - Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and model-derived valuations whose inputs or whose significant value drivers are observable.
Level 3 - Instruments whose significant value drivers are unobservable.

Level 1 primarily consists of financial instruments whose value is based on quoted market prices such as U.S. Treasury securities and actively traded mutual fund and stock investments.

Level 2 includes those financial instruments that are valued by independent pricing services or broker quotes.  These models are primarily industry-standard models that consider various inputs, such as interest rates, credit spreads and foreign exchange rates for the underlying financial instruments.  All significant inputs are observable, or derived from observable information in the marketplace or are supported by observable levels at which transactions are executed in the marketplace.  Financial instruments in this category primarily include corporate securities, U.S. Government-sponsored enterprise securities, municipal securities and certain mortgage and asset-backed securities.

Level 3 is comprised of financial instruments whose fair value is estimated based on non-binding broker prices utilizing significant inputs not based on or corroborated by readily available market information.  This category consists of two private placement mortgage-backed securities.


22

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

The following tables set forth our assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of the dates indicated.
 
June 30, 2015
Available-for-sale investments
Level 1
 
Level 2
 
Level 3
 
Total
Fair Value
 
(In thousands)
Financial assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fixed maturities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U.S. Treasury and U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises
$
12,720

 
38,050

 

 
50,770

States and political subdivisions

 
452,413

 

 
452,413

Corporate

 
223,876

 

 
223,876

Commercial mortgage-backed

 

 
190

 
190

Residential mortgage-backed

 
3,126

 

 
3,126

Foreign governments

 
132

 

 
132

Total fixed maturities
12,720

 
717,597

 
190

 
730,507

Equity securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Stock mutual funds
17,589

 

 

 
17,589

Bond mutual funds
50,335

 

 

 
50,335

Common stock
49

 

 

 
49

Preferred stock
1,836

 

 

 
1,836

Total equity securities
69,809

 

 

 
69,809

Total financial assets
$
82,529

 
717,597

 
190

 
800,316


 
December 31, 2014
Available-for-sale investments
Level 1
 
Level 2
 
Level 3
 
Total
Fair Value
 
(In thousands)
Financial assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fixed maturities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U.S. Treasury and U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises
$
12,980

 
40,249

 

 
53,229

States and political subdivisions

 
422,355

 

 
422,355

Corporate

 
227,827

 

 
227,827

Commercial mortgage-backed

 

 
231

 
231

Residential mortgage-backed

 
3,450

 

 
3,450

Foreign governments

 
135

 

 
135

Total fixed maturities
12,980

 
694,016

 
231

 
707,227

Equity securities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Stock mutual funds
17,596

 

 

 
17,596

Bond mutual funds
50,240

 

 

 
50,240

Common stock
51

 

 

 
51

Preferred stock
1,992

 

 

 
1,992

Total equity securities
69,879

 

 

 
69,879

Total financial assets
$
82,859

 
694,016

 
231

 
777,106

 

23

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

Financial Instruments Valuation

Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale.  At June 30, 2015, our fixed maturity securities, valued using a third-party pricing source, totaled $717.6 million for Level 2 assets and comprised 89.7% of total reported fair value of our financial assets.  The Level 1 and Level 2 valuations are reviewed and updated quarterly through random testing by comparisons to separate pricing models, other third-party pricing services, and back tested to recent trades.  In addition, we obtain information relative to the third-party pricing models and review model parameters for reasonableness.  Fair values for Level 3 assets are based upon unadjusted broker quotes that are non-binding, and consist of two private placement mortgage-backed securities with a total value of $0.2 million.  Our Level 3 assets are current relative to principal and interest payments and are considered immaterial to our financial statements.  For the six months ended June 30, 2015, there were no material changes to the valuation methods or assumptions used to determine fair values, and no broker or third party prices were changed from the values received.

Equity securities, available-for-sale.  Our available-for-sale equity securities are classified as Level 1 assets as their fair values are based upon quoted market prices.

The following table presents additional information about fixed maturity securities measured at fair value on a recurring basis that are classified as Level 3 assets and for which we have utilized significant unobservable inputs to determine fair value.

June 30,
2015
 
December 31,
2014
 
(In thousands)
 
 
 
 
Balance at beginning of period
$
231

 
309

Total realized and unrealized gains (losses)


 
 

Included in net income

 

Included in other comprehensive income

 
(1
)
Principal paydowns
(41
)
 
(77
)
Transfer in and (out) of Level 3

 

Balance at end of period
$
190

 
231


We review the fair value hierarchy classifications each reporting period.  Changes in the observability of the valuation attributes may result in a reclassification of certain financial assets.  Such reclassifications are reported as transfers in and out of Level 3 at the beginning fair value for the reporting period in which the changes occur. There were no transfers in or out of Level 1 or 2.

Financial Instruments not Carried at Fair Value

Estimates of fair values are made at a specific point in time, based on relevant market prices and information about the financial instruments.  The estimated fair values of financial instruments presented below are not necessarily indicative of the amounts the Company might realize in actual market transactions.


24

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

The carrying amount and fair value for the financial assets and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets not otherwise disclosed for the periods indicated are as follows:
 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
 
Carrying Value
 
Fair Value
 
Carrying Value
 
Fair Value
 
(In thousands)
Financial assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fixed maturities, held-to-maturity
$
236,186

 
241,689

 
224,932

 
232,891

Mortgage loans
610

 
631

 
628

 
652

Policy loans
56,652

 
56,652

 
54,032

 
54,032

Cash and cash equivalents
37,820

 
37,820

 
50,708

 
50,708

Financial liabilities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Annuity - investment contracts
44,801

 
35,634

 
42,837

 
37,978


Fair values for fixed income securities, which are characterized as Level 2 assets in the fair value hierarchy, are based on quoted market prices for the same or similar securities.  In cases where quoted market prices are not available, fair values are based on estimates using present value or other assumptions, including a discount rate and estimates of future cash flows.

Mortgage loans are secured principally by residential and commercial properties.  Weighted average interest rates for these loans were approximately 6.3% as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, with maturities ranging from 1 to 30 years.  Management estimated the fair value using an annual interest rate of 6.2% at June 30, 2015.  Our mortgage loans are considered Level 3 assets in the fair value hierarchy.

Policy loans had a weighted average annual interest rate of 7.7% as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, and no specified maturity dates.  The aggregate fair value of policy loans approximates the carrying value reflected on the consolidated balance sheets.  These loans typically carry an interest rate that is tied to the crediting rate applied to the related policy and contract reserves.  Policy loans are an integral part of the life insurance policies we have in force, cannot be valued separately and are not marketable.  Therefore, the fair value of policy loans approximates the carrying value and policy loans are considered Level 3 assets in the fair value hierarchy.
 
The fair value of short-term investments approximate carrying value due to their short-term nature.  Our short-term investments are considered Level 2 assets in the fair value hierarchy.
 
The fair value of cash and cash equivalents approximate carrying value and are characterized as Level 1 assets in the fair value hierarchy.
 
The fair value of the Company's liabilities under annuity contract policies, which are considered Level 3 assets, was estimated at June 30, 2015 using discounted cash flows based upon a swap rate curve with interest rates ranging from 1.60% to 5.71% based upon swap rates adjusted for various risk adjustments. The fair value of liabilities under all insurance contracts are taken into consideration in the overall management of interest rate risk, which seeks to minimize exposure to changing interest rates through the matching of investment maturities with amounts due under insurance contracts.

(7) Commitments and Contingencies

Qualification of Life Products

In the first quarter of 2015, we announced that we identified that a substantial portion of the life insurance policies issued by our subsidiary insurance companies failed to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment afforded by Sections 7702

25

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

and 7702A of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") of 1986. This tax code section allows for qualifying products sold to clients to have favorable tax treatment such as the death benefit is not taxable. By identifying certain products that we have sold with the intention of this favorable tax treatment but in fact they do not qualify under the IRC rules, our policyholders may now be subject to additional tax liabilities. The policies at issue were primarily sold to non-U.S. citizens residing abroad. Based upon a review of the options available to the Company we have determined we will not remediate our endowments and endowment-like products we have sold to non-U.S. citizens. We do intend to remediate the domestic products we have sold to U.S. citizens. In addition, as part of our continuing review we identified in July of 2015 certain annuity contracts which do not contain qualifying language under IRC 72(s) as intended that would have provided for favorable tax treatment of the annuities. This issue affects both our domestic and international contract holders. Failure of these policies to qualify under Sections 7702, 7702A and 72(s) has resulted in additional expenses as described below. The products have been and continue to be appropriately reported under U.S. GAAP for financial reporting.

The failure of these policies to qualify under Sections 7702 and 7702A resulted in additional expense recorded as of December 31, 2014 of $11.4 million, after tax, related to projected IRS toll charges and fees of $10.1 million as well as claims liability for past claims and reserves increases to bring policies into compliance totaling $1.3 million. The failure of the annuities to qualify under 72(s) resulted in $2.5 million additional pretax expense recorded as of June 30, 2015 related to projected IRS toll charges. These toll charges are not deductible for tax. The range of financial estimates relative to these issues is $13.9 million to $46.6 million, after tax. This estimated range includes projected toll charges and fees as well as increased claims liability for past claims and reserve increases to bring policies into compliance and other probable liabilities resulting from this tax compliance matter. Our estimated range reflects the uncertainties with respect to the required course of action and other matters unknown at this time. Currently, management believes there is not a specific estimable amount for these probable liabilities and expenses which is more likely than other specific amounts within our estimated range. The process of determining our estimated range was a complex undertaking including insight from external consultants and involved management’s judgment based upon a variety of factors known at the time. The Company recorded the low end of the range. In addition, we have recorded expenses of $0.8 million in 2015 and it is reasonably possible that we may incur additional costs associated with these issues in the current year related to system remediation and consulting costs. We believe these additional costs could be $0.5 million to $0.8 million but due to the uncertainty of actions we cannot reasonably estimate these costs with any reliability. Actual amounts incurred may exceed this estimate and will be recorded as they become probable and can be reasonably estimated.

Compliance

As part of our efforts to review and improve our compliance controls, we discovered potential non-compliance with Treasury regulations such as Section 7702, described earlier, as well as unrelated applicable Bank Secrecy Act requirements.  Although we are not yet able to determine the extent of any oversights or estimate any other potential loss, we cannot assure you that the impact of any non-compliance will not have a material impact upon the company.

Unclaimed Property Contingencies
The Company is currently performing an internal audit related to unclaimed property for all legal reporting entities. Based upon internal findings to date our exposure appears to be primarily in the state of Louisiana, related to conversion processes surrounding the SPLIC acquisition. The Company had been informed by the Louisiana Department of Treasury, Arkansas Auditor of State and the Texas State Comptroller, that they authorized an audit of Citizens, Inc. and its affiliates for compliance with unclaimed property laws. This audit is being conducted by Verus Financial LLC on behalf of the states.

These internal and external audits may result in additional payments to beneficiaries, additional escheatment of funds deemed abandoned under state laws, administrative penalties, interest, and changes to the Company's procedures for the identification and escheatment of abandoned property.  The Company believes additional escheatment of funds in Arkansas or Texas will not be material to our financial condition or results. However, additional escheatment of funds in Louisiana, which may subsequently be deemed abandoned under the Louisiana Department of Treasury’s audit, could be substantial for SPLIC if the Louisiana Department of Treasury chooses to disregard recent unclaimed property litigation in favor of the insurance industry. At this time, the Company is not able to estimate any of these possible amounts. For more information about the risks related to these external unclaimed property audits please see the Risk Factor in Item 1A titled “We are a defendant in lawsuits, which may adversely affect our financial condition and detract from the time our management is able to devote to our business, and we are subject to risks related to litigation and regulatory matters.”



26

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued
June 30, 2015
(Unaudited)

Litigation

From time to time we are subject to legal and regulatory actions relating to our business. We defend all claims vigorously.  As a result, we incur defense costs, including attorneys' fees, other direct litigation costs and the expenditure of management time that otherwise would be devoted to our business.  


(8) Income Taxes

The effective tax rate was (128.4)% and 23.7% for the three months and (205.1)% and 26.6% for the six months of 2015 and 2014, respectively. The large negative effective tax rate for the periods in 2015 are due to the fact that the IRC Section 72(s) toll charges of $2.5 million are creating a pretax loss but are not deductible for tax. Additionally there is $678 thousand related to an uncertain tax position in the six months ended June 30, 2015. In most periods where our effective tax rate is lower than the statutory tax rate of 35%, the difference is primarily due to tax-exempt state and local bonds. The effective tax rate in the current year is impacted by the low amount of income before taxes which is resulting in a lower effective rate from year to year while the tax-exempt amounts will remain level.

(9) Related Party Transactions

The Company has various routine related party transactions in conjunction with our holding company structure, such as a management service agreement related to costs incurred, a tax sharing agreement between entities, and inter-company dividends and capital contributions.  There were no changes related to these relationships during the six months ended June 30, 2015.  In June 2015 CICA made a $1 million cash capital contribution to CNLIC. See our Annual Report on Form 10-K as of December 31, 2014 for a comprehensive discussion of related party transactions.


27

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Item 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are not statements of historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (the "Act"), including, without limitation, statements specifically identified as forward-looking statements within this document.  Many of these statements contain risk factors as well.  In addition, certain statements in future filings by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in press releases, and in oral and written statements made by us or with the approval of the Company, which are not statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act.  Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:  (i) projections of revenues, income or loss, earnings or loss per share, the payment or non-payment of dividends, capital structure, and other financial items, (ii) statements of our plans and objectives by our management or Board of Directors, including those relating to products or services, (iii) statements of future economic performance and (iv) statements of assumptions underlying such statements.  Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "assumes," "estimates," "plans," "projects," "could," "expects," "intends," "targeted," "may," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements.  Factors that could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from expected results include, but are not limited to:

Changes in foreign and U.S. general economic, market, and political conditions, including the performance of financial markets and interest rates;
Changes in consumer behavior, which may affect the Company's ability to sell its products and retain business;
The timely development of and acceptance of new products of the Company and perceived overall value of these products and services by existing and potential customers;
Fluctuations in experience regarding current mortality, morbidity, persistency and interest rates relative to expected amounts used in pricing and actuarial valuation of the Company's products;
The performance of our investment portfolio, which may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates, adverse developments and ratings of issuers whose debt securities we may hold, and other adverse macroeconomic events;
Results of litigation we may be involved in;
Changes in assumptions related to deferred acquisition costs and the value of any businesses we may acquire;
Changes in laibilities associated with noncompliance of certain insurance products with Sections 7702, 7702A and 72(s) under the internal Revenue Code;
Regulatory, accounting or tax changes that may affect the cost of, or the demand for, the Company's products or services;
Our concentration of business from persons residing in Latin America and the Pacific Rim;
Changes in tax laws;
Effects of acquisitions and restructuring, including possible difficulties in integrating and realizing the projected results of acquisitions;
Changes in statutory or U.S. GAAP accounting principles, policies or practices;
Our success at managing risks involved in the foregoing; and
The risk factors discussed in "Part II. - Item 1A - Risk Factors." of this report.

Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made.


28

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

We make available, free of charge, through our Internet website (http://www.citizensinc.com), our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Section 16 Reports filed by officers and directors, news releases, and, if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish such reports to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.  We are not including any of the information contained on our website as part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Overview

Citizens is an insurance holding company serving the life insurance needs of individuals in the United States since 1969 and internationally since 1975.  Through our insurance subsidiaries, we pursue a strategy of offering traditional insurance products in niche markets where we believe we are able to achieve competitive advantages.  As of June 30, 2015, we had approximately $1.5 billion of total assets and approximately $4.7 billion of insurance in force.  Our core insurance operations include issuing and servicing:

U.S. Dollar-denominated ordinary whole life insurance and endowment policies predominantly to high net worth, high income residents of foreign countries, principally in Latin America and the Pacific Rim through independent marketing consultants;
ordinary whole life insurance policies to middle income households concentrated in the Midwest and southern United States through independent marketing consultants; and
final expense and limited liability property policies to middle and lower income households in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi through employee and independent agents in our home service distribution channel and funeral homes.

We were formed in 1969 by our Chairman Emeritus, Harold E. Riley.  Prior to our formation, Mr. Riley had many years of experience in the international and domestic life insurance business.  Our Company has experienced significant growth through acquisitions in the domestic market and through market expansion in the international market.  We seek to capitalize on the experience of our management team in marketing and operations as we strive to generate bottom line return using knowledge of our niche markets and our well-established distribution channels.  We believe our underwriting processes, policy terms, pricing practices and proprietary administrative systems enable us to be competitive in our current markets, while protecting our shareholders and servicing our policyholders.

Current Financial Highlights

Financial highlights for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same periods in 2014 were:

Insurance premiums rose for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 to $48.5 million and $93.0 million in 2015 from $46.3 million and $89.3 million for the corresponding periods in 2014, an increase of 4.6% and 4.1% driven primarily by first year and renewal premiums in our life insurance segment.
Net investment income increased 11.1% and 11.4% for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 compared to the corresponding periods in 2014.  The average yield on the consolidated portfolio as of the six months ended June 30, 2015 increased to an annualized rate of 4.25% up from 4.21% for the same period in 2014.  
Claims and surrenders expense increased 15.4% and 16.7% for the three and six months ended in 2015 compared to 2014 as death benefits reported in both insurance segments increased and surrender benefits increased in the life segment in the current year compared to 2014 levels.
Changes in reserves resulted in liability increases due to the increased sales of endowment products that build up reserves at a faster pace than whole life longer-term mortality based products.
General expenses have increased due to an additional tax compliance issue that was identified in July of 2015 related to annuities compliance under the Internal Revenue Code Section 72(s) which resulted in recording an expense estimate of $2.5 million and due to an increase related to accounting, actuarial and legal expenses associated with the tax compliance issues that have been identified in the current year. Additional consulting expenses incurred for these tax compliance issues to date on a consolidated level totaled approximately$ 0.8 million.

29

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015


Our Operating Segments

Our business is comprised of three operating business segments, as detailed below.

Life Insurance
Home Service Insurance
Other Non-Insurance Enterprises

Our insurance operations are the primary focus of the Company, as those operations generate the majority of our income.  See the discussion under Segment Operations for detailed analysis.  The amount of insurance, number of policies, and average face amounts of ordinary life policies issued during the periods indicated are shown below.
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
Amount of
Insurance
Issued
 
Number of
Policies
Issued
 
Average Policy
Face Amount
Issued
 
Amount of
Insurance
Issued
 
Number of
Policies
Issued
 
Average Policy
Face Amount
Issued
Life
$
168,032,030

 
3,070

 
$
54,734

 
$
164,016,395

 
2,717

 
$
60,367

Home Service
99,799,857

 
14,580

 
6,844

 
98,660,597

 
14,716

 
6,704



30

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Note:  All discussions below compare or state results for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2015 compared to the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2014.

Consolidated Results of Operations

A discussion of consolidated results is presented below, followed by a discussion of segment operations and financial results by segment.

Revenues

Revenues are generated primarily by insurance premiums and investment income on invested assets.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Revenues:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Premiums:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Life insurance
$
46,748

 
44,667

 
$
89,647

 
86,064

Accident and health insurance
421

 
390

 
796

 
741

Property insurance
1,291

 
1,272

 
2,583

 
2,537

Net investment income
11,201

 
10,083

 
22,270

 
19,989

Realized investment losses, net
(8
)
 
(73
)
 
(79
)
 
(129
)
Other income
426

 
163

 
722

 
332

Total revenues
$
60,079

 
56,502

 
$
115,939

 
109,534


Premium Income.  Premium income derived from life, accident and health, and property insurance sales increased 4.6% and 4.1% for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same periods ended June 30, 2014. The increase is generated primarily from an increase in the life segment first year and renewal business.

Net investment income performance is summarized as follows.
 
June 30,
 
December 31,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2014
 
(In thousands, except for %)
Net investment income, annualized
$
44,540

 
41,062

 
39,978

Average invested assets, at amortized cost
1,049,038

 
976,079

 
950,036

Annualized yield on average invested assets
4.25
%
 
4.21
%
 
4.21
%

Yields have been slowly rising as we reinvest calls and new premium money into higher yielding bonds compared to the historically low rates experienced over the past several years.   


31

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Investment income from debt securities accounted for approximately 84.1% of total investment income for the six months ended June 30, 2015.  
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Gross investment income:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fixed maturity securities
$
9,814

 
9,217

 
$
19,577

 
18,128

Equity securities
671

 
452

 
1,267

 
846

Mortgage loans
9

 
11

 
18

 
22

Policy loans
1,113

 
1,029

 
2,230

 
2,031

Long-term investments
73

 
71

 
147

 
145

Other investment income
28

 
9

 
34

 
24

Total investment income
11,708

 
10,789

 
23,273

 
21,196

Investment expenses
(507
)
 
(706
)
 
(1,003
)
 
(1,207
)
Net investment income
$
11,201

 
10,083

 
$
22,270

 
19,989


The consolidated invested asset portfolio has increased approximately 3.5% from year end 2014 to June 30, 2015 with, primarily, investments in the fixed maturity securities portfolio accounting for the most significant increase in investment income. Bond mutual funds are the primary source of dividend income in the equity securities holdings. In addition, the increase in policy loans, which represents policyholders utilizing their accumulated policy cash value, contributed to the increase to investment income.

Realized Investment Losses, Net.  Net losses for the three and six months ended of 2015 and 2014 were due to issuer calls. A substantial portion of the loss for both years related to sinking par calls on bonds purchased at a premium which resulted in a loss.

Benefits and Expenses
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Benefits and expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Claims and surrenders
$
19,240

 
16,668

 
$
38,643

 
33,125

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
19,760

 
19,979

 
37,058

 
37,677

Policyholders' dividends
2,540

 
2,412

 
4,849

 
4,514

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
41,540

 
39,059

 
80,550

 
75,316

Commissions
10,805

 
10,403

 
20,664

 
20,313

Other general expenses
10,445

 
7,448

 
17,996

 
13,950

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
(8,036
)
 
(7,423
)
 
(14,892
)
 
(14,491
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
5,647

 
4,893

 
10,946

 
10,102

Amortization of cost of customer relationships  acquired
516

 
614

 
1,163

 
1,145

Total benefits and expenses
$
60,917

 
54,994

 
$
116,427

 
106,335

 

32

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Claims and Surrenders.  A detail of claims and surrender benefits is provided below.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Death claims
$
5,844

 
6,010

$
13,006

 
11,542

Surrender benefits
7,709

 
5,220

 
14,911

 
11,050

Endowments
4,200

 
4,282

 
7,985

 
8,087

Property claims
496

 
343

 
785

 
714

Accident and health benefits
98

 
137

 
175

 
275

Other policy benefits
893

 
676

 
1,781

 
1,457

Total claims and surrenders
$
19,240

 
16,668

$
38,643

 
33,125


Death claims decreased 2.8% and increased 12.7% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same periods in 2014. We experienced unfavorable claims development in the current year to date period for both the life and home service segments. Mortality experience is closely monitored by the Company and the activity is within expected levels.
Surrenders increased by 47.7% and 34.9% in the current three and six month periods compared to 2014 primarily due to activity in the life segment. This increased surrender activity is in the later durations after the surrender charge periods are concluded.
Increase in Future Policy Benefit Reserves.  The decrease in future policy benefit reserves for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, is due to the increase in surrenders noted above.

Policyholder Dividends. The majority of our international policies are participating, and the dividends are factored into the premium rates charged.  As policy provisioned dividend rates generally increase each year that a policy is in force, dividend expense is expected to increase as this block of insurance becomes more seasoned.

Commissions.  Commission expense is directly related to new and renewal insurance premium fluctuations and production levels by agents and associates. Commission expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 fluctuated directly in relation to the increase of first year and increase of renewal premiums in the life segment compared to premium levels for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014.  

Other General Expenses. The Company recorded an expense of $2.5 million related to the annuity tax compliance issue that was identified in July of 2015. Expenses also increased in the current year due to $0.8 million of consulting costs associated with the tax compliance issues discovered in 2015. We also incurred additional audit related costs of $0.4 million in the current year. Additionally, there are expenses for six months related to MGLIC as of June 30, 2015 compared to only four months of expenses in 2014 due to the March acquisition date.

Capitalized and Amortized Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs.  Costs capitalized under current accounting guidance include certain commissions, policy issuance costs, and underwriting and agency expenses that relate to successful sales efforts for insurance contracts.  The increase for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same periods in 2014 was the result of an increase in first year premium production in the current periods, which increased capitalized amounts.  92.6% of the premium revenue increase in 2015, is attributed to renewal premiums.  Commissions paid on renewal premiums are significantly lower than those paid on first year business.

Amortization for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, increased compared to the same periods in 2014 due to the higher surrenders in 2015. Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs is impacted by persistency and may fluctuate from year to year.

33

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015


Federal Income Tax. The effective tax rate was (128.4)% and 23.7% for the three months and (205.1)% and 26.6% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The large negative effective tax rate for the periods in 2015 are due to the fact that the IRC Section 72(s) toll charges of $2.5 million are creating a pretax loss but are not deductible for tax. Additionally there is $678 thousand related to an uncertain tax position in the six months ended June 30, 2015. Differences between our effective tax rate and the statutory tax rate result from income and expense items that are treated differently for financial reporting and tax purposes.  See Note 8 - Income Taxes in the consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

Segment Operations

The Company has three reportable segments:  Life Insurance, Home Service Insurance and Other Non-Insurance Enterprises.  These segments are reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP.  The Company evaluates profit and loss performance of its segments based on net income or loss before income taxes.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Life Insurance
$
(557
)
 
785

 
$
(772
)
 
1,084

Home Service Insurance
216

 
1,344

 
935

 
2,868

Other Non-Insurance Enterprises
(497
)
 
(621
)
 
(651
)
 
(753
)
Total
$
(838
)
 
1,508

 
$
(488
)
 
3,199


Life Insurance

Our Life Insurance segment issues ordinary whole life insurance domestically and U.S. Dollar-denominated ordinary whole-life policies to foreign residents.  These contracts are designed to provide a fixed amount of insurance coverage over the life of the insured.  Additionally, the Company issues endowment contracts, which are principally accumulation contracts that incorporate an element of life insurance protection.  For the majority of our business, we retain only the first $100,000 of risk on any one life.  We operate this segment through our CICA and CNLIC insurance subsidiaries.

International Sales

We focus our sales of U.S. Dollar-denominated ordinary whole life insurance and endowment policies to high net worth, high income residents in Latin America and the Pacific Rim.  We have successfully participated in the foreign marketplace since 1975, and we continue to seek opportunities for expansion of our foreign operations.  We believe positive attributes of our international insurance business include:

larger face amount policies typically issued when compared to our U.S. operations, which results in lower underwriting and administrative costs per unit of coverage;
premiums typically paid annually rather than monthly or quarterly, which reduces our administrative expenses, accelerates cash flow and results in lower policy lapse rates than premiums with more frequently scheduled payments; and
comparable persistency levels and mortality rates as experienced with U.S. policies.


34

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

International Products

We offer several ordinary whole life insurance and endowment products designed to meet the needs of our non-U.S. policyowners.  These policies have been structured to provide:

U.S. Dollar-denominated cash values that accumulate, beginning in the first policy year, to a policyholder during his or her lifetime;
premium rates that are competitive with or better than most foreign local companies;
a hedge against local currency inflation;
protection against devaluation of foreign currency;
capital investment in the United States’ more secure economic environment; and
lifetime income guarantees for an insured or for surviving beneficiaries.

Our international products have living benefit features.  Every policy contains guaranteed cash values and most are participating (i.e., provides for cash dividends as apportioned by the board of directors).  Once a policyowner pays the annual premium and the policy is issued, we immediately pay the owner a cash dividend as well as an annual guaranteed endowment, if elected.  The policyowner has several options with regard to the dividend and annual guaranteed endowments, including the right to assign policy values to our stock investment plan, registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and administered in the United States by our unaffiliated transfer agent.

The following table sets forth, by country, our direct premiums from our international life insurance business for the periods indicated.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Country
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Venezuela
$
8,214

 
7,862

 
$
15,434

 
14,539

Colombia
7,198

 
6,487

 
13,274

 
12,797

Taiwan
4,015

 
3,923

 
8,496

 
8,068

Ecuador
4,124

 
4,238

 
7,667

 
7,518

Argentina
2,466

 
2,267

 
4,388

 
4,044

Other Non-U.S.
9,492

 
8,756

 
17,821

 
16,687

Total
$
35,509

 
33,533

 
$
67,080

 
63,653

 
We continue to report increased sales from our top producing countries as noted above. Our international business and premium collections could be impacted by future changes relative to laws, regulations or economic events in the countries from which we accept applications.

Domestic Sales

In the Midwest, Mountain West and the southern United States, we seek to serve middle income households through the sale of cash accumulation ordinary whole life insurance products.  The majority of our inforce business results from blocks of business of insurance companies we have acquired over the past fifteen years.


35

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Domestic Products

Our domestic life insurance products focus primarily on living needs and provide benefits focused toward accumulating money for living benefits while providing a modest death benefit for the policyowner.  The features of our domestic life insurance products include:

cash accumulation/living benefits;
tax-deferred annuity interest earnings;
guaranteed lifetime income or monthly income options for the policyowner or surviving family members;
accidental death benefit coverage options; and
an option to waive premium payments in the event of disability.

Our life insurance products are principally designed to address the insured's concern about outliving his or her monthly income, while at the same time providing death benefits.  The primary purpose of our product portfolio is to help the insured create capital for needs such as retirement income, children's higher education funds, business opportunities, emergencies and extraordinary health care needs.

The following table sets forth our direct premiums by state for the periods indicated.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
State
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Texas
$
643

 
623

$
1,226

 
1,182

Indiana
366

 
316

 
718

 
687

Florida
126

 
135

 
261

 
263

Kentucky
105

 
97

 
226

 
230

Missouri
116

 
126

 
221

 
250

Other States
464

 
485

 
925

 
970

Total
$
1,820

 
1,782

$
3,577

 
3,582


A number of domestic life insurance companies we acquired had blocks of accident and health insurance policies, which we did not consider to be a core part of our business.  We have ceded the majority of our accident and health insurance business to an unaffiliated insurance company under a coinsurance agreement.


36

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

The results of operations for the life insurance segment for the periods indicated are as follows.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Revenue:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Premiums
$
36,707

 
34,569

$
69,686

 
66,380

Net investment income
7,387

 
6,466

 
14,618

 
12,749

Realized investment losses, net
(2
)
 
(48
)
 
(58
)
 
(112
)
Other income
160

 
133

 
374

 
276

Total revenue
44,252

 
41,120

 
84,620

 
79,293

Benefits and expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Claims and surrenders
13,465

 
11,163

 
27,025

 
21,978

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
18,490

 
18,849

 
34,627

 
35,825

Policyholders' dividends
2,527

 
2,397

 
4,822

 
4,483

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
34,482

 
32,409

 
66,474

 
62,286

Commissions
6,815

 
6,484

 
12,841

 
12,722

Other general expenses
4,872

 
2,965

 
8,031

 
5,805

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
(6,423
)
 
(5,848
)
 
(11,766
)
 
(11,507
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
4,941

 
4,205

 
9,490

 
8,612

Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
122

 
120

 
322

 
291

Total benefits and expenses
44,809

 
40,335

 
85,392

 
78,209

Income (loss) before income tax expense
$
(557
)
 
785

$
(772
)
 
1,084


Premiums.  Premium revenues increased for the three and six month period ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same periods in 2014 due primarily to international new and renewal business showing positive growth and strong persistency as this block of insurance ages. First year premium revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2015, reflected sales internationally with endowment to age sixty-five and the twenty-year endowment products continuing as the top performers in the current year.

Life insurance premium breakout is detailed below.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Premiums:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
First year
$
5,163

 
4,716

$
9,554

 
9,275

Renewal
31,544

 
29,853

 
60,132

 
57,105

Total premiums
$
36,707

 
34,569

$
69,686

 
66,380



37

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Net Investment Income.  Net investment income increased as the impact of the sustained low interest rate environment has leveled and yields are beginning to rise modestly.
 
Six Months Ended
 
Year Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
December 31,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2014
 
(In thousands, except for %)
Net investment income, annualized
$
29,237

 
26,454

 
25,499

Average invested assets, at amortized cost
684,485

 
623,498

 
601,258

Annualized yield on average invested assets
4.27
%
 
4.24
%
 
4.24
%

Realized Investment Losses, Net.  Net losses for the three and six months ended of June 30, 2015 and 2014 were due to issuer calls. A substantial portion of the loss for both years related to sinking par calls on bonds purchased at a premium which resulted in a loss upon the call date.
 
Claims and Surrenders.  These amounts fluctuate from period to period but were within anticipated ranges based upon management's expectations.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Death claims
$
1,351

 
1,676

$
3,876

 
2,975

Surrender benefits
7,095

 
4,562

 
13,518

 
9,542

Endowment benefits
4,196

 
4,278

 
7,977

 
8,080

Accident and health benefits
67

 
69

 
132

 
119

Other policy benefits
756

 
578

 
1,522

 
1,262

Total claims and surrenders
$
13,465

 
11,163

$
27,025

 
21,978


Death claims expense was favorable for the three months and unfavorable for the six months ended June 30, 2015 based upon reported claims. We experienced several higher value claims in the first quarter of this year. Mortality experience is closely monitored by the Company as a key performance indicator and these amounts were within expected levels.
Surrenders increased in the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 by 55.5% and 41.7% compared to 2014. The majority of policy surrender benefits paid is attributable to our international business and was related to policies that have been in force nearly twenty years, where surrender charges are no longer applicable.
Endowment benefit expense primarily results from the election by policyholders of a product feature providing an annual guaranteed benefit.  This is a fixed benefit over the life of the contract, thus this expense will increase with new sales and improved persistency.
Other policy benefits resulted primarily from interest paid on premium deposits and policy benefit accumulations and increased as these policy liabilities also increased.

Increase in Future Policy Benefit Reserves.   Policy benefit reserves decreased for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same periods in 2014, primarily due to the increase in surrenders noted above. Endowment sales sold to our international clients represented approximately 84% and 82% of total new first year premium for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015.

Commissions.  Commission expense increased for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same periods in 2014.  This expense fluctuates directly with new premium revenues and commission rates paid are higher on first year premium sales, which were up for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same periods in 2014.  Renewal premiums for the three and six months, for which we pay commissions at lower rates, were also up from the prior year.

38

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015


Other General Expenses.  These expenses are allocated by segment, based upon an annual expense study performed by the Company. Expenses were up for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same periods in 2014 as the Company recorded an expense of $1.9 million related to the annuity tax compliance issue that was identified in July of 2015. In addition, expenses are higher due to the increased consulting fees for actuarial, tax and legal services related to the tax compliance issues identified in the current year.

Capitalization of Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs ("DAC").  Capitalized costs fluctuate in direct relation to commissions increasing for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, based upon first year and renewal premiums and commissions paid compared to 2014.  

Amortization of Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs.  Amortization for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 increased and was impacted by overall lower persistency related to this segment. As previously noted, persistency is monitored closely by the Company and was within expectations.

Home Service Insurance

We operate in the Home Service insurance market through our subsidiaries Security Plan Life Insurance Company ("SPLIC"), Magnolia Guaranty Life Insurance Company ("MGLIC") and Security Plan Fire Insurance Company ("SPFIC"), and focus on the life insurance needs of the middle and lower income markets, primarily in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.  Our policies are sold and serviced through a home service marketing distribution system of employee-agents who work full time on a route system and through funeral homes that sell policies, collect premiums and service policyholders.

In March of 2014 we completed the acquisition of MGLIC which is a wholly owned subsidiary of SPLIC. MGLIC is licensed in Mississippi and customarily sells policies through independent funeral homes. As part of the conversion process and transitioning policy administration to our computer system, we identified some operational challenges that we are working to enhance. The risk profile of this business is higher than the debit based agent collections since the funeral home is the agent and beneficiary to the claims in many cases. We are in the process of incorporating policyholder direct mail and contact within the MGLIC operations to help mitigate risks. We anticipate that our Mississippi clients will experience enhanced support from the affiliated companies and operational benefits.


39

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

The following table sets forth our direct premiums by state for the periods indicated.

 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
State
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Louisiana
$
10,675

 
10,549

$
21,269

 
21,055

Mississippi
673

 
819

 
1,300

 
1,160

Arkansas
422

 
423

 
810

 
829

Other States
209

 
215

 
428

 
420

Total
$
11,979

 
12,006

$
23,807

 
23,464


We recorded six full months of premium related to MGLIC in Mississippi for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to only four months in 2014, due to the acquisition date in March of 2014.

Home Service Insurance Products

Our home service insurance products consist primarily of small face amount ordinary whole life and pre-need policies, which are designed to fund final expenses for the insured, primarily consisting of funeral and burial costs.  To a much lesser extent, our home service insurance segment sells limited-liability, named-peril property policies covering dwellings and contents.  We provide $30,000 maximum coverage on any one dwelling and contents, while content only coverage and dwelling only coverage is limited to $20,000, respectively.

We provide final expense ordinary life insurance and annuity products primarily to middle and lower income individuals in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.  


40

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

The results of operations for the home service insurance segment for the periods indicated are as follows.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Revenue:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Premiums
$
11,753

 
11,760

$
23,340

 
22,962

Net investment income
3,441

 
3,282

 
6,905

 
6,569

Realized investment losses, net
(6
)
 
(26
)
 
(21
)
 
(18
)
Other income
22

 
3

 
70

 
4

Total revenue
15,210

 
15,019

 
30,294

 
29,517

Benefits and expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Insurance benefits paid or provided:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Claims and surrenders
5,775

 
5,505

 
11,618

 
11,147

Increase in future policy benefit reserves
1,270

 
1,130

 
2,431

 
1,852

Policyholders' dividends
13

 
15

 
27

 
31

Total insurance benefits paid or provided
7,058

 
6,650

 
14,076

 
13,030

Commissions
3,990

 
3,919

 
7,823

 
7,591

Other general expenses
4,459

 
3,499

 
8,289

 
6,668

Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
(1,613
)
 
(1,575
)
 
(3,126
)
 
(2,984
)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
706

 
688

 
1,456

 
1,490

Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired
394

 
494

 
841

 
854

Total benefits and expenses
14,994

 
13,675

 
29,359

 
26,649

Income (loss) before income tax expense
$
216

 
1,344

$
935

 
2,868


Premiums.  Premiums increased for the three and six month period ended June 30, 2015, compared to 2014 primarily because 2015 includes three and six months of premiums for MGLIC whereas 2014 had three and four months of premiums, based upon the acquisition date of March 2014.

Net Investment Income.  Net investment income for our home service insurance segment was as follows.

 
Six Months Ended
 
Year Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
December 31,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2014
 
(In thousands, except for %)
Net investment income, annualized
$
13,810

 
13,234

 
13,218

Average invested assets, at amortized cost
303,342

 
296,355

 
296,546

Annualized yield on average invested assets
4.55
%
 
4.52
%
 
4.46
%
 
Realized Investment Losses, Net.  Realized losses for the periods presented are related to calls of debt securities.


41

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Claims and Surrenders.  Claims and surrenders decreased for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same periods in 2014, based upon reported claims compared to the prior year, but were within expected ranges.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
 
(In thousands)
Death claims
$
4,491

 
4,334

$
9,129

 
8,567

Surrender benefits
614

 
658

 
1,394

 
1,508

Endowment benefits
4

 
4

 
8

 
7

Property claims
496

 
343

 
785

 
714

Accident and health benefits
31

 
68

 
43

 
156

Other policy benefits
139

 
98

 
259

 
195

Total claims and surrenders
$
5,775

 
5,505

$
11,618

 
11,147


Death claims expense fluctuates based upon reported claims. Mortality experience is closely monitored by the Company as a key performance indicator and amounts were within expected levels.
Surrender benefits decreased 6.7% and 7.6% for the three and six months ended in 2015 compared to the same periods in 2014.
Property claims increased 44.6% and 9.9% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 as we experienced more weather related claims in 2015.

Increase in Future Policy Benefit Reserves.  The Company recorded an increase in future policy benefit reserves for the six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the corresponding period in 2014 again due to the fact that MGLIC was included in results for six months in 2015 and only four months in 2014.
 
Commissions.  Commission expense fluctuated for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same periods in 2014 as premium collections varied.

Other General Expenses.  Expenses are allocated by segment based upon an annual expense study performed by the Company and increased between 2015 and 2014 as the Company recorded an expense of $0.6 million related to the annuity tax compliance issue that was identified in July of 2015. In addition, expenses are higher due to the increased consulting fees for actuarial, tax and legal services related to the tax compliance issues identified in the current year. Expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 reflect three and six full months of MGLIC related expenses whereas 2014 only reflects three and four months, as noted previously.

Capitalization of Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs ("DAC").  Capitalized costs increased for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, as commission expense also increased during the periods.  DAC capitalization is directly correlated to fluctuations in new business and commissions.

Amortization of Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs.  Amortization for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 fluctuated compared to the corresponding periods in 2014 as this segment experienced persistency changes compared to the prior year, which results in lower or high amortization.

Other Non-Insurance Enterprises
This segment represents the administrative support entities to the insurance operations whose revenues are primarily intercompany and have been eliminated in consolidation under GAAP. The segment loss reported for the three and six months of 2015 and 2014 is typical since the elimination of intercompany revenue is it's primary source of revenue.


42

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Investments

The administration of our investment portfolios is handled by our management, pursuant to board-approved investment guidelines, with all trading activity approved by a committee of each entity's respective boards of directors.  The guidelines used require that fixed maturities, both government and corporate, are investment grade and comprise a majority of the investment portfolio.  State insurance statutes prescribe the quality and percentage of the various types of investments that may be made by insurance companies and generally permit investment in qualified state, municipal, federal and foreign government obligations, high quality corporate bonds, preferred and common stock, mortgage loans and real estate within certain specified percentages.  The assets are intended to mature in accordance with the average maturity of the insurance products and to provide the cash flow for our insurance company subsidiaries to meet their respective policyholder obligations.

The following table shows the carrying value of our investments by investment category and cash and cash equivalents, and the percentage of each to total invested cash, cash equivalents and investments.
 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
 
Carrying
Value
 
% of Total
Carrying Value
 
Carrying
Value
 
% of Total
Carrying Value
 
(In thousands)
 
 
 
(In thousands)
 
 
Marketable debt securities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U.S. Treasury and U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises
$
52,783

 
4.6
 
$
55,246

 
5.0
States and political subdivisions
659,759

 
57.9
 
615,230

 
55.1
Corporate
250,703

 
22.0
 
257,867

 
23.1
Mortgage-backed (1)
3,316

 
0.3
 
3,681

 
0.3
Foreign governments
132

 
 
135

 
Total marketable debt securities
966,693

 
84.8
 
932,159

 
83.5
Cash and cash equivalents
37,820

 
3.3
 
50,708

 
4.5
Other investments:
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
Policy loans
56,652

 
5.0
 
54,032

 
4.8
Equity securities
69,809

 
6.1
 
69,879

 
6.3
Mortgage loans
610

 
0.1
 
628

 
0.1
Real estate
8,043

 
0.7
 
8,131

 
0.8
Other long-term investments
77

 
 
135

 
Total cash, cash equivalents and investments
$
1,139,704

 
100.0
 
$
1,115,672

 
100.0
(1) Includes $2.9 million and $3.2 million of U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises at June 30, 2015, and December 31, 2014, respectively.

Cash and cash equivalents decreased as of June 30, 2015 due to timing of cash inflows and investment into marketable securities.

The held-to-maturity portfolio as of June 30, 2015 represented 24.4% of the total fixed maturity securities owned based upon carrying values, with the remaining 75.6% classified as available-for-sale.  Held-to-maturity securities are reported in the financial statements at amortized cost and available-for-sale securities are reported at fair value.


43

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

The following table sets forth the distribution of the credit ratings of our portfolio of fixed maturity securities by carrying value as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014.
 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
 
Carrying
Value
 
% of Total
Carrying Value
 
Carrying
Value
 
% of Total
Carrying Value
 
(In thousands)
 
 
 
(In thousands)
 
 
AAA
$
72,618

 
7.5
 
$
70,572

 
7.6
AA
448,045

 
46.3
 
431,779

 
46.3
A
264,993

 
27.4
 
256,626

 
27.5
BBB
151,785

 
15.7
 
141,690

 
15.2
BB and other
29,252

 
3.1
 
31,492

 
3.4
Totals
$
966,693

 
100.0
 
$
932,159

 
100.0

Credit ratings reported for the periods indicated are assigned by a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (“NRSRO”) such as Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s or Fitch Ratings.  A credit rating assigned by an NRSRO is a quality based rating, with AAA representing the highest quality and D the lowest, with BBB and above being considered investment grade.  In addition, the Company may use credit ratings of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) Securities Valuation Office (“SVO”) as assigned, if there is no NRSRO rating.  Securities rated by the SVO are grouped in the equivalent NRSRO category as stated by the SVO and securities that are not rated by an NRSRO are included in the “other” category.

The Company has no direct sovereign European debt exposure as of June 30, 2015.  We do have indirect exposure in one bond mutual fund holding, but the amount is deemed immaterial to the current investment holdings and consolidated financials.

As of June 30, 2015, the Company held municipal securities that include third party guarantees.  Detailed below is a presentation by NRSRO rating of our municipal holdings by funding type.

Municipals shown including third party guarantees
 
June 30, 2015
 
General Obligation
 
Special Revenue
 
Other
 
Total
 
% Based on
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Amortized
Cost
 
(In thousands)
 
 
AAA
$
50,808

 
48,710

 
19,666

 
19,100

 

 

 
70,474

 
67,810

 
10.5
AA
143,660

 
140,313

 
222,304

 
214,748

 
15,688

 
14,827

 
381,652

 
369,888

 
57.0
A
40,029

 
41,140

 
132,715

 
129,385

 
9,586

 
9,340

 
182,330

 
179,865

 
27.8
BBB
1,049

 
1,076

 
22,680

 
22,230

 
567

 
576

 
24,296

 
23,882

 
3.7
BB and other
1,088

 
1,022

 
5,159

 
5,405

 

 

 
6,247

 
6,427

 
1.0
Total
$
236,634

 
232,261

 
402,524

 
390,868

 
25,841

 
24,743

 
664,999

 
647,872

 
100.0
 

44

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Municipals shown excluding third party guarantees
 
June 30, 2015
 
General Obligation
 
Special Revenue
 
Other
 
Total
 
% Based on
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Amortized
Cost
 
(In thousands)
 
 
AAA
$
20,084

 
19,874

 
4,268

 
4,232

 

 

 
24,352

 
24,106

 
3.7
AA
113,907

 
110,682

 
177,948

 
171,589

 
12,124

 
11,264

 
303,979

 
293,535

 
45.3
A
41,456

 
40,240

 
143,494

 
139,549

 
11,189

 
10,962

 
196,139

 
190,751

 
29.4
BBB
6,104

 
7,207

 
22,254

 
20,905

 

 

 
28,358

 
28,112

 
4.3
BB and other
55,083

 
54,258

 
54,560

 
54,593

 
2,528

 
2,517

 
112,171

 
111,368

 
17.3
Total
$
236,634

 
232,261

 
402,524

 
390,868

 
25,841

 
24,743

 
664,999

 
647,872

 
100.0

The Company held investments in special revenue bonds that had a greater than 10% exposure based upon activity as noted in the table below.

Fair Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
% of Total
Fair Value
 
(In thousands)
 
 
Utilities
$
128,073

 
124,020

 
19.3
 
 
 
 
 
 
Education
84,678

 
82,001

 
12.7


45

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

The tables below represent the Company's exposure of municipal holdings in Louisiana and Texas, which exceed 10% of the total municipal portfolio as of June 30, 2015.
 
June 30, 2015
 
General Obligation
 
Special Revenue
 
Other
 
Total
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Amortized
Cost
 
(In thousands)
Louisiana securities including third party guarantees
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AA
$
9,071

 
9,051

 
24,506

 
23,214

 

 

 
33,577

 
32,265

A
6,710

 
6,667

 
9,566

 
9,355

 

 

 
16,276

 
16,022

BBB

 

 
395

 
393

 

 

 
395

 
393

BB and other

 

 
4,475

 
4,720

 

 

 
4,475

 
4,720

Total
$
15,781

 
15,718

 
38,942

 
37,682

 

 

 
54,723

 
53,400

Louisiana securities excluding third party guarantees
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

AA
$
9,643

 
9,417

 
21,627

 
20,662

 

 

 
31,270

 
30,079

A
3,589

 
3,699

 
9,034

 
8,698

 

 

 
12,623

 
12,397

BBB

 

 
2,536

 
2,302

 

 

 
2,536

 
2,302

BB and other
2,549

 
2,602

 
5,745

 
6,020

 

 

 
8,294

 
8,622

Total
$
15,781

 
15,718

 
38,942

 
37,682

 

 

 
54,723

 
53,400

Texas securities including third party guarantees
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

AAA
$
49,236

 
47,218

 
11,191

 
10,773

 

 

 
60,427

 
57,991

AA
45,211

 
44,628

 
22,820

 
22,179

 

 

 
68,031

 
66,807

A
3,409

 
3,388

 
20,335

 
19,707

 

 

 
23,744

 
23,095

BBB

 

 
10,022

 
9,563

 

 

 
10,022

 
9,563

BB and other
567

 
548

 

 

 

 

 
567

 
548

Total
$
98,423

 
95,782

 
64,368

 
62,222

 

 

 
162,791

 
158,004

Texas securities excluding third party guarantees
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

AAA
$
19,631

 
19,427

 
2,182

 
2,161

 

 

 
21,813

 
21,588

AA
52,831

 
50,718

 
20,932

 
19,958

 

 

 
73,763

 
70,676

A
9,111

 
8,855

 
23,122

 
22,440

 

 

 
32,233

 
31,295

BBB

 

 
7,959

 
7,532

 

 

 
7,959

 
7,532

BB and other
16,850

 
16,782

 
10,173

 
10,131

 


 


 
27,023

 
26,913

Total
$
98,423

 
95,782

 
64,368

 
62,222

 

 

 
162,791

 
158,004


The Company invests in municipal securities of issuers in the state of Louisiana and receives a credit that reduces its premium tax liability in that state.  At June 30, 2015, total holdings of municipal securities in Louisiana represented 8.2% of all municipal holdings based upon fair value.  The Company also holds 24.5% of its municipal holdings in Texas issuers.  There were no other states or individual issuer holdings that represented or exceeded 10% of the total municipal portfolio as of June 30, 2015.


46

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Valuation of Investments

We evaluate the carrying value of our fixed maturity and equity securities at least quarterly.  The Company monitors all debt and equity securities on an on-going basis relative to changes in credit ratings, market prices, earnings trends and financial performance, in addition to specific region or industry reviews.  The assessment of whether impairments have occurred is based on a case-by-case evaluation of underlying reasons for the decline in fair value.  The Company determines other-than-temporary impairment by reviewing all relevant evidence related to the specific security issuer as well as the Company's intent to sell the security, or if it is more likely than not that the Company would be required to sell a security before recovery of its amortized cost.

When an other-than-temporary impairment has occurred, the amount of the other-than-temporary impairment recognized in earnings depends on whether the Company intends to sell the security or more likely than not will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis.  If the Company intends to sell the security or more likely than not will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, the other-than-temporary impairment is recognized in earnings equal to the entire difference between the investment's cost and its fair value at the balance sheet date.  If the Company does not intend to sell the security and it is not more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, the other-than-temporary impairment is separated into the following:  a) the amount representing the credit loss; and b) the amount related to all other factors.  The amount of the total other-than-temporary impairment related to the credit loss is recognized in earnings.  The amount of the total other-than-temporary impairment related to other factors is recognized in other comprehensive income, net of applicable taxes.  The previous amortized cost basis less the other-than-temporary impairment recognized in earnings becomes the new amortized cost basis of the investment.  The new amortized cost basis is not adjusted for subsequent recoveries in fair value.

The Company did not recognize any other-than-temporary impairments for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 or 2014.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity refers to a company's ability to generate sufficient cash flows to meet the needs of its operations.  Liquidity is managed on insurance operations and seeks to ensure stable and reliable sources of cash flows to meet obligations provided by a variety of sources.

Liquidity requirements of the Company are met primarily by funds provided from operations.  Premium deposits and revenues, investment income and investment maturities are the primary sources of funds, while investment purchases, policy benefits, and operating expenses are the primary uses of funds.  We historically have not had to liquidate investments relative to our insurance operations to provide cash flow and did not do so during the first six months of 2015.  Our investments as of June 30, 2015, consist of 66.3% of marketable debt securities classified as available-for-sale that could be readily converted to cash for liquidity needs.

A primary liquidity concern is the risk of an extraordinary level of early policyholder withdrawals.  We include provisions within our insurance policies, such as surrender charges, that help limit and discourage early withdrawals.  Since these contractual withdrawals, as well as the level of surrenders experienced, were largely consistent with our assumptions in asset liability management, our associated cash outflows have, to date, not had an adverse impact on our overall liquidity.  Individual life insurance policies are less susceptible to withdrawal than annuity reserves and deposit liabilities because policyholders may incur surrender charges and undergo a new underwriting process in order to obtain a new insurance policy.  Cash flow projections and cash flow tests under various market interest rate scenarios are also performed annually to assist in evaluating liquidity needs and adequacy.  We currently anticipate that available liquidity sources and future cash flows will be adequate to meet our needs for funds.

Cash flows from our insurance operations have been sufficient to meet current needs.  Cash flows from operating activities were $39.8 million and $43.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.  We have traditionally also had significant cash flows from both scheduled and unscheduled investment security maturities, redemptions, and prepayments.  These cash flows, for the most part, are reinvested in fixed income securities.  Net cash outflows from investing activities totaled $54.1 million and $40.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The investing activities fluctuate from period to period due to timing of securities activities such as calls and maturities and reinvestment of those funds. 

47

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015


In the first quarter of 2015, we announced that we identified that a substantial portion of the life insurance policies issued by our subsidiary insurance companies failed to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment afforded by Sections 7702 and 7702A of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") of 1986. In addition, in July 2015 we identified certain annuity contracts that do not contain required language under IRC Section 72(s) and therefore do not qualify as annuities for tax purposes. As a result of these discoveries, we established a reserve of $11.4 million as of December 31, 2014 and an additional $2.5 million as of June 30, 2015 for probable expenses and liabilities associated with this tax compliance matter, which amount represents the low end of management’s estimated range of those probable expenses and liabilities of $13.9 million to $46.6 million, net of tax. This estimated range includes projected toll charges and fees as well as increased claims liability for past claims and reserve increases to bring policies into compliance and other probable liabilities resulting from this tax compliance matter. Our estimated range reflects the uncertainties with respect to the required course of action and other matters unknown at this time. Currently, management believes there is not a specific estimable amount for these probable liabilities and expenses which is more likely than other specific amounts within our estimated range. The process of determining our estimated range was a complex undertaking including insight from external consultants and involved management’s judgment based upon a variety of factors known at the time. Given the number of factors considered and the significant variables assumed in establishing our estimated range, actual amounts incurred may exceed our reserve and may exceed the high end of our estimated range of expenses and liabilities.

This tax compliance issue impacts our policyholders and their tax liabilities relative to these products that fail 7702 qualifications and will not be remediated. The exposure related to future sales or products in force is unknown at this time. Policyholders could decide to surrender their policies due to this issue which would subsequently result in higher cash outflows due to an increase in surrender activity.

Dividends are declared and paid from time to time from the insurance affiliates as determined by their respective boards.
 
The NAIC has established minimum capital requirements in the form of Risk-Based Capital ("RBC").  RBC factors the type of business written by an insurance company, the quality of its assets, and various other aspects of an insurance company's business to develop a minimum level of capital called "authorized control level risk-based capital" and compares this level to adjusted statutory capital that includes capital and surplus as reported under statutory accounting principles, plus certain investment reserves.  Should the ratio of adjusted statutory capital to control level RBC fall below 200%, a series of remedial actions by the affected company would be required.

All insurance subsidiaries were above the RBC minimums at June 30, 2015.  

 
Contractual Obligations and Off-balance Sheet Arrangements

There have been no material changes in contractual obligations from those reported in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.  The Company does not have off-balance sheet arrangements at June 30, 2015.  We do not utilize special purpose entities as investment vehicles, nor are there any such entities in which we have an investment that engage in speculative activities of any nature, and we do not use such investments to hedge our investment positions.

Parent Company Liquidity and Capital Resources

Citizens is a holding company and has had minimal operations of its own.  Its assets consist primarily of the capital stock of its subsidiaries, cash, fixed income securities, mutual funds and investment real estate.  Accordingly, Citizens' cash flows depend upon the availability of statutorily permissible payments, primarily payments under management agreements from its two primary life insurance subsidiaries, CICA and SPLIC.  The ability to make payments is limited by applicable laws and regulations of Colorado, CICA's state of domicile, and Louisiana, SPLIC's state of domicile, which subject insurance operations to significant regulatory restriction.  These laws and regulations require, among other things, that these insurance subsidiaries maintain minimum solvency requirements and limit the amount of dividends these subsidiaries can pay to the holding company.  Citizens historically

48

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

has not relied upon dividends from subsidiaries for its cash flow needs.  However, CICA and SPLIC do dividend available funds from time to time in relation to new acquisition target strategies.

Critical Accounting Policies

We have prepared a current assessment of our critical accounting policies and estimates in connection with preparing our interim unaudited consolidated financial statements as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014. We believe that the accounting policies set forth in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements and “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Consolidated Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 continue to describe the significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

Item 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

General

The nature of our business exposes us to market risk relative to our invested assets and policy liabilities.  Market risk is the risk of loss that may occur when changes in interest rates and public equity prices adversely affect the value of our invested assets.  Interest rate risk is our primary market risk exposure.  Substantial and sustained increases and decreases in market interest rates can affect the fair value of our investments.  The fair value of our fixed maturity portfolio generally increases when interest rates decrease and decreases when interest rates increase. For additional information regarding market risks to which we are subject, see "Item 1 Financial Statements - Note 5. Investments - Valuation of Investments in Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities" above.

The following table summarizes net unrealized gains and losses as of the dates indicated.

 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Net
Unrealized
Gains
 
Amortized
Cost
 
Fair
Value
 
Net
Unrealized
Gains
 
(In thousands)
Fixed maturities, available-for-sale
$
702,655

 
730,507

 
27,852

 
667,966

 
707,227

 
39,261

Fixed maturities, held-to-maturity
236,186

 
241,689

 
5,503

 
224,932

 
232,891

 
7,959

Total fixed maturities
$
938,841

 
972,196

 
33,355

 
892,898


940,118

 
47,220

Total equity securities
$
69,242

 
69,809

 
567

 
68,787

 
69,879

 
1,092


Market Risk Related to Interest Rates

Our exposure to interest rate changes results from our significant holdings of fixed maturity investments, which comprised 87.7% of our investment portfolio based on carrying value as of June 30, 2015.  These investments are mainly exposed to changes in U.S. Treasury rates.  Our fixed maturity investments include U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises, U.S. Government bonds, securities issued by government agencies, municipal bonds and corporate bonds.  

To manage interest rate risk, we perform periodic projections of asset and liability cash flows to evaluate the potential sensitivity of our investments and liabilities.  We assess interest rate sensitivity annually with respect to our available-for-sale fixed maturities investments using hypothetical test scenarios that assume either upward or downward shifts in the prevailing interest rates.  The changes in fair values of our debt and equity securities as of June 30, 2015 were within the expected range of this analysis.


49

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

Changes in interest rates typically have a sizable effect on the fair values of our debt and equity securities.  The interest rate of the ten-year U.S. Treasury bond increased to 2.4% during the quarter ended June 30, 2015, from 2.2% at December 31, 2014.  Net unrealized gains on fixed maturity securities totaled $33.3 million at June 30, 2015, compared to $47.2 million at December 31, 2014.

The fixed maturity portfolio is exposed to call risk, as a significant portion of the current bond holdings are callable.  A decreasing interest rate environment can result in increased call activity as experienced over the past several years, and an increasing rate environment will likely result in securities being paid at their stated maturity.

There are no fixed maturities or other investments classified as trading instruments.  Approximately 75.1% of fixed maturities were held in available-for-sale and 24.9% in held-to-maturity based upon fair value at June 30, 2015.  At June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, we had no investments in derivative instruments, nor did we have any subprime or collateralized debt obligation risk.

Market Risk Related to Equity Prices

Changes in the level or volatility of equity prices affect the value of equity securities we hold as investments.  Our equity investments portfolio represented 6.3% of our total investments at June 30, 2015, with 97.3% invested in diversified equity and bond mutual funds.  We believe that significant decreases in the equity markets would not have a material adverse impact on our total investment portfolio.

Item 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

We have established disclosure controls and procedures to ensure, among other things, that material information relating to our Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to our officers who certify our financial reports and to the other members of our senior management and the Board of Directors.

Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are responsible for establishing and maintaining our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")).  Based upon an evaluation at the end of the period covered by this report, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report.

During the three months ended June 30, 2015, there were no changes in the Company's internal controls over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company's internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). The Company is in the process of remediating the material weakness identified within the Actuarial function as of December 31, 2014

50

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015


PART II.  OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to various legal and regulatory actions which are immaterial to the Company's financial statements. For more information about the risks related to litigation and regulatory actions, please see the risk factor titled “We are a defendant in lawsuits, which may adversely affect our financial condition and detract from the time our management is able to devote to our business, and we are subject to risks related to litigation and regulatory matters.” in Item 1A. Risk Factors.



Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

Investing in our Company involves certain risks. Set forth below are certain risks with respect to our Company.  Readers should carefully review these risks, together with the other information contained in this report.  The risks and uncertainties we have described in this report are not the only ones we face.  Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently deem not material, may also adversely affect our business.  Any of the risks discussed in this report or that are presently unknown or believed to be not material, if they were to actually occur, could result in a significant adverse impact on our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.  References in the risk factors below to "we," "us," "our," "Citizens" and like terms relate to Citizens, Inc. and its subsidiaries on a U.S. GAAP consolidated financial statement basis, unless specifically identified otherwise. We operate our subsidiaries as separate and distinct entities with respect to corporate formalities.
Risks Relating to Our Business

A substantial amount of our revenue comes from residents of foreign countries and is subject to risks associated with widespread political instability, foreign insurance laws and asset transfer restrictions.

A substantial part of our insurance policy sales are from foreign countries, primarily those in Latin America and the Pacific Rim.   There is a risk that we may lose a significant portion of these sales should widespread political instability occur in these countries.   We cannot confidently predict what impact we might see relative to widespread political instability in the foreign countries we operate, but it could significantly impact our business.

Traditionally, we have sought to address risks associated with foreign countries by, among other things, not accepting insurance applications outside of the U.S., maintaining all of our assets in the U.S. and requiring policy premiums be paid to us in U.S. Dollars.  Accordingly, we have never qualified to do business in any foreign country and have never submitted our insurance policies issued to residents of foreign countries for approval by any foreign or domestic insurance regulatory agency.  We sell our policies to residents of foreign countries using foreign independent marketing firms and independent consultants, and we rely on those persons to comply with applicable laws in marketing our insurance products.

The Company’s future sales and financial results are dependent upon avoiding significant regulatory interruptions in receiving insurance policy applications for residents outside of the United States. Currency control laws in foreign countries, if implemented, could materially adversely affect our revenues by imposing restrictions on asset transfers outside of a country where our insureds reside. There can be no assurance that such situations will not occur and that our revenues, results of operations and financial condition will not be materially, adversely affected if they do occur. The government of a foreign country could also determine its residents may not buy life insurance from us unless we became qualified to do business in that country or unless our policies purchased by its residents receive prior approval from its insurance regulators.  Also, new laws or regulations could be implemented or new applications of existing laws or regulations could occur, which could result in the cessation of marketing activities by our independent marketing firms and consultants.  From time to time we have become aware of new foreign laws, regulations or new interpretations of foreign laws or regulations that may have an adverse effect on the marketing efforts of our foreign independent marketing firms and consultants.

Although we believe foreign regulatory authorities have no jurisdiction over us and any actions, including fines, would be unenforceable against us, we cannot assure you any of these laws, regulations, or application of them by foreign regulatory

51

CITIZENS, INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
June 30, 2015

authorities will not have an adverse effect on the marketing efforts of our independent marketing consultants and, in turn, on our revenues.  Further, there is no assurance we would be able to qualify to do business in any foreign country or that its insurance regulatory authorities would approve our policies if we decided to submit our insurance policies for approval.  Any of the foregoing could reduce our revenues and materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.  Also, we do not determine whether our independent consultants are required to be licensed to sell insurance in the countries in which they market our policies.  If our independent consultants were not in compliance with applicable laws, including licensing laws, they could be required to cease operations, which would reduce our revenues.  We are unable to quantify the effect of foreign regulation on our business if regulation were to be imposed on us due to the lack of uniformity of regulation in our foreign markets, but we believe we could expend time and incur expense in assessing and complying with foreign regulation which we deem may impact our business in a particular country. Consequently, we may decide to remove ourselves from or avoid a market if foreign regulation were deemed untenable.

Our operating results and financial condition may be affected if the liabilities actually incurred differ, or if our estimates of those liabilities change, from the amounts we have reserved for in connection with the noncompliance of a substantial portion of our insurance policies with Sections 7702 and 7702A under the Internal Revenue Code and the failure of certain annuity contracts to qualify under Section 72(s) of the Internal Revenue Code.

In the first quarter of 2015, we announced that we identified that a substantial portion of the life insurance policies issued by our subsidiary insurance companies failed to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment afforded by Sections 7702 and 7702A of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") of 1986. In addition, in July of 2015 we identified certain annuity contracts that do not qualify under IRC Section 72(s) for favorable tax treatment of annuities. As a result, we established a reserve of $11.4 million as of December 31, 2014 and an additional $2.5 million as of June 30, 2015 for probable expenses and liabilities associated with this tax compliance matter, which amount represents the low end of management’s estimated range of those probable expenses and liabilities of $13.9 million to $46.6 million, net of tax. This estimated range includes projected toll charges and fees as well as increased claims liability for past claims and reserve increases to bring policies into compliance and other probable liabilities resulting from these tax compliance matters. Our estimated range reflects the uncertainties with respect to the required course of action and other matters unknown at this time. Currently, management believes there is not a specific estimable amount for these probable liabilities and expenses which is more likely than other specific amounts within our estimated range. The process of determining our estimated range was a complex undertaking including insight from external consultants and involved management’s judgment based upon a variety of factors known at the time. Given the number of factors considered and the significant variables assumed in establishing our estimated range, actual amounts incurred may exceed our reserve and the high end of our estimated range of expenses and liabilities. To the extent the amount reserved by the Company is insufficient to meet the actual amount of our liability, or if our estimates of those liabilities change in the future, our financial condition and results of operation may be materially adversely affected.


The majority of our foreign policyholders elect to invest their policies’ annually payable cash benefits in our Class A common stock through the Citizens, Inc. Stock Investment Plan (the “Plan”), a stock investment plan registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  If a securities regulatory authority were to deem the Plan's operation contrary to securities laws, a reduction in the amount of Class A common stock purchased on the open market through the Plan could occur.

On or about April 2001, the Company adopted the Plan, as amended and restated from time to time. The Plan is registered with the SEC pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 of the Securities Act of 1933. For further information on the filing history of the Plan’s Registration Statement, please see the risk factor directly below titled “The previous Registration Statement covering the Plan was not declared effective under the Securities Act of 1933.”

The general purpose of the Plan is to provide a convenient and economical means for new investors to make an initial investment in our Class A common stock and for existing investors to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock. Specifically, the Plan offers employees, agents, policyholders, independent consultants and potential investors opportunities to purchase the Company’s Class A common stock, no par value per share (“Common Stock”). It also offers security holders the ability to maintain registered ownership of their securities in a manner which facilitates efficient purchases and sales of Citizens Class A common stock in the open market. The Plan is administered by Computershare Trust Company, N.A., located in Canton Massachusetts, (“Computershare”), a company which operates in 20 countries around the globe and also serves as our transfer agent. Computershare is deemed an independent agent of the Company. Computershare satisfies applicable U.S. legal requirements (including, without limitation, the requirements of Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), and facilitates open market purchases

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and sales of Citizens Class A common stock under the Plan through registered brokers and dealers. Additional disclosures concerning the Plan’s impact on our Capital Stock can be found in our Item 1A. Risk Factors under the heading, “Risks Relating to Our Capital Stock.”

Any electing person who has met the requirements to participate in the Plan and has not revoked such election to participate in the Plan is considered a “Plan Participant.” As of December 31, 2014 more than 89% percent of the shares of Class A common stock that had been purchased under the Plan had been purchased by foreign holders of life insurance policies (or related brokers); the remaining shares of Class A common stock that had been purchased under the Plan had been purchased by approximately 1,400 participants resident in the United States. International holders of life insurance policies underwritten by the Company may assign annually payable cash benefits from their insurance policies to the Plan and employees participating in the Plan may allocate a portion of their compensation to the Plan. The Company remits these amounts to Computershare.  Computershare uses these proceeds to purchase shares of Class A common stock in the open market from time to time through independent broker dealers selected by the Computershare.  None of the shares of Class A common stock purchased by the Plan Participants is issued by the Company, and the Company does not receive any proceeds from these purchases. An international policyholder must first consent in writing to be contacted by Citizens regarding the Plan before they are given the option to assign annually payable cash benefits from their insurance policies to the Plan. At the point of introduction to the Plan, international policyholders receive a copy of the Plan prospectus explaining the risks associated with purchasing Citizens Class A common stock through the Plan.

Since the distribution of our Class A common stock is registered and publicly traded in the U.S. and because we believe that foreign regulatory authorities have no jurisdiction over us, the offer and sale of our Class A common stock through the Plan is not registered under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction.  If a foreign securities regulatory authority were to determine the offer and sale of our Class A common stock under the Plan were contrary to applicable laws and regulations of its jurisdiction, such authority may issue or assert a fine, penalty or cease and desist order against us. While we would vigorously dispute the ability of such authority to assert jurisdiction over us, such a dispute may distract from our business and may have a material adverse impact on our financial position. Additionally, in such a situation participation in the Plan by our international policyholders in that foreign jurisdiction could decrease.  A decrease in Plan participation also could materially reduce the amount of our Class A common stock purchased and sold in the open market under the Plan, as historically a significant volume of shares have been purchased under the Plan by policyholders through annually payable cash benefits assigned to the Plan.

We face financial and capital market risks in our operations.

As an insurance holding company with significant investment exposure, we face material financial and capital markets risk in our operations.  Due to the low interest rate environment over the past three years, we experienced significant call activity on our fixed income portfolio that decreased our investment yields compared to prior years.  Also, we recorded other-than-temporary impairments in the past several years due to credit related market declines

Economic uncertainty has recently been exacerbated by the increased potential for default by one or more European sovereign debt issuers, the potential partial or complete dissolution of the Eurozone and its common currency and the negative impact of such events on global financial institutions and capital markets generally.  Actions or inactions of European governments may impact these actual or perceived risks.  In the recent past, one rating agency downgraded the U.S.'s long-term debt credit rating from AAA.  Future actions or inactions of the United States government, including a shutdown of the federal government, could increase the actual or perceived risk that the U.S. may not ultimately pay its obligations when due and may disrupt financial markets.

Changes in market interest rates may significantly affect our profitability.

Some of our products, principally traditional whole life insurance with annuity riders, expose us to the risk that changes in interest rates will reduce our "spread," or the difference between the amounts we are required to pay under our contracts to policyholders and the rate of return we are able to earn on our investments intended to support obligations under the contracts.  Our spread is an integral component of our net income.

As interest rates decrease or remain at low levels, we may be forced to reinvest proceeds from investments that have matured, prepaid, been sold, or called at lower yields, reducing our investment margin.  Our fixed income bond portfolio is exposed to interest rate risk as a significant portion of the portfolio is callable.  Lowering interest crediting rates can help offset decreases in investment margins on some of our products.   However, our ability to lower these rates could be limited by competition or contractually guaranteed minimum rates, and may not match the timing or magnitude of changes in asset yields.

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Our investment portfolio is subject to various risks that may result in realized investment losses. In particular, decreases in the fair value of fixed maturities may significantly reduce the value of our investments, and as a result, our financial condition may suffer.

We are subject to credit risk in our investment portfolio. Defaults by third parties in the payment or performance of their obligations under these securities could reduce our investment income and realized investment gains or result in the recognition of investment losses. The value of our investments may be materially adversely affected by increases in interest rates, downgrades in the bonds included in our portfolio and by other factors that may result in the recognition of other-than-temporary impairments. Each of these events may cause us to reduce the carrying value of our investment portfolio.

In particular, at June 30, 2015, fixed maturities represented $966.7 million or 87.7% of our total investments of $1,101.9 million. The fair value of fixed maturities and the related investment income fluctuates depending on general economic and market conditions. The fair value of these investments generally increases or decreases in an inverse relationship with fluctuations in interest rates, while net investment income realized by us will generally increase or decrease in line with changes in market interest rates. In addition, actual net investment income and/or cash flows from investments that carry prepayment risk, such as mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, may differ from those anticipated at the time of investment as a result of interest rate fluctuations. An investment has prepayment risk when there is a risk that the timing of cash flows resulting from the repayment of principal might occur earlier than anticipated because of declining interest rates or later than anticipated because of rising interest rates. The impact of value fluctuations affects our consolidated financial statements, as a large portion of our fixed maturities are classified as available-for- sale, with changes in fair value reflected in our stockholders' equity (accumulated other comprehensive income or loss). No similar adjustment is made for liabilities to reflect a change in interest rates. Therefore, interest rate fluctuations and economic conditions could adversely affect our stockholders' equity, total comprehensive income and/or cash flows. For mortgage-backed securities, credit risk exists if mortgagees default on the underlying mortgages. Although at June 30, 2015, approximately 96.9% of our fixed maturities were investment grade with 81.2% rated A or above, all of our fixed maturities are subject to credit risk. If any of the issuers of our fixed maturities suffer financial setbacks, the ratings on the fixed maturities could fall (with a concurrent fall in fair value) and, in a worst case scenario, the issuer could default on its financial obligations. If the issuer defaults, we could have realized losses associated with the impairment of the securities.

Gross unrealized losses on fixed maturity and equity securities may be realized or result in future impairments, resulting in a reduction in our net income.

Fixed maturity and equity securities classified as available-for-sale are reported at fair value.  Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are recognized as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) and are, therefore, excluded from our net income.  Our total gross unrealized losses on our available-for-sale securities portfolio at June 30, 2015 were $7.1 million.  The accumulated change in estimated fair value of these securities is recognized in net income when the gain or loss is realized upon sale of the security or in the event that the decline in estimated fair value is determined to be other-than-temporary and an impairment charge to earnings is taken.  Realized losses or impairments may have a material adverse effect on our net income in a particular quarterly or annual period.

Our actual claims losses may exceed our reserves for claims and we may be required to establish additional reserves, which in turn may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

We maintain reserves to cover our estimated exposure for claims relating to our issued insurance policies.  Reserves, whether calculated under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or statutory accounting practices prescribed by various state insurance regulators, do not represent an exact calculation of exposure, but instead represent our best estimates, generally involving actuarial projections, of what we expect claims will be based on mortality assumptions that are determined by various regulatory authorities.  Many reserve assumptions are not directly quantifiable, particularly on a prospective basis.  In addition, when we acquire other domestic life insurance companies, our assessment of the adequacy of acquired policy liabilities is subject to our estimates and assumptions.  Reserve estimates are refined as experience develops, and adjustments to reserves are reflected in our statements of operations for the period in which such estimates are updated.  Because establishing reserves is an inherently uncertain process involving estimates of future losses, future developments may require us to increase claims reserves, which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition in the periods in which such increases occur.


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We may be required to accelerate the amortization of deferred acquisition costs and the costs of customer relationships acquired, which would increase our expenses and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

At June 30, 2015, we had $161.5 million of deferred policy acquisition costs, or DAC.  DAC represents costs that vary with and are primarily related to the successful sale and issuance of our insurance policies and are deferred and amortized over the estimated life of the related insurance policies.  These costs include commissions in excess of ultimate renewal commissions, solicitation and printing costs, sales material costs and some support costs, such as underwriting and contract and policy issuance expenses.  Under U.S. GAAP, DAC is amortized to income over the lives of the underlying policies, in relation to the profit stream.

In addition, when we acquire a block of insurance policies, we assign a portion of the purchase price to the right to receive future net cash flows from existing insurance and investment contracts and policies.  This intangible asset, called the cost of customer relationships acquired, or CCRA, represents the actuarially estimated present value of future cash flows from the acquired policies.  At June 30, 2015, we had $22.6 million of CCRA.  We amortize the value of this intangible asset in a manner similar to the amortization of DAC.

Our amortization of DAC and CCRA generally depends upon anticipated profits from investments, surrender and other policy charges, mortality, morbidity, persistency and maintenance expense margins.  For example, if our insurance policy lapse and surrender rates were to exceed the assumptions upon which we priced our insurance policies, or if actual persistency proves to be less than our persistency assumptions, especially in the early years of a policy, we would be required to accelerate the amortization of expenses we deferred in connection with the acquisition of the policy.  We regularly review the quality of our DAC and CCRA to determine if they are recoverable from future income.  If these costs are not recoverable, they are charged to expenses in the financial period in which we make this determination.

Unfavorable experience with regard to expected expenses, investment returns, surrender and other policy charges, mortality, morbidity, lapses or persistency may cause us to increase the amortization of DAC or CCRA, or both, or to record a current period expense to increase benefit reserves, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We may be required to recognize an impairment on the value of our goodwill, which would increase our expenses and materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Goodwill represents the excess of the amount paid by us to acquire various life insurance companies over the fair value of their net assets at the date of the acquisition.  Under U.S. GAAP, we test the carrying value of goodwill for impairment at least annually at the "reporting unit" level, which is either an operating segment or a business that is one level below the operating segment.  Goodwill is impaired if its carrying value exceeds its implied fair value.  This may occur for various reasons, including changes in actual or expected earnings or cash flows of a reporting unit, generation of earnings by a reporting unit at a lower rate than similar businesses or declines in market prices for publicly traded businesses similar to our reporting units.  If any portion of our goodwill becomes impaired, we would be required to recognize the amount of the impairment as a current-period expense, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.  Goodwill in our consolidated financial statements was $17.3 million as of June 30, 2015.

We are a defendant in lawsuits from time to time, which may adversely affect our financial condition and detract from the time our management is able to devote to our business, and we are subject to risks related to litigation and regulatory matters.

We may from time to time be subject to a variety of legal and regulatory actions relating to our business operations, including, but not limited to:

disputes over insurance coverage or claims adjudication;
regulatory compliance with state laws;
regulatory compliance with insurance and securities laws;
disputes with our marketing firms, consultants and employee-agents over compensation, termination of contracts
and related claims;
disputes regarding our tax liabilities;
disputes relating to reinsurance and coinsurance agreements; and
disputes relating to businesses acquired and operated by us.


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In the absence of countervailing considerations, we would expect to defend any such claims vigorously.  However, in doing so, we could incur significant defense costs, including attorneys' fees, other direct litigation costs and the expenditure of substantial amounts of management time that otherwise would be devoted to our business.  Further, if we suffer an adverse judgment as a result of any claim, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

A number of U.S. jurisdictions have been investigating life insurer practices for compliance with unclaimed property laws. In highly publicized incidents, the practice by certain companies of using data available on the U.S. Social Security Administration's Death Master File or a similar data base in order to avoid paying periodic benefits under annuity contracts but not using the same data base to determine when death benefits were owed was disclosed. This asymmetric conduct by certain insurers has led a number of jurisdictions to require life insurers to use this same data to identify instances where amounts under life insurance policies and annuity contracts are payable and to locate and pay beneficiaries under such contracts. The National Conference of Insurance Legislators ("NCOIL") has adopted the Model Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act ("Model Act") and several states have adopted legislation that is substantially similar to the Model Act adopted by NCOIL. The Model Act imposes new requirements on insurers to periodically compare their in force life insurance and annuity policies against the Death Master File, investigate any identified matches to confirm the death of the insured and determine whether benefits are due and attempt to locate the beneficiaries or, if no beneficiary can be located, escheat the policy benefit to the respective state government as unclaimed property. The Model Act could result in additional payments to beneficiaries, additional escheatment of funds deemed abandoned under state laws, and/or administrative penalties. It is also possible that life insurers may be subject to claims regarding their business practices as a result given the legal uncertainty in this area. However, recent court decisions in West Virginia and Florida have upheld the well- established insurance law principal that life insurance policies are not due and payable until the insurance company receives due proof of death, and have further held an insurance company has no duty to search the Death Master File or other databases to determine whether deaths have occurred that have not been reported to the company.

Despite the fact we have no history of the asymmetric conduct in question, we have received notices from Louisiana Department of Treasury, Arkansas Auditor of State and the Texas State Comptroller, indicating they intend to audit Citizens, Inc. and certain of its affiliates for compliance with unclaimed property laws.  The audits may result in additional payments to beneficiaries, additional escheatment of funds deemed abandoned under state laws, administrative penalties, interest, and changes to the Company's procedures for the identification and escheatment of abandoned property.  The Company believes additional escheatment of funds in Arkansas or Texas will not be material to our financial condition or results. However, additional escheatment of funds in Louisiana, which may subsequently be deemed abandoned under the Louisiana Department of Treasury’s audit, could be substantial for SPLIC. At this time, the Company is not able to estimate any of these possible amounts.

Reinsurers with which we do business could increase their premium rates and may not honor their obligations, leaving us liable for the reinsured coverage.

We reinsure certain risks underwritten by our various insurance subsidiaries.  Market conditions beyond our control determine the availability and cost of the reinsurance protection we purchase.  The high cost of reinsurance or lack of affordable coverage could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our reinsurance facilities are generally subject to annual renewal.  We may not be able to maintain our current reinsurance facilities and, even if highly desirable or necessary, we may not be able to obtain replacement reinsurance facilities in adequate amounts or at rates economic to us.  If we are unable to renew our expiring facilities or to obtain new reinsurance facilities, either our net exposures would increase or, if we are unwilling or unable to bear an increase in net exposures, we may have to reduce the level of our underwriting commitments.  In addition, our reinsurance facilities may be canceled, pursuant to their terms, upon the occurrence of certain specified events, including a change of control of our Company (generally defined as the acquisition of 10% or more of our voting equity securities) or the failure of our insurance company subsidiaries to maintain the minimum required levels of statutory surplus.  Any of these potential developments could materially adversely affect our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

In 2014, we reinsured $516.6 million of face amount of our life insurance policies.  Amounts reinsured in 2014 represented 10.5% of the face amount of direct life insurance in force in that year.  Although the cost of reinsurance is, in some cases, reflected in premium rates, under certain reinsurance agreements, the reinsurer may increase the rate it charges us for reinsurance.  If our cost of reinsurance were to increase, we might not be able to recover these increased costs, and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.  See Note 5 to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.


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We may not be able to continue our past strategy of acquiring other U.S. life insurance companies, and we may not realize improvements to our financial results as a result of our past or any future acquisitions.

We have acquired 17 U.S. life insurance companies since 1987.  Our objective in this strategy has been to increase our assets, revenues and capital, improve our competitive position and increase our earnings, in part by realizing certain operating efficiencies associated with economies of scale.

We evaluate possible acquisitions of other insurance companies on an ongoing basis.  While our business model is not dependent primarily upon acquisitions, the time frame for achieving or further improving our market positions can be shortened through acquisitions.  There can be no assurance that suitable acquisitions presenting opportunities for continued growth and operating efficiencies will be available to us, or that we will realize the anticipated financial results from completed acquisitions.  In addition, we face intense competition in seeking to make acquisitions, much of which is from companies with greater financial and operational resources than we have.

Even if we identify and complete insurance company acquisitions, we may be unable to integrate them on an economically favorable basis.  Implementation of an acquisition strategy entails a number of risks, including, among others, inaccurate assessment of assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities and the failure to achieve anticipated operating efficiencies, revenues, earnings or cash flow.  The occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our international and domestic operations face significant competition.

Our international marketing plan focuses on making available U.S. Dollar-denominated life insurance products to high net worth, high income individuals residing in more than 30 countries.  New competition could increase the supply of available insurance, which could affect our ability to price our products at attractive profitable rates to us, thereby adversely affecting our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.  Existing barriers to entry in the foreign markets we serve may not be sufficient to impede potential competitors from entering such markets.  In connection with our business with foreign nationals, we experience competition primarily from the following sources, many of which have substantially greater financial, marketing and other resources than we have:

Foreign operated companies with U.S. Dollar policies.  We face direct competition from companies that operate in the
same manner as we operate in our international markets.

Companies foreign to the countries in which their policies are sold but that issue local currency policies.  Another group of our competitors in the international marketplace consists of companies that are foreign to the countries in which their policies are sold but issue life insurance policies denominated in the local currencies of those countries.  Local currency policies provide the benefit of assets located in the country of foreign residents, but entail risks of uncertainty due to local currency fluctuations, as well as the perceived instability and weakness of local currencies.

Locally operated companies with local currency policies.  We compete with companies formed and operated in the country in which our foreign insureds reside.  Generally, these companies are subject to risks of currency fluctuations, and they primarily use mortality tables based on experience of the local population as a whole.  These mortality tables are typically based on significantly shorter life spans than those we use.  As a result, the cost of insurance from these companies tends to be higher than ours. Although these companies typically market their policies to a broader section of the population than do our independent marketing firms and independent consultants, there can be no assurance that these companies will not endeavor to place a greater emphasis on our target market and compete more directly with us.

In the United States, we compete with more than 1,000 other life insurance companies of various sizes.  The life insurance business in the United States is highly competitive, in part because it is a mature industry that, in recent years, has experienced little to no growth in life insurance sales.  Many domestic life insurance companies have substantially greater financial resources, longer business histories and more diversified lines of insurance coverage than we do.  These companies also have larger sales forces than we have. Competition in the United States has also increased recently because the life insurance industry is consolidating, with larger, more efficient organizations emerging from the consolidation.

In addition, from time to time, companies enter and exit the markets in which we operate, thereby increasing competition at times when there are new entrants.  We may lose business to competitors offering competitive products at lower prices, or for other reasons.

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There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete effectively in any of our markets.  If we do not, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially adversely affected.

Sales of our products may be reduced if we are unable to (i) establish and maintain commercial relationships with independent marketing firms and independent consultants, (ii) attract and retain employee agents or (iii) develop and maintain our distribution sources.

We distribute our insurance products through several distribution channels, including independent marketing firms and independent consultants and our employee agents.  These relationships are significant for both our revenues and our profits.  In our life insurance segment, we depend almost exclusively on the services of independent marketing firms and independent consultants.  In our home service insurance segment, we depend on employee agents whose role in our distribution process is integral to developing and maintaining relationships with policyholders.  Significant competition exists among insurers in attracting and maintaining marketers of demonstrated ability.  Some of our competitors may offer better compensation packages for marketing firms, independent consultants and agents and broader arrays of products and have a greater diversity of distribution resources, better brand recognition, more competitive pricing, lower cost structures and greater financial strength or claims paying ratings than we do.  We compete with other insurers for marketing firms, independent consultants and employee agents primarily on the basis of our compensation and support services.  Any reduction in our ability to attract and retain effective sales representatives could materially adversely affect our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

Loss of the services of our senior management team would likely hinder development of our operating and marketing programs and our strategy for expanding our business.

We rely on the participation of our senior executive team comprised of Chairman Emeritus of the Board, Harold E. Riley (age 86), Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Rick D. Riley (age 61), President, Chief Corporate Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Kay E. Osbourn (age 48) and Chief Legal Officer and Strategy Officer, Geoffrey M. Kolander (age 39) in connection with the development and execution of our operating and marketing plans and strategy for expanding our business.  We anticipate that their expertise will continue to be of substantial value in connection with our operations.  The loss of the services of any of these individuals could have a significant adverse effect on our business and prospects.  We do not have an employment agreement with any of these persons nor do we carry key-man insurance policy on any of their lives.

We are subject to extensive governmental regulation in the United States, which increases our costs of doing business and could restrict the conduct of our business.

We are subject to extensive regulation and supervision in U.S. jurisdictions wherein we do business, as well as anti-money laundering regulations adopted under the USA Patriot Act.  Insurance company regulation is generally designed to protect the interests of policyholders, with substantially lesser protections to shareholders of the regulated insurance companies.  To that end, all the states in which we do business have insurance regulatory agencies with broad powers under law with respect to such things as: licensing companies to transact business; mandating capital and surplus requirements; regulating trade and claims practices; approving policy forms; and restricting companies' ability to enter and exit markets.

The capacity for an insurance company's growth in premiums is partially a function of its required statutory surplus.  Maintaining appropriate levels of statutory surplus, as measured by statutory accounting practices prescribed or permitted by a company's state of domicile, is considered important by all state insurance regulatory authorities.  Failure to maintain required levels of statutory surplus could result in increased regulatory scrutiny and enforcement action by regulatory authorities.

Most insurance regulatory authorities have broad discretion to grant, renew, suspend and revoke licenses and approvals, and could preclude or temporarily suspend us from carrying on some or all of our activities, including acquisitions of other insurance companies, require us to add capital to our insurance company subsidiaries, or fine us.  If we are unable to maintain all required licenses and approvals, or if our insurance business is determined not to comply fully with the wide variety of applicable laws and regulations and their interpretations, including the USA Patriot Act, our revenues, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Although the U.S. federal government has not historically regulated the insurance business, the Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in July 2010, expands the federal presence in insurance oversight. The Act's requirements include streamlining the state-based regulation of reinsurance and non-admitted insurance (also known as surplus lines insurance, which is property or casualty insurance written

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by a company that is not licensed to sell policies of insurance in a given state). This legislation also establishes a new Federal Insurance Office within the U.S. Department of the Treasury with powers over all lines of insurance except health insurance, certain long-term care insurance and crop insurance. The Federal Insurance Office is authorized to, among other things, gather data and information to monitor aspects of the insurance industry, identify issues in the regulation of insurers about insurance matters and preempt state insurance measures under certain circumstances. As this Act calls for numerous studies and contemplates further regulation, the future impact of the Act on our results of operations or our financial condition cannot be determined at this time, but could have an adverse impact on profitable operations.

Changes in U.S. regulation may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and limit our prospective growth.

Currently, the U.S. Federal Government does not directly regulate the insurance business, although initiatives for federal regulation of insurance are proposed by members of the U.S. Congress from time to time.  However, federal legislation, regulations and administrative policies in several other areas can materially and adversely affect insurance companies, including our business.  These areas include U.S. anti-money laundering laws and related regulations, including the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations (collectively, the “BSA”), other financial services regulations, securities regulation, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Act, pension regulation, privacy, tort reform legislation and taxation.  In addition, various forms of direct federal regulation of insurance have been proposed from time to time.

Our failure to maintain effective information systems could adversely affect our business.

We must maintain and enhance our existing information systems and develop new information systems in order to keep pace with continuing changes in information processing technology, evolving industry and regulatory standards and changing customer preferences.  If we do not maintain adequate systems, we could experience adverse consequences, including products acquired through acquisition, inadequate information on which to base pricing, underwriting and reserve decisions, regulatory problems, failure to meet prompt payment obligations, increases in administrative expenses and loss of customers.

Some of our information technology systems and software are mainframe-based, legacy-type systems that require an ongoing commitment of resources to maintain current standards.  Our systems utilize proprietary code requiring highly skilled personnel.  Due to the unique nature of our proprietary operating environment, we could have difficulty finding personnel with the skills required to provide ongoing system maintenance and development as we seek to keep pace with changes in our products and business models, information processing technology, evolving industry and regulatory standards and policyholder needs.  Our success is dependent upon, among other things, maintaining and enhancing the effectiveness of existing systems, as well as continuing to integrate, develop and enhance our information systems to support business processes in a cost-effective manner.

Our failure to maintain effective and efficient information systems, or our failure to efficiently and effectively consolidate our information systems to eliminate redundant or obsolete applications, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our failure to protect confidential information and privacy could result in the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential corporate or customer information, damage to our reputation, loss of customers, fines, penalties and adverse effects on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to privacy regulations.  The actions we take to protect confidential information include among other things: monitoring our record retention plans and policies and any changes in state or federal privacy and compliance requirements; maintaining secure storage facilities for tangible records; and limiting access to electronic information in order to safeguard certain information.

In addition, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires that we deliver a notice regarding our privacy policy both at the delivery of an insurance policy and annually thereafter.  Certain exceptions are allowed for sharing of information under joint marketing agreements. However, certain state laws may require us to obtain a policyholder's consent before we share information.

We have a written information security program with appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect such confidential information.  Cyber security attacks are on the rise throughout the world and while we believe we have taken reasonable steps to secure our customer information we could experience a breach of data. We closely monitor cyber attack attempts on our system, and we are not aware of any material breach of our cybersecurity, administrative, technical and physical safeguards or

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client data. Nevertheless, it is possible a cyber attack could go undetected and that preventative actions we take to reduce this risk of cyber-incidents and protect our information may be insufficient to prevent cyber attacks or other security breaches.

If we do not comply with privacy regulations and protect confidential information, we could experience adverse consequences, including regulatory sanctions, loss of reputation, litigation exposure, disruptions to our operations or significant technical, legal and operating expenses, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

General economic, financial market and political conditions may materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected from time to time by general economic, financial market and political conditions, both in the United States and in the foreign countries where our policyowners reside.  These conditions include economic cycles such as:  levels of consumer spending; levels of inflation; movements of the financial markets; availability of credit; fluctuations in interest rates, monetary policy or demographics; and legislative and competitive changes.

During periods of economic downturn, such as the ones recently experienced, our insureds may choose not to purchase our insurance products, may terminate existing policies, permit policies to lapse or may choose to reduce the amount of coverage purchased, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.  Also, our sales of new insurance policies might decrease.

Our insurance subsidiaries are restricted by applicable laws and regulations in the amounts of fees, dividends and other distributions they may make to us.  The inability of our subsidiaries to make payments to us in sufficient amounts for us to conduct our operations could adversely affect our ability to meet our obligations or expand our business.

As a holding company, our principal asset is the stock of our subsidiaries.  We rely primarily on statutorily permissible payments from our insurance company subsidiaries, principally through service agreements we have with our subsidiaries, to meet our working capital and other corporate expenses.  The ability of our insurance company subsidiaries to make payments to us is subject to regulation by the states in which they are domiciled, and these payments depend primarily on approved service agreements between us and these subsidiaries and, to a lesser extent, the statutory surplus (which is the excess of assets over liabilities as determined under statutory accounting practices prescribed by an insurance company's state of domicile), future statutory earnings (which are earnings as determined in accordance with statutory accounting practices) and regulatory restrictions.

Generally, the net assets of our insurance company subsidiaries available for dividends are limited to either the lesser or greater (depending on the state of domicile) of the subsidiary's net gain from operations during the preceding year and 10% of the subsidiary's net statutory surplus as of the end of the preceding year as determined in accordance with accounting practices prescribed by insurance regulatory authorities.

Except to the extent that we are a creditor with recognized claims against our subsidiaries, claims of our subsidiaries' creditors, including policyholders, have priority with respect to the assets and earnings of the subsidiaries over the claims of our creditors and shareholders.  If any of our subsidiaries becomes insolvent, liquidates or otherwise reorganizes, our creditors and shareholders will have no right to proceed in their own right against the assets of that subsidiary or to cause the liquidation, bankruptcy or winding-up of the subsidiary under applicable liquidation, bankruptcy or winding-up laws.

Adverse capital and credit market conditions may significantly affect our access to debt and equity capital and our cost of capital in seeking to expand our business.

The availability of equity and debt financing to us will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, the general availability of credit, the overall availability of credit to the financial services industry, our credit capacity, as well as the possibility that investors or lenders could develop a negative perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects.  Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the capital markets may also limit our access to equity capital for us to seek to expand our business.  As such, we may be forced to delay raising debt or equity capital, or bear an unattractive cost of capital, which could adversely affect our ability to seek any acquisitions and negatively impact profitability of an acquisition.


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Unexpected losses in future reporting periods may require us to adjust the valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets.

We evaluate our deferred tax asset (“DTA”) quarterly for recoverability based on available evidence.  This process involves management's judgment about assumptions, which are subject to change from period to period due to tax rate changes or variances between our projected operating performance and our actual results.  Ultimately, future adjustments to the DTA valuation allowance, if any, will be determined based upon changes in the expected realization of the net deferred tax assets.  The realization of the deferred tax assets depends on the existence of sufficient taxable income in either the carry back or carry forward periods under applicable tax law.  Due to significant estimates utilized in establishing the valuation allowance and the potential for changes in facts and circumstances, it is reasonably possible that we may be required to record a valuation allowance in future reporting periods.  Such an adjustment could have a material adverse effect on our results of operation, financial condition and capital position.

We may experience greater risks associated with certain deficiencies recently identified in our BSA Program.

As required by the BSA regulations applicable to insurance companies, we have developed and implemented an anti-money laundering program that includes policies and procedures for complying with applicable BSA program, reporting and recordkeeping requirements and for preventing and detecting potential money laundering and other criminal activity (“BSA Program”). Based on an internal risk assessment and review we began in the first quarter of 2015, we have identified certain deficiencies in our BSA Program, and we are in the process of addressing them and enhancing the BSA Program in order to mitigate further the risk of inadvertently becoming involved in illegal activity.


We face risk from a 2001 technical error made in our original Registration Statement on Form S-3 covering the Plan and filed with the SEC.
In December 2012, it was discovered that the original Registration Statement on Form S-3 covering the Plan and filed with the SEC was not declared effective under the Securities Act of 1933, due to a technical error on the Form S-3 cover page in the 2001 filing. Further, sales under the Plan may not have qualified for an exemption from registration under that Act. Consequently, we filed with the SEC a new registration statement pursuant to Rule 415 on Form S-3 with respect to the Plan (the “New Registration Statement”), which was declared effective by the SEC on January 14, 2013. Despite our full disclosure of this technical error since 2012, if and to the extent participants purchased shares of Class A common stock in the open market that were not effectively registered under the Securities Act, or exempt from such registration, prior to the filing of the 2013 Form S-3 Registration Statement such participants could seek to pursue certain state law remedies potentially available to them, since the statute of limitations has expired under federal securities law. Should a significant number of these purchasers bring state law claims, it could have a material and adverse effect on our business and reputation and our results of operations and financial condition.

 Risks Relating to Our Capital Stock

The price of our Class A common stock may be adversely affected by decreased  participation in the Citizens, Inc. Stock Investment Plan (the "Plan").

If an international applicant for insurance submits a “Consent to be Contacted” form to Citizens with his or her insurance application, then Citizens will submit a copy of the Plan Prospectus once the applicant’s insurance policy is fully underwritten. At that time the international applicant is invited by Citizens to participate in the Plan and afforded the opportunity to invest certain policy dividends into the Plan. Most all of our international policyholders participate in the Plan and they invest their policy dividends and benefits in our Class A common stock pursuant to the Plan.  Once a policyholder elects to participate in the Plan, his or her policy benefits are assigned to purchase Citizens Class A common stock under the Plan in the open market.  There is a risk our Class A common stock price could be negatively impacted by a decrease in participation in the Plan.  If fewer policyholders elect to participate in the Plan, or our international premium collections were to decrease as a result of regulatory, economic, or marketing impediments, the trading volume of our Class A common stock may decline from its present levels and the demand for our Class A common stock could be negatively impacted.


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Control of our Company, through the ownership of our Class B Common Stock, may transfer from our Founder to a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation established by our Founder, and we cannot determine whether any change in our management, operations, or operating strategies will occur as a result of such an ownership change.

Harold E. Riley, our Founder and Chairman Emeritus, is the beneficial owner of 100% of our Class B common stock, which is held in the name of the Harold E. Riley Trust ("Trust"), of which he serves as Trustee.  Our Class A and Class B common stock are identical in all respects, except the Class B common stock elects a simple majority of the Board and receives one-half of any cash dividends paid, on a per share basis, to the Class A shares.  Therefore, Mr. Riley controls our Company.  The Class A common stock elects the remainder of the Board.   The Trust documents provide that upon Mr. Riley's death, the Class B common stock will be transferred from the Trust to the Harold E. Riley Foundation, a charitable organization established under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Foundation").  In addition, the Trust documents provide that Mr. Riley may at any time transfer the Class B common stock held by the Trust to the Foundation.  It is unclear what, if any, changes would occur to our board, management structure, or corporate operating strategies as a result of different ownership of our Class B common stock.

There are a substantial number of our shares of Class A common stock issued to our executive officers, directors and management which are eligible for future sale in the public market.  The sale of these shares could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to fall.

There were 49,080,114 shares of our Class A common stock issued as of December 31, 2014.  Our executive officers, directors and management owned approximately 3,170,704 shares of our Class A common stock as of December 31, 2014, representing approximately 6.5% of our then outstanding Class A common stock.  Almost all of these shares have been registered for public resale and generally may be sold freely.   In the event of a sale of some or all of these shares or the perceived sale of these shares, the market price of our Class A common stock could fall substantially.

The price of our Class A common stock may be volatile and may be affected by market conditions beyond our control.

Our Class A common stock price has historically fluctuated and is likely to fluctuate in the future and could decline materially because of the volatility of the stock market in general, decreased participation in the Plan referred to above or a variety of other factors, many of which are beyond our control, including: quarterly or annual variations in actual or anticipated results of our operations; interest rate fluctuations; changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; competition and other factors affecting the life insurance business generally; and conditions in the U.S. and world economies.

The international aspects of our operations, and the specific manner in which we conduct our business in those jurisdictions, may be subject to periodic negative social media publicity, which may negatively impact the market price of our Class A common stock.

We interface with and distribute our products to residents of foreign countries that may be subject to the risks disclosed in our Item 1A. Risk Factor under the heading, “A substantial amount of our revenue comes from residents of foreign countries and is subject to risks associated with widespread political instability, foreign insurance laws and asset transfer restrictions”. Venezuela is one such example.  Accordingly, from time to time, bloggers or other social media outlets relevant to investors may focus attention on our exposure to these countries and the negative circumstances surrounding their governments, thereby subjecting us to periodic negative publicity.  Negative publicity on investor blogs could impact trading in our stock and ultimately cause the market price of our Class A common stock to fall.

Our articles of incorporation and bylaws, as well as applicable state insurance laws, may discourage takeovers and business combinations that our shareholders might consider to be in their best interests.

Our articles of incorporation and bylaws, as well as various state insurance laws, may delay, deter, render more difficult or prevent a takeover attempt our shareholders might consider in their best interests.  As a result, our shareholders will be prevented from receiving the benefit from any premium to the market price of our Class A common stock that may be offered by a bidder in a takeover context.  Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our Class A common stock if they are viewed as discouraging takeover attempts in the future.

The following provisions in our articles of incorporation and bylaws make it difficult for our Class A shareholders to replace or remove our directors and have other anti-takeover effects that may delay, deter or prevent a takeover attempt:

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holders of shares of our Class B common stock elect a simple majority of our board of directors, and all of these shares
are owned by the Harold E. Riley Trust; and
our board of directors may issue one or more series of preferred stock without the approval of our shareholders.

State insurance laws generally require prior approval of a change in control of an insurance company.  Generally, such laws provide that control over an insurer is presumed to exist if any person, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing 10% or more of the voting securities of the insurer.  In considering an application to acquire control of an insurer, an insurance commissioner generally will consider such factors as the experience, competence and financial strength of the proposed acquirer, the integrity of the proposed acquirer's board of directors and executive officers, the proposed acquirer's plans for the management and operation of the insurer, and any anti-competitive results that may arise from the acquisition.  In addition, a person seeking to acquire control of an insurance company is required in some states to make filings prior to completing an acquisition if the acquirer and the target insurance company and their affiliates have sufficiently large market shares in particular lines of insurance in those states.  These state insurance requirements may delay, deter or prevent our ability to complete an acquisition.

We have never paid any cash dividends on our Class A common stock and do not anticipate doing so in the foreseeable future.

We have never paid cash dividends on our Class A common stock, as it is our policy to retain earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business.  We do not expect to pay cash dividends on our Class A common stock for the foreseeable future.


Item 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

None.

Item 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

None.

Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

Item 5. OTHER INFORMATION

None.


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Item 6. EXHIBITS

Exhibit Number
 
The following exhibits are filed herewith:
3.1
 
Restated and Amended Articles of Incorporation (a)
 
 
 
3.2
 
Amended and Restated Bylaws dated March 1, 2013 (b)
 
 
 
4.1
 
Amendment to State Series A-1 and A-2 Senior Convertible Preferred Stock (c)
 
 
 
11
 
Statement re:  Computation of per share earnings (see financial statements)
 
 
 
31.1
 
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act*
 
 
 
31.2
 
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act*
 
 
 
32.1
 
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act*
 
 
 
32.2
 
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act*
 
 
 
101.INS
 
XBRL Instance Document*
 
 
 
101.SCH
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema*
 
 
 
101.CAL
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase*
 
 
 
101.DEF
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase*
 
 
 
101.LAB
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase*
 
 
 
101.PRE
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase*
 
 
__________________

* Filed herewith.
(a) Filed on March 15, 2004 with the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 2003 as Exhibit 3.1, and incorporated herein by reference.
(b) Filed on March 12, 3013 with the Registrants' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 2012 as Exhibit 3.2 and incorporated herein by reference.
(c) Filed on July 15, 2004, with the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 4.1, and incorporated herein by reference.


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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
 
 
 
CITIZENS, INC.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By:
/s/ Rick D. Riley
 
 
 
Rick D. Riley
 
 
 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By:
/s/ Kay E. Osbourn
 
 
 
Kay E. Osbourn
 
 
 
President, Chief Corporate Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date:
August 6, 2015
 
 

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