Conifer Holdings Readies IPO

The underwriters for the offering are BMO Capital Markets, Raymond James, Sandler O’Neill+Partners and William Blair.

This Michigan-based insurance holding company was formed in 2009. Through its insurance subsidiaries, Conifer offers insurance coverage in both specialty commercial and specialty personal product lines. Many of its products are targeted to profitable classes of policyholders that are underserved by other insurers.

Conifer markets and sells these insurance products through a growing network of over 4,500 independent agents that distribute policies through their approximately 2,200 sales offices writing business in 44 states.

The company’s commercial lines and personal lines business accounted for 65% and 35%, respectively, of net earned premiums for the three months ended in March 2015, and 62% and 38%, respectively, of net earned premiums for the year ended in December 2014.

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According to the filing:

In our commercial lines business, we seek to differentiate ourselves and provide value to small business owner-operators by bundling different insurance products that meet a significant portion of their insurance needs. For example, in the hospitality market we offer property, casualty, and liquor liability, as well as, in some jurisdictions, workers’ compensation coverage. The breadth of our specialty commercial insurance products enables our small business customers, many of whom do not have dedicated risk management personnel, and their agents, to save the administrative costs and time required to seek coverage for these items from separate insurers. As such, we compete for commercial lines business based on our flexible product offerings and customer service, rather than on pricing alone.

For the quarter ended in March, Conifer had total revenues of $15.6 million, compared to $13.5 million in the same period of the previous year. In terms of the past three years, the company had total revenues of $60.9 million, $33.5 million and $19.6 million, for the 2014, 2013 and 2012 years, ended in January, respectively.

On the books, the company has cash and invested assets of $124 million at the end of March 2015.

The company plans to use the proceeds from this offering to pay down its indebtedness, as well as for general corporate purposes.

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