Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSX:KFS), which insures high-risk drivers, is cutting staff and streamlining its management structure as it re-aligns its Insurance Services and Insurance Underwriting segments.
The company didn’t say how many jobs will be cut, but said Monday it expects to incur about $2 million or 15 cents per share in cash severance expenses over the next nine months and $1.3 million or 10 cents per share to abandon leased space at two subsidiaries, Mendota Insurance and Universal Casualty.
It will also post $11.4 million or 87 cents per share in additional unpaid loss and loss adjustment expenses as part of the underwriting restructuring. Kingsway’s Amigo Insurance subsidiary accounted for $9.4 million of the loss and the remaining $2 million was at its Mendota and Mendakota subsidiaries.
The company said its non-standard property and casualty business operations will be under one management team, led by its current chief financial officer and chief operating officer, William Hickey.
The insurance services segment will be led by Bradley Diericx, who joined Kingsway on Monday. He was previously Johnson Lambert LLP, GE Reinsurance and Insurance Corp. of Hannover.
“These restructuring changes are intended to create a new leadership team from within the company’s ranks, bring additional talent into the organization, grow the insurance services side of the business, and create the foundation for returning our insurance underwriting operations to profitability” said Larry G. Swets, Jr., Kingsway’s president and chief executive officer.
Kingsway’s stock gained two cents to $1.76.