Assurant 2013 Annual Report Download - page 3

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2013 ASSURANT ANNUAL REPORT > 1
“
“
In 2013, our Assurant team strengthened our core
businesses and adapted our specialty offerings to meet
changing consumer needs. During the year, we completed
several strategic acquisitions and prudently managed
shareholders’ capital. Consistently, we focused our actions
on long-term, profi table growth and upheld our commitment
to help customers protect what matters most to them.
Robert B. Pollock
President and CEO
Assurant
We returned approximately $470 million to shareholders through stock
repurchases and dividends. We again increased our dividend, just as we
have each year since our initial public offering in 2004. We did so while
also committing $360 million to strategic transactions that broaden our
footprint and expand our array of specialty services.
Our investments to support profi table growth continue to focus on areas
that are aligned with fi ve broad marketplace trends:
• Greater reliance on mobile devices in every aspect of life;
• Shifting consumer interest in rental versus ownership of property,
especially in the United States;
• Desire for affordable and accessible health care coverage that can be
customized to meet individual needs;
• Need for choice in the benefi ts that employees can elect from their
small-to-midsize employer; and
• More middle-class consumers in Latin American countries.
Our actions in 2013 reinforced the strategic importance of these
macro-trends for Assurant. Looking ahead, we will allocate more of
our resources to the targeted areas with the greatest potential for
ongoing profi table growth.
Assurant’s net earned premiums, fees and other income were $8.3 billion
in 2013, an 8.2 percent increase from the previous year. Net operating
income
(1)
was $466.5 million, also a year-over-year improvement.
Operating return on equity, excluding accumulated other comprehensive
income (AOCI)
(2)
was 10.6 percent. Our book value per diluted share,
excluding AOCI
(3)
, was up 10.4 percent – marking our third consecutive
year of double-digit growth.
A Message to Our Shareholders