| Industries |
|---|
| Investment Banking and Brokerage |
| Construction and Engineering |
| Construction Materials |
| Construction and Farm Machinery and Heavy Trucks |
| Technology Hardware Storage and Peripherals |
| Information Technology |
| Technology Hardware and Equipment |
| Exposures |
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| Intelligence |
| Express intent |
| Regime |
| Rights |
| Event Codes |
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| Warn |
| Yield to order |
| Military blockade |
| Human death |
| Demand |
| Sports contest |
| Accident |
| Acknowledge responsibility |
| Wiki | Wiki Summary |
|---|---|
| Uncertainty quantification | Uncertainty quantification (UQ) is the science of quantitative characterization and reduction of uncertainties in both computational and real world applications. It tries to determine how likely certain outcomes are if some aspects of the system are not exactly known. |
| Financial statement | Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity.\nRelevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to understand. |
| Timeshare | A timeshare (sometimes called vacation ownership) is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each owner of the same accommodation is allotted their period of time. |
| Relics associated with Buddha | According to Mahaparinibbana Sutta, after his death, the Buddha was cremated and the ashes divided among his followers.\n\n\n== Division of the relics ==\n\nOriginally his ashes were to go only to the Shakya clan, to which Buddha belonged; however, six clans and a king demanded the body relics. |
| Investment banking | Investment banking denotes certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. |
| Finance | Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related with, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services. |
| List of Nobel laureates by university affiliation | This list of Nobel laureates by university affiliation shows the university affiliations of individual winners of the Nobel Prize since 1901 and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences since 1969. The affiliations are those at the time of the Nobel Prize announcement. |
| Federal Reserve | The Federal Reserve System (also known as the Federal Reserve or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of financial panics (particularly the panic of 1907) led to the desire for central control of the monetary system in order to alleviate financial crises. |
| Monetary policy | Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money supply, often as an attempt to reduce inflation or the interest rate, to ensure price stability and general trust of the value and stability of the nation's currency.\nMonetary policy is a modification of the supply of money, i.e. |
| Corporate bond | A corporate bond is a bond issued by a corporation in order to raise financing for a variety of reasons such as to ongoing operations, M&A, or to expand business. The term is usually applied to longer-term debt instruments, with maturity of at least one year. |
| Construction engineering | Construction engineering is a professional discipline that deals with the designing, planning, construction and management of infrastructures such as roads, tunnels, bridges, airports, railroads, facilities, buildings, dams, utilities and other projects.\nCivil engineering is a related field that deals more with the practical aspects of projects. |
| Regulatory capture | In politics, regulatory capture (also agency capture and client politics) is a form of corruption of authority that occurs when a political entity, policymaker, or regulator is co-opted to serve the commercial, ideological, or political interests of a minor constituency, such as a particular geographic area, industry, profession, or ideological group.When regulatory capture occurs, a special interest is prioritized over the general interests of the public, leading to a net loss for society. The theory of client politics is related to that of rent-seeking and political failure; client politics "occurs when most or all of the benefits of a program go to some single, reasonably small interest (e.g., industry, profession, or locality) but most or all of the costs will be borne by a large number of people (for example, all taxpayers)". |
| Volcker Rule | The Volcker Rule refers to § 619 of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. § 1851). The rule was originally proposed by American economist and former United States Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to restrict United States banks from making certain kinds of speculative investments that do not benefit their customers. |
| Non-compete clause | In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition against another party (usually the employer). Some courts refer to these as "restrictive covenants". |
| Not Available | Not Available is the second studio album (released as the fourth) by the Residents, recorded in 1974. The album was allegedly meant to only be released once its creators completely forgot about its existence (adhering to their "Theory of Obscurity," in which an artist's purest work is created without an audience) - however, due to ongoing delays in the release of Eskimo, Not Available was released to supply the demand for new Residents material, given their unexpected critical and commercial success following the release of the Duck Stab EP.\n\n\n== History ==\nIt is said that the lyrics and themes of Not Available arose from personal tensions within the group, and that the project began as a private psychodrama before being adapted into a possible operetta. |
| Pius Adesanmi | Pius Adebola Adesanmi (27 February 1972 – 10 March 2019) was a Nigerian-born Canadian professor, writer, literary critic, satirist, and columnist. He was the author of Naija No Dey Carry Last, a 2015 collection of satirical essays. |
| Bad debt | Bad debt, occasionally called uncollectible accounts expense, is a monetary amount owed to a creditor that is unlikely to be paid and for which the creditor is not willing to take action to collect for various reasons, often due to the debtor not having the money to pay, for example due to a company going into liquidation or insolvency. There are various technical definitions of what constitutes a bad debt, depending on accounting conventions, regulatory treatment and the institution provisioning. |
| Seating capacity | Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. |
| Capacity building | Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms capacity building and capacity development have often been used interchangeably, although a publication by OECD-DAC stated in 2006 that capacity development was the preferable term. |
| Vital capacity | Vital capacity (VC) is the maximum amount of air a person can inhale after a maximum exhalation. It is equal to the sum of inspiratory reserve volume, tidal volume, and expiratory reserve volume. |
| Net worth | Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net worth can also be conveniently expressed as non-financial assets plus net financial assets. |
| Competitive advantage | In business, a competitive advantage is the attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors.\nA competitive advantage may include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost power source, highly skilled labor, geographic location, high entry barriers, and access to new technology. |
| Supracompetitive pricing | Supracompetitive pricing is pricing above what can be sustained in a competitive market. This may be indicative of a business that has a unique legal or competitive advantage or of anti-competitive behavior that has driven competition from the market. |
| Statutory declaration | A statutory declaration is a legal document defined under the law of certain Commonwealth nations and in the United States. It is similar to a statement made under oath, but it is not sworn. |
| Islamic finance products, services and contracts | Banking or banking activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law)—known as Islamic banking and finance, or Sharia-compliant finance—has its own products, services and contracts that differ from conventional banking. Some of these include Mudharabah (profit sharing), Wadiah (safekeeping), Musharakah (joint venture), Murabahah (cost plus finance), Ijar (leasing), Hawala (an international fund transfer system), Takaful (Islamic insurance), and Sukuk (Islamic bonds).Sharia prohibits riba, or usury, defined as interest paid on all loans of money (although some Muslims dispute whether there is a consensus that interest is equivalent to riba). |
| Subsidiary | A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that belong to the same parent company are called sister companies. |
| Subsidiary right | A subsidiary right (also called a subright or sub-lease) is the right to produce or publish a product in different formats based on the original material. Subsidiary rights are common in the publishing and entertainment industries, in which subsidiary rights are granted by the author to an agent, publisher, newspaper, or film studio. |
| External debt | A country's gross external debt (or foreign debt) is the liabilities that are owed to nonresidents by residents.: 5 The debtors can be governments, corporations or citizens.: 41–43 External debt may be denominated in domestic or foreign currency.: 71–72 It includes amounts owed to private commercial banks, foreign governments, or international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. \nExternal debt measures an economy's obligations to make future payments and, therefore, is an indicator of a country's vulnerability to solvency and liquidity problems.: xi–xii Another useful indicator is the net external debt position, which equals gross external debt less external assets in the form of debt instruments.: 1–2 A related concept is the net international investment position (net IIP). |
| Available-to-promise | Available-to-promise (ATP) is a business function that provides a response to customer order inquiries, based on resource availability.\n It generates available quantities of the requested product, and delivery due dates. |
| Available light | In photography and cinematography, available light (also called ambient light or practical light) refers to any available source of light that is not explicitly supplied by the photographer for the purpose of taking pictures. The term usually refers to light sources in the surrounding environment that are present naturally (e.g. |
| Available seat miles | In passenger transportation, available seat miles (ASM) or available seat kilometers (ASK) is a measure of passenger carrying capacity. It is equal to the number of seats available multiplied by the number of miles or kilometers traveled by a vehicle. |
| Borrowing base | Borrowing base is an accounting metric used by financial institutions to estimate the available collateral on a borrower's assets in order to evaluate the size of the credit that may be extended. Typically, the calculation of borrowing base is used for revolving loans, and the borrowing base determines the maximum credit line available to the borrower. |
| Return on investment | Return on investment (ROI) or return on costs (ROC) is a ratio between net income (over a period) and investment (costs resulting from an investment of some resources at a point in time). A high ROI means the investment's gains compare favourably to its cost. |
| Risk Factors |
|---|
| CNA SURETY CORP Item 1A Risk Factors |
| Some of the more significant risks that we face are described below |
| There may be additional risks that we do not currently perceive to be significant or that we are not currently aware of that may also impact our business |
| Each of the risks and uncertainties described below could lead to events or circumstances that have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or equity |
| In addition, ownership of our common stock may be subject to risks associated with the liquidity of the investment |
| Approximately 63prca of our common stock is owned by affiliates of CNAF This concentration of ownership may reduce the number of market participants willing to purchase our stock and limit the ability of a minority owner to liquidate their position |
| WE MAY DETERMINE THAT OUR LOSS RESERVES ARE INSUFFICIENT TO COVER OUR ESTIMATED ULTIMATE UNPAID LIABILITY FOR CLAIMS AND WE MAY NEED TO INCREASE THEM We maintain loss reserves to cover our estimated ultimate unpaid liability for claims and claim adjustment expenses for reported and unreported claims |
| Reserves represent our best estimate at a given accounting date |
| Loss reserves are not an exact calculation of liability but instead are complex estimates derived by us, generally utilizing a variety of reserve estimation techniques from numerous assumptions and expectations about future events, many of which are highly uncertain, such as estimates of claims severity, frequency of claims, inflation, claims handling, case reserving policies and procedures, underwriting and pricing policies, changes in the legal and regulatory environment and the lag time between the occurrence of an insured event and the time of its ultimate settlement |
| Many of these uncertainties are not precisely quantifiable and require significant judgment on our part |
| In light of the many uncertainties associated with establishing the estimates and making the assumptions necessary to establish reserve levels, we review and change our reserve estimates in a regular and ongoing process as experience develops and further claims are reported and settled |
| If estimated reserves are insufficient for any reason, the required increase in reserves would be recorded as a charge against our earnings for the period in which reserves are determined to be insufficient |
| SURETY LOSSES AND OUR RESULTS CAN BE VOLATILE In the past, our results have been adversely impacted by a relatively small number of large claims |
| In addition, our results have been significantly impacted by increases in corporate default rates |
| These past occurrences illustrate that our loss experience and results can be volatile |
| WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT CONCENTRATION OF EXPOSURE TO CONSTRUCTION FIRMS A significant portion of our business is guaranteeing the performance of construction firms |
| Therefore, we are exposed to the challenges that the construction industry faces |
| Over the recent past, the construction industry has enjoyed very strong demand for its services |
| However, if the construction economy encounters difficulties, we may experience a higher frequency of claims and higher losses |
| OUR PREMIUM WRITINGS AND PROFITABILITY ARE IMPACTED BY THE AVAILABILITY AND COST OF REINSURANCE AND OUR REINSURANCE PURCHASING DECISIONS Reinsurance coverage is an important component of our capital structure |
| Reinsurance allows us to meet certain regulatory restrictions that would otherwise limit the size of bonds that we write and limit the market segments in which we could compete |
| In addition, reinsurance reduces the potential volatility of earnings and protects our capital by limiting the amount of loss associated with any one bond principal |
| We have experienced periods where it was difficult for us to buy as much reinsurance as we desired and when reinsurance costs have risen substantially |
| The availability and cost of reinsurance protection depends on a number of factors such as our loss 12 |
| If sufficient reinsurance is not available or is too costly or if we purchase insufficient reinsurance, we may need to reduce our premium writings and may be susceptible to higher losses |
| WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COLLECT AMOUNTS OWED TO US BY REINSURERS Amounts recoverable from reinsurers are reported as receivables in our balance sheets and are estimated in a manner consistent with loss and loss adjustment expense reserves |
| The ceding of insurance does not, however, discharge our primary liability for claims |
| As a result, we are subject to credit risk relating to our ability to recover amounts due from reinsurers |
| It is possible that future financial deterioration of our reinsurers could result in certain balances becoming uncollectible |
| WE RELY UPON AFFILIATED COMPANIES THAT WE DO NOT CONTROL TO CONDUCT CERTAIN ASPECTS OF OUR BUSINESS Due to regulatory restrictions that limit the size of the bonds that our insurance subsidiaries can write, we utilize the capacity of affiliated companies to service some parts of our business |
| If this capacity is no longer available to us, or no longer satisfies the regulatory requirements, we may need to stop servicing parts of our business |
| RATING AGENCIES MAY DOWNGRADE THEIR RATINGS FOR US OR FOR AFFILIATED COMPANIES THAT WE RELY ON TO WRITE BUSINESS THIS WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO WRITE BUSINESS Our customers often refer to the financial strength ratings assigned by AM Best, S&P and other similar companies when they are choosing a surety company |
| Because we use the underwriting capacity of CCC, an affiliate, to serve larger accounts, our financial strength ratings, as well as those of CCC, factor into customers &apos decisions |
| After reporting a significant net loss in the third quarter of 2003, our AM Best rating was lowered from A+ to A with a negative outlook |
| CCC also reported a significant net loss in the third quarter of 2003, but AM Best affirmed CCCapstas rating of A with a negative outlook |
| However, if our ratings or CCCapstas ratings are downgraded, we may experience a significant reduction in premium writings |
| WE FACE INTENSE COMPETITION All aspects of the insurance industry are highly competitive and we must continuously allocate resources to refine and improve our products and services |
| Insurers compete on the basis of factors including products, price, services, ratings and financial strength |
| Although we seek pricing that will result in what we believe are adequate returns on the capital allocated to our business, we may lose business to competitors offering competitive products at lower prices |
| We compete with a large number of stock and mutual insurance companies and other entities for both distributors and customers |
| We also compete against providers of substitute products such as letters of credit in certain markets |
| DEMAND FOR OUR PRODUCTS IS CREATED BY LAWS THAT COULD BE CHANGED We believe that the vast majority of the demand for our products results from federal, state and local laws that mandate the use of surety bonds |
| If these laws are loosened or eliminated, our business would be severely impacted |
| WE ARE SUBJECT TO CAPITAL ADEQUACY REQUIREMENTS AND, IF WE DO NOT MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS, REGULATORY AGENCIES MAY RESTRICT OR PROHIBIT US FROM OPERATING OUR BUSINESS Insurance companies are subject to risk-based capital standards set by state regulators to help identify companies that merit further regulatory attention |
| These standards apply specified risk factors to various asset, premium and reserve components of our statutory capital and surplus reported in our statutory financial statements |
| Current rules require companies to maintain statutory capital and surplus at a specified minimum level determined using the risk-based capital formula |
| If we do not meet these minimum requirements, state regulators may restrict or prohibit us from operating our business |
| 13 |
| Dividend payments, however, must be approved by the subsidiaries &apos domiciliary state departments of insurance and are generally limited to amounts determined by formula which varies by state |
| If we are restricted, by regulatory rule or otherwise, from paying or receiving inter-company dividends, we may not be able to fund our working capital needs and debt service requirements from available cash |
| As a result, we would need to look to other sources of capital which may be more expensive or may not be available at all |
| SOME OF THE CREDIT EXTENDED TO US REQUIRES ONGOING COMPLIANCE WITH CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS REGARDING OUR PROFITABILITY AND FINANCIAL CONDITION We borrow money from banks under a credit facility that requires that we meet certain tests of profitability and financial condition |
| If we do not meet these tests, we may be required to repay outstanding borrowings |
| If we are capable of repaying the borrowings, we may experience a reduction in capital strength that may hamper our ability to conduct business |
| If we are not capable of repaying the borrowings, we would need to look to other sources of capital which may be more expensive or may not be available at all |
| OUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO MAY SUFFER REDUCED RETURNS OR LOSSES Investment returns are an important part of our overall profitability |
| General economic conditions, fluctuations in interest rates, and many other factors beyond our control can adversely affect the returns and the overall value of our investment portfolio and our ability to control the timing of the realization of investment income |
| In addition, any defaults in the payments due to us for our investments, especially with respect to liquid corporate and municipal bonds, could reduce our investment income and realized investment gains or could cause us to incur investment losses |
| As a result of these factors, we may not realize an adequate return on our investments, may incur losses on sales of our investments and may be required to write down the value of our investments |
| WE RELY ON OUR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS TO CONDUCT OUR BUSINESS Our business is highly dependent upon the successful and uninterrupted functioning of our information technology and telecommunications systems |
| We rely on these systems to process new and renewal business, provide customer service, make claims payments and facilitate collections and cancellations, as well as to perform actuarial and other analytical functions necessary for pricing and product development |