5. Insurance Operations

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

The Company defers certain costs in connection with written policies, called Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs (“DPAC”). DPAC is amortized over the effective period of the related insurance policies.

The following table presents the beginning and ending balances and the changes in DPAC for the periods presented (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2018			2017
DPAC, beginning of period	$	73,059		$	64,912
Capitalized Costs		41,939			33,756
Amortization of DPAC		(36,991	)		(32,144	)
DPAC, end of period	$	78,007		$	66,524

Regulatory Requirements and Restrictions

The Insurance Entities are subject to regulations and standards of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“FLOIR”). UPCIC also is subject to regulations and standards of regulatory authorities in other states where it is licensed, although as a Florida-domiciled insurer, its principal regulatory authority is the FLOIR. These standards require the Insurance Entities to maintain specified levels of statutory capital and restrict the timing and amount of dividends and other distributions that may be paid by the Insurance Entities to the parent company. Except in the case of extraordinary dividends, these standards generally permit dividends to be paid from statutory unassigned surplus of the regulated subsidiary and are limited based on the regulated subsidiary’s level of statutory net income and statutory capital and surplus. The maximum dividend that may be paid by UPCIC and APPCIC to their immediate parent company, Universal Insurance Holding Company of Florida (“UVECF”), without prior regulatory approval is limited by the provisions of the Florida Insurance Code. These dividends are referred to as “ordinary dividends.” However, if the dividend, together with other dividends paid within the preceding twelve months, exceeds this statutory limit or is paid from sources other than earned surplus, the entire dividend is generally considered an “extraordinary dividend” and must receive prior regulatory approval.

In accordance with Florida Insurance Code, and based on the calculations performed by the Company as of December 31, 2017, UPCIC has the capacity to pay ordinary dividends of $36.2 million during 2018. APPCIC does not currently meet the earnings or surplus regulatory requirements to pay ordinary dividends during 2018. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, no dividends were paid from UPCIC or APPCIC to UVECF.

The Florida Insurance Code requires insurance companies to maintain capitalization equivalent to the greater of ten percent of the insurer’s total liabilities but not less than $10.0 million. The following table presents the amount of capital and surplus calculated in accordance with statutory accounting principles, which differ from U.S. GAAP, and an amount representing ten percent of total liabilities for both UPCIC and APPCIC as of the dates presented (in thousands):

	March 31,		December 31,
	2018		2017
Ten percent of total liabilities
UPCIC	$	76,680	$	72,633
APPCIC	$	598	$	572
Statutory capital and surplus
UPCIC	$	321,132	$	307,686
APPCIC	$	16,696	$	16,633

As of the dates in the table above, both UPCIC and APPCIC exceeded the minimum statutory capitalization requirement. UPCIC also met the capitalization requirements of the other states in which it is licensed as of March 31, 2018. UPCIC and APPCIC are also required to adhere to prescribed premium-to-capital surplus ratios and have met those requirements at such dates. Combined net income for UPCIC and APPCIC, as determined in accordance with statutory accounting practices is $14.5 million and $11.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The Insurance Entities are required by various state laws and regulations to maintain certain assets in depository accounts. The following table represents assets held by insurance regulators as of the dates presented (in thousands):

	March 31,		December 31,
	2018		2017
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	$	2,635	$	2,635
Investments	$	3,907	$	3,910