Kingstone Companies, Inc. (KINS) Failed to Record Sufficient Claims Reserves
According to the complaint for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between March 14, 2018 and April 29, 2019, throughout the relevant period, Kingstone Companies, Inc. (KINS) continually affirmed the company’s internal control over financial reporting in its quarterly financial reports to the SEC for the full 2018 year. However, these reports proved to be materially false and misleading as they failed to disclose that Kingstone was not adequately following best practices for claims handling, which resulted in the company failing to record sufficient claims reserves. The lack of adequate control over financial reporting became clear in April 2019, when Kingstone had a $2.5 million charge to its IBNR reserves, based on a “comprehensive review of claims operations.” As a result of the charges, the company expected to end the full year “with a combined ratio excluding catastrophe losses of 88% to 91% and catastrophe losses of 4 to 5 points” and reduced its full year 2019 revenue guidance. On this news, the company’s share price fell $2.07, over 15%, to close at $11.61 per share, and continues to fall.