ProAssurance Corporation (PRA) said Thursday that its Board has authorized an additional $100 million to repurchase its stock or retire outstanding debt.

The current repurchase program is the addition to the company’s $31.3 million remaining repurchase authorizations. Since April 2007 ProAssurance has purchased 3.6 million shares at a cost of $177.8 million and used $40.9 million to retire debt. The total retirement of debt includes $7 million in surplus notes retired recently with respect to its acquisition of the PICA Group.

Prudent capital management is a key strength for ProAssurance. The company deploys capital in an effective manner mainly through its stock buyback program. As the company is currently comfortable with its capital position, we anticipate the repurchase activities to continue in the coming quarters.

As of December 31, 2008, all of the ProAssurance subsidiaries exceeded the minimum risk-based capital [RBC] requirements specified by National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Headquartered in Birmingham , Alabama , ProAssurance operates as a holding company for property and casualty insurance companies.

ProAssurance’s results for the last few quarters were impacted by lower premium income and soft market conditions, partly offset by the decline in total expenses. The company recently completed the acquisition of the PICA Group which is expected to be accretive to earnings growth in the upcoming years. We also anticipate the results to continue to benefit from its geographic diversity and strong financial position.

Zacks Investment Research
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