Doma Holdings (DOMA) Risk Analysis

As of December 31, 2023, we have no significant direct operations and no significant assets other than our ownership of our wholly owned subsidiary States Title. We will depend on States Title for distributions, loans and other payments to generate the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations, including our expenses as a publicly traded company and to pay any dividends with respect to our common stock. The financial condition and operating requirements of States Title may limit our ability to obtain cash from States Title. The earnings from, or other available assets of, States Title may not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans to enable us to pay any dividends on our common stock or satisfy our other financial obligations. Further, the provisions of the Senior Debt and Topco Term Facility will limit States Title ability and the ability of its subsidiaries to, among other things, pay dividends or make distribution to us. Additionally, the Merger Agreement generally restricts our ability to pay any dividends on our common stock during the period between the execution and completion of the Merger Agreement.

As a privately held company, Old Doma had not been required to comply with many corporate governance and financial reporting practices and policies required of a publicly traded company. As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the listing standards of the NYSE. The Exchange Act requires the filing of annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to a public company's business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that a public company establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. As a result, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. These expenses will increase once we are no longer an "emerging growth company" as defined under the JOBS Act or a "smaller reporting company." Also, our entire management team and many of our other employees have devoted and will continue to devote substantial time to compliance. These rules and regulations have and will continue to result in us incurring substantial legal and financial compliance costs and have made and will continue to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and it may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers.

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining internal controls over financial reporting, disclosure controls, and complying with the other requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules promulgated by the SEC thereunder. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with international financial reporting standards. A material weakness is defined as a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company's annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected by the company's internal controls on a timely basis. In addition, prior to the Business Combination, Old Doma, as a private company, was not required to document and test its internal controls over financial reporting nor was management required to certify the effectiveness of internal controls or have its auditors opine on the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting. As a public company, we are now subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are also continuing to improve our internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight. However, as the accounting acquirer in the Business Combination, we cannot assure you that we have identified all, or that we will not in the future have additional material weaknesses. If we identify any material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures taken to date, or any measures taken in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.

Reinsurance is a contract by which an insurer, which may be referred to as the ceding insurer, agrees with a second insurer, called a reinsurer, that the reinsurer will cover a portion of the losses incurred by the ceding insurer in the event a claim is made under a policy issued by the ceding insurer, in exchange for a premium. Our regulated insurance subsidiary obtains reinsurance to help manage its exposure to title insurance risks. Although our reinsurance counterparties are liable to us according to the terms of the reinsurance policies, we remain primarily liable to our policyholders as the direct insurers on all risks reinsured. As a result, reinsurance does not eliminate the obligation of our regulated insurance subsidiary to pay all claims, and we are subject to the risk that one or more of our reinsurers will be unable or unwilling to honor their obligations, that the reinsurers will not pay in a timely fashion, or that our losses are so large that they exceed the limits inherent in our reinsurance treaties, limiting recovery. We are also subject to the risk that, under applicable insurance laws and regulations, we may not be able to take credit for the reinsurance on our financial statements and instead would be required to hold separate admitted assets as reserves to cover claims on the risks that we have ceded to the reinsurer. Our reinsurers may become financially unsound by the time that they are called upon to pay amounts due, which may not occur for many years, in which case we may have no legal ability to recover what is due to us under our agreement with such reinsurer. Any disputes with our reinsurers regarding coverage under reinsurance treaties could be time-consuming, costly and uncertain of success. Market conditions beyond our control impact the availability and cost of the reinsurance we purchase. No assurances can be made that reinsurance will remain continuously available to us to the same extent and on the same terms and rates as is currently available, as such availability depends in part on factors outside of our control. A new contract may not provide sufficient reinsurance protection. Market forces and external factors, such as significant losses from adverse changes to the real estate market, such as a decline in real estate prices, rise in interest rates or increase in mortgage defaults and foreclosures, or an increase in capital and surplus requirements, impact the availability and cost of the reinsurance we purchase. If we were unable to maintain our current level of reinsurance or purchase new reinsurance protection in amounts that we consider sufficient at acceptable prices, we would have to either accept an increase in our catastrophe exposure, reduce our insurance underwritings, or develop or seek other alternatives. The unavailability of acceptable reinsurance protection would have a materially adverse impact on our business model, which depends on reinsurance companies to absorb any unfavorable variance from the level of losses anticipated at underwriting. If we are unable to obtain adequate reinsurance at reasonable rates, we would have to increase our risk exposure or reduce the level of our underwriting commitments, each of which could have a material adverse effect upon our business volume and profitability. Alternatively, we could elect to pay higher than reasonable rates for reinsurance coverage, which could have a material adverse effect upon our profitability unless policy premium rates could be raised, in most cases subject to approval by state regulators, to offset this additional cost. Starting in late February 2021, we reduced the level of reinsurance on policies underwritten using our machine intelligence system from 100% to 25%, which may impact our overall risk profile and financial and capital condition. To the extent we experience higher claim activity than our projections of claim losses and financial impacts thereof, our financial situation and our business may be adversely affected. To the extent we seek to increase our reinsurance coverage in response to such an event, we may be unable to secure additional coverage at acceptable rates and terms or at all. This may have an adverse effect on our financial condition.

Our financial condition and results of operations depend on our ability to accurately price risk and assess potential losses and loss adjustment expenses under the terms of the title insurance policies we underwrite. Our loss and loss adjustment expense reserves are subject to significant variability due to our limited use of reinsurance as well as the inherent risks of writing title insurance policies, which include their long duration and sensitivity to future changes in economic conditions. For the title insurance industry overall, approximately 75% of ultimate claim amounts are reported within the first seven years of the policy life. There are two types of reserve accounts that reflect the amount of claims and/or events that have transpired: "known claim reserves" and "incurred but not reported" ("IBNR"). Known claim reserves do not represent an exact calculation of liability. Rather, these reserves represent an estimate of what the expected ultimate settlement and administration of claims will cost, and the ultimate liability may be greater or less than the current estimate. In our industry, there is always the risk that reserves may prove inadequate since we may underestimate the cost of claims and claims administration. The factors that are considered in establishing known claim reserves include but are not limited to, claim severity, facts that are uncovered or determined during the course of the claim, analysis and applicability of judicial theories of liability and defenses, procedural posture of the claim and other factors. Known claim reserves are adjusted regularly as the facts are discovered and coverage under the policy is analyzed and determined. We base our loss and loss adjustment expense reserve estimates on our assessment of current economic and business trends, as well as estimates of future trends in claim volume, claim severity, and other factors. These variables are affected by internal and external events that could increase our exposure to losses, including changes in actuarial projections, claims handling procedures, variation in state-by-state claims experience, inflation, a decline in real estate prices, rise in interest rates or increase in mortgage defaults and foreclosures, other macroeconomic and judicial trends and legislative and regulatory changes. We estimate the loss provision rate at the beginning of each year and reassess the rate at midyear as of June 30 of every year to ensure that the resulting sum of the known claim reserves, IBNR loss, and loss adjustment expense reserves included in our balance sheet together reflect our best estimate of the total costs required to settle all IBNR and known claims. However, our estimates could prove to be inadequate. Changes in expected ultimate losses and corresponding loss rates for recent policy years are considered likely and could result in a material adjustment to the IBNR reserves. A material change in expected ultimate losses and corresponding loss rates for older policy years is also possible, particularly for policy years with loss rates exceeding historical norms. Our estimates could ultimately prove to be materially different from actual claims experience, which may adversely affect our result of operations and financial conditions. If any of our insurance reserves should prove to be inadequate for the reasons discussed above, or for any other reason, we will be required to increase reserves, resulting in a reduction in our net income and stockholders' (deficit) equity in the period in which the deficiency is identified. Future loss experience substantially in excess of established reserves could also have a material adverse effect on future earnings and liquidity and financial rating, which would affect our ability to attract new business or to retain existing Distribution Partners and Third-Party Agents.

We rely extensively on models in managing many aspects of our business, including title insurance underwriting, fee balancing, document quality control, customer communications handling, liquidity and capital planning (including stress testing), and reserving. The models may prove in practice to be less predictive than we expect for a variety of reasons, including as a result of errors in constructing, interpreting or using the models or the use of inaccurate assumptions (including failures to update assumptions appropriately or in a timely manner). Our assumptions may be inaccurate for many reasons, including that they often involve matters that are inherently difficult to predict and beyond our control (e.g., macroeconomic conditions and their impact on Doma Enterprise partners, Third-Party Agent and consumer behaviors and the ratio of title insurance claims to premiums collected), and they often involve complex interactions between several dependent and independent variables, factors and other assumptions. The errors or inaccuracies in our models may be material, and could lead us to make wrong or sub-optimal decisions in managing our business, and this could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The historical financial results of Old Doma in prior year Annual Reports on Form 10-K may not reflect the results of operations or cash flows Old Doma would have achieved as a standalone public company during the periods presented or those we will achieve in the future. This is primarily the result of the following factors: (i) we will incur additional ongoing costs as a result of the Business Combination, including costs related to public company reporting, investor relations and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act"); and (ii) our capital structure is different from that reflected in Old Doma's historical financial statements. Our future results of operations could be materially different from amounts reflected in Old Doma's historical financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report, so it may be difficult for investors to compare our future results to historical results or to evaluate Old Doma's relative performance or trends in its business.

Our revenue and results of operations could vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year, and may fail to match periodic expectations as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. Our results may vary from period to period as a result of fluctuations in the number of real estate transactions we handle, as well as fluctuations in the timing and amount of our expenses. In addition, the insurance industry is subject to its own cyclical trends and uncertainties, including fluctuating interest rates and real estate prices. Fluctuations and variability across the industry may also affect our revenue. As a result, comparing our results of operations on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and the results of any one period should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. Our results of operations may not meet the expectations of investors or public market analysts who follow us, which may adversely affect our stock price. In addition to other risk factors discussed in this section and elsewhere in this Annual Report, factors that may contribute to the variability of our quarterly and annual results include: - our ability to attract new customers and partners, and retain existing customers and partners, including in a cost-effective manner;- our ability to implement innovative initiatives and/or launch new or expand existing product offerings;- our ability to accurately forecast revenue and losses, and appropriately plan our expenses;- the effects of changes in search engine placement and prominence;- the effects of increased competition on our business;- our ability to successfully maintain our position in and expand in existing markets as well as successfully enter new markets;- our ability to protect our existing intellectual property and to create new intellectual property;- our ability to grow and effectively manage that growth;- the length and unpredictability of our sales cycle;- our ability to keep pace with technology changes in the title insurance industry;- the success of our sales, marketing and customer service efforts;- costs associated with defending claims, including title claims, intellectual property infringement claims, misclassifications and related judgments or settlements;- the impact of, and changes in, governmental or other regulation affecting our business;- changes in the economy generally, which could impact the industries in which we operate;- the attraction and retention of qualified employees and key personnel;- our ability to choose and effectively manage third-party service providers;- our ability to identify and engage in joint ventures and strategic partnerships;- the effectiveness of our internal controls; and - changes in our tax rates or exposure to additional tax liabilities.

We have a limited operating history. Since we launched the Doma Intelligence platform in February 2018, our size has rapidly changed, which makes it difficult to evaluate our current business performance or future prospects. Our historical results may not be indicative of, or comparable to, our future results. Our inability to adequately assess our performance and growth could have a material adverse effect on our brand, business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, as our business model of using machine intelligence technology to enable instant title underwriting is novel, we have limited data to validate key aspects of our business model, such as the use of our proprietary data science and machine intelligence algorithms. It may take many years for title insurance claims to arise, and we cannot provide any assurance that the early claims data that we collect will provide useful measures for evaluating the Doma Intelligence platform and our automation capabilities or for determining reserve and reinsurance requirements. Limited claims history could result in our not setting aside adequate reserves and/or maintaining sufficient reinsurance, which may adversely affect our ability to write future title insurance policies, resulting in the assumption of more risk with respect to those policies or an increase in our capital requirements.

We have incurred net losses on an annual basis since our incorporation in 2016. We incurred net losses of $302.2 million and $124.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2023, respectively. As a result of these losses, we had an accumulated deficit of $494.8 million and $619.2 million as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. We continue to invest in our business to expand and improve our underwriting product offerings and enhance our customer experience and, as a result, losses could continue in the future. These investments may not result in increased revenue or growth in our business. If we fail to manage our losses or to grow our revenue sufficiently, our business will be seriously harmed. In addition, as a public company, we have and will continue to incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. We may encounter unforeseen or unpredictable factors, including unforeseen operating expenses, complications or delays, which may also result in increased costs. We have incurred significant expenses related to the Merger, such as legal and accounting fees, which must be paid even if the Merger is not completed. Further, it is difficult to predict the size and growth rate of our market or demand for our underwriting products, and success of current or potential future competitors. The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from period to period. We will need to generate significant additional revenue and maintain or improve our gross margins to achieve and sustain profitability and to achieve our long-term working capital and capital expenditure requirements. It is possible we will not achieve profitability or, even if we do achieve profitability, we may not remain profitable for any substantial period of time.

On December 31, 2020, States Title entered into a credit agreement (the "Company Loan Agreement") with Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd. ("HSCM") providing for a $150.0 million senior secured term loan ("Senior Debt") that was funded by the lenders, which are affiliates of HSCM on January 29, 2021 ("Funding Date"). The Senior Debt matures five years from the Funding Date. States Title used a portion of the net proceeds from the Senior Debt to repay all amounts outstanding and owed under the note payable to Lennar Title Group, LLC, including approximately $65.5 million in aggregate principal amount outstanding and accrued interest. Concurrently with the execution of the Merger Agreement, certain of the Company's subsidiaries, the lenders party thereto and Hudson, as agent for such lenders, entered into an Agreement and Fourth Amendment to the Loan and Security Agreement (the "HSCM Fourth Amendment") such that, among other things: (a) from the effective date of the HSCM Fourth Amendment through September 30, 2025, interest on the principal amount outstanding of the Senior Debt will accrue and capitalize and be added to the principal balance monthly at a per annum rate equal to 16.25%; (b) beginning October 1, 2025, interest on the Senior Debt will accrue at a per annum rate equal to 16.25%, (i) 10% of which shall accrue and be payable in cash monthly and (ii) the remainder of such interest shall accrue and capitalize and be added to the principal balance monthly; (c) the Company will make prepayments on the Senior Debt in an amount up to $16 million of net cash proceeds received from contingent payments earned by the Company pursuant to certain previous asset sales (but such payment shall be deferred until October 2025); (d) Subject to certain conditions, the Company will make monthly pre-payments of the Senior Debt under the Company Loan Agreement with cash on hand in excess of $7.5 million after October 1, 2025 in the event the Merger Agreement is terminated prior to the consummation of the Merger; (e) if reasonably requested by HSCM following a termination of the Merger Agreement prior to the consummation of the Merger, the Company would transfer all of its equity interests in Doma Title Insurance, Inc to a newly formed bankruptcy-remote entity and cause such equity interests to be pledged as collateral under the Company Loan Agreement; (f) the financial covenants in the Company Loan Agreement were modified, including, without limitation, the reduction of the minimum consolidated GAAP revenue financial covenant from $130 million to $50 million; and (g) the Company is permitted to incur indebtedness under the Topco Term Facility (as defined below) which indebtedness shall be senior in respect of payment and liens to the obligations under the Company Loan Agreement. In connection with the HSCM Fourth Amendment, HSCM shall be entitled to an amendment fee of $1.0 million, which fee became payable upon execution of the HSCM Fourth Amendment and shall be paid-in-kind and added to the Senior Debt. Immediately after the effectiveness of the HSCM Fourth Amendment, HSCM, certain of the Company's subsidiaries, the lenders party thereto and Parent entered into an Agreement and Fifth Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement (the "HSCM Fifth Amendment") pursuant to which, at the closing of the Merger, HSCM will (a) accept certain consideration (as set forth in the HSCM Fifth Amendment, the "HSCM Payoff") in full satisfaction of all indebtedness under the Company Loan Agreement and (b) release all liens securing the Company Loan Agreement. Pursuant to the HSCM Fifth Amendment, the Company's obligation to make cash interest payments under the Company Loan Agreement shall be suspended until the earliest of (a) the termination of the Merger Agreement, (b) five business days after the End Date (as defined in the Merger Agreement), (c) the consummation of the Merger (without HSCM's receipt of the HSCM Payoff) and (d) March 12, 2025 the ("Standstill Period").  In addition, during the Standstill Period, HSCM and the lenders have agreed not to exercise remedies with respect to certain matters that would otherwise constitute events of default under the Company Loan Agreement. If the Standstill Period ends without the consummation of the Merger (without HSCM's receipt of the HSCM Payoff), the Company's cash interest payment obligations under the Company Loan Agreement will be as described in the HSCM Fourth Amendment. Concurrently with the execution of the Merger Agreement, States Title and Topco, the indirect parent company of Parent, entered into a commitment letter (the "Topco Commitment Letter"), pursuant to which Topco committed to provide a $35 million senior secured delayed draw term loan facility (the "Topco Term Facility") to States Title (with certain subsidiaries of States Title guaranteeing the obligations thereunder). The Topco Term Facility will have two tranches: (a) up to $25 million will be available to be drawn in up to three draws (each draw being for at least $5 million) between closing of the Topco Term Facility and December 31, 2024 and (b) up to $10 million will be available to be drawn in a single draw between January 1, 2025 and June 30, 2025, each tranche being subject to commitment reductions as set forth in the Topco Commitment Letter.   Each loan made thereunder will mature three years after it is drawn. The Topco Term Facility will be secured by a first priority lien on substantially all of the assets of States Title and the guarantors (subject to customary exceptions), senior to all existing and future liens securing debt for borrowed money (including the liens securing the Company Loan Agreement) and will be senior in right of payment to all existing and future debt for borrowed money (including the Company Loan Agreement), in each case, subject to certain exceptions. The terms of the subordination of the Company Loan Agreement shall be substantially as set forth in the Topco Commitment Letter and will include certain prohibitions on the exercise of remedies by the lenders under the Company Loan Agreement. Interest on each loan will accrue at a rate of Term SOFR (subject to a 1.0% floor) plus 9.0% per annum and will be payable quarterly in kind. The Topco Term Facility will include a fee of 5.0% per annum on all undrawn commitments, payable quarterly in cash, and an upfront fee of 3.0% of the commitments in respect of the Topco Term Facility at closing of the Topco Term Facility, payable upon the funding or termination of such commitments. Prepayments of the Topco Term Facility (subject to certain exceptions) will be subject to customary prepayment premiums. The Topco Term Facility will also include certain information rights and other customary covenants (including affirmative, negative and financial covenants) and mandatory prepayment provisions. The provisions of the Company Loan Agreement, Topco Term Facility and any additional indebtedness we incur will limit our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to, among other things, incur or assume debt, incur certain liens or permit them to exist, undergo certain changes in business, management, control or business locations, dispose of assets, make certain investments, merge with other companies, pay dividends and enter into certain transactions with affiliates. States Title is also required to comply with certain financial covenants set forth in the Company Loan Agreement and to be set forth in the Topco Term Facility. In addition, a failure to comply with the provisions of our current and any additional indebtedness, including the Company Loan Agreement and Topco Term Facility, could result in a default or an event of default that could enable our lenders to declare the outstanding principal of that debt, together with accrued and unpaid interest plus the amount of any applicable prepayment premium, to be immediately due and payable. Such a default could also result in our inability to complete the Merger. If we were unable to repay those amounts, the lenders under our Senior Debt, Topco Term Facility, and any other future secured debt agreement could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness. The Senior Debt is, and the Topco Term Facility will be, secured by a first-priority pledge and security interest in substantially all assets of our wholly owned subsidiary States Title (which represent substantially all of our assets) and its existing and future domestic subsidiaries and is guaranteed by all of States Title's domestic subsidiaries (in each case, subject to customary exclusions, including the exclusion of regulated insurance company subsidiaries). Any of these events could materially adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition. Our outstanding indebtedness and any additional indebtedness we incur may have significant consequences, including, without limitation, the following: - our ability to pay interest and repay the principal for our indebtedness is dependent upon our ability to manage our business operations and generate sufficient cash flows to service such debt. We may be required to use a significant portion of our cash flow from operations and other available cash to service this indebtedness, thereby reducing the amount of cash available for other purposes, including capital expenditures, acquisitions and strategic investments;- our indebtedness and leverage may increase our vulnerability to downturns in our business, to competitive pressures, and to adverse changes in general economic and industry conditions;- our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, share repurchases, or other general corporate and other purposes may be limited; and - our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and our industry may be limited.

We deposit substantial funds in financial institutions. These funds include amounts owned by third parties, such as escrow deposits. Should one or more of the financial institutions at which deposits are maintained fail, there is no guarantee that we would recover the funds deposited, whether through Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage or otherwise. In the event of any such failure, we also could be held liable for the funds owned by third parties.

Our results of operations depend, in part, on the performance of our investment portfolio. We seek to hold a diversified portfolio of investments in accordance with our investment policy. In addition, our insurance subsidiary, as domiciled in South Carolina, and must comply with South Carolina and related states' regulations on investments and restrictions. However, our investments are subject to general economic and market risks as well as risks inherent to particular securities. Our primary market risk exposures are to changes in interest rates. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risks" in this Annual Report. Our results of operations are directly exposed to changes in interest rates, among other macroeconomic conditions. Fluctuations in interest rates may also impact the interest income earned on floating-rate investments and the fair value of our fixed-rate investments. An increase in interest rates decreases the market value of fixed-rate investments. Conversely, a decrease in interest rates increases the fair market value of fixed-rate investments. Our exposure to interest rate risk correlates to our portfolio of fixed income securities. In recent years, interest rates have been at or near historic lows but rapidly increased beginning in 2022 and in parts of 2023. A protracted low interest rate environment would place pressure on our net investment income, particularly as it relates to fixed income securities and short-term investments, which, in turn, may adversely affect our operating results. Future increases in interest rates could cause the values of our fixed income securities portfolios to decline, with the magnitude of the decline depending on the maturity of the securities included in our portfolio and the amount by which interest rates increase. The value of our investment portfolio is subject to the risk that certain investments may default or become impaired due to deterioration in the financial condition of one or more issuers of the securities we hold, or due to deterioration in the financial condition of an insurer that guarantees an issuer's payments on such investments. Downgrades in the credit ratings of fixed maturities also have a significant negative effect on the market valuation of such securities. Such factors could reduce our net investment income and result in realized investment losses. Our investment portfolio is subject to increased valuation uncertainties when investment markets are illiquid. The valuation of investments is more subjective when markets are illiquid, thereby increasing the risk that the estimated fair value (i.e., the carrying amount) of the securities we hold in our portfolio does not reflect prices at which actual transactions would occur. Risks for all types of securities are managed through the application of our investment policy. The maximum percentage and types of securities we may invest in are subject to the insurance laws regulations, which may change. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations would cause nonconforming investments to be treated as non-admitted assets for purposes of measuring statutory surplus and, in certain circumstances, we would be required to dispose of such investments. Although we seek to preserve our capital, we cannot be certain that our investment objectives will be achieved, and results may vary substantially over time. In addition, although we seek to employ investment strategies that are not correlated with our insurance and reinsurance exposures, losses in our investment portfolio may occur at the same time as underwriting losses and, therefore, exacerbate the adverse effect of the losses on us.

On March 28, 2024, the Company entered into the Merger Agreement with Parent and Merger Sub. The Merger Agreement provides that, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company surviving the Merger and becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. Parent and Merger Sub are affiliates of Topco, the indirect parent company of Parent. The Merger is subject to the satisfaction (or waiver, to the extent permissible under applicable laws) of a number of closing conditions described in the Merger Agreement, including (i) approval of the Company's Disinterested Stockholders (as defined in the Merger Agreement), (ii) consent, approval or authorization from relevant insurance regulatory agencies without the imposition of a Burdensome Condition (as defined in the Merger Agreement), (iii) absence of any order or injunction prohibiting the consummation of the Merger, (iv) subject in certain cases to customary materiality qualifiers, the accuracy of the representations and warranties contained in the Merger Agreement and compliance with the covenants contained in the Merger Agreement, (v) no Company Material Adverse Effect (as defined in the Merger Agreement) having occurred since the date of the Merger Agreement that is continuing, (vi) the completion of certain specified transactions as contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (vii) the repayment of the Company's outstanding indebtedness under the Company Loan Agreement pursuant to the terms described below and (viii) the investment by Lennar into Topco. Many of the closing conditions are beyond the parties' control that may prevent, delay or otherwise materially adversely affect the completion of the Merger. The Company and Parent cannot predict with certainty whether or when any of these conditions will be satisfied. If any of these conditions are not satisfied or waived, it is possible that the Merger Agreement may be terminated. Although the parties have agreed to use reasonable best efforts, subject to certain limitations, to complete the Merger, these and other conditions may fail to be satisfied. In addition, completion of the Merger may take longer, and could cost more, than we expect. The requirements for obtaining the required clearances and approvals could delay the completion of the Merger for a significant period of time or prevent them from occurring. Any delay in completing the Merger may adversely affect the cost savings and other benefits that we expect to achieve if the Merger and the integration of businesses are completed within the expected timeframe.

Our risk management framework is designed to identify, monitor and mitigate risks that could have a negative impact on our financial condition or reputation. This framework includes departments or groups dedicated to enterprise risk management, information security, disaster recovery and other information technology-related risks, business continuity, legal and compliance, compensation structures and other human resources matters, vendor management and internal audit, among others. Many of the processes overseen by these departments function at the enterprise level, but many also function through, or rely to a certain degree upon, risk mitigation efforts in local operating groups. Similarly, with respect to the risks we assume in the ordinary course of our business through the issuance of title insurance policies and the provision of related products and services, we employ localized as well as centralized risk mitigation efforts. These efforts include the implementation of underwriting policies and procedures and other mechanisms for assessing risk. Manual underwriting of title insurance policies and making risk-assumption decisions frequently involve judgment. We maintain a tiered system of underwriting authority, wherein title officers at the state level have limited underwriting authority, third-party title agents are subject to authorization levels above which they must consult with the underwriting counsel of our insurance subsidiary, and underwriting counsel at the regional level, reporting to the Chief Underwriting Counsel, have authority to approve or deny a transaction at any level of financial exposure. While we believe these tiers of authority reduce the likelihood that we will make materially adverse risk determinations, if our risk mitigation efforts prove inadequate, our business, financial position and results of operation could be adversely affected.