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Commitments and Contingencies
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies  
17. Commitments And Contingencies

Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies

 

Litigation

 

From time to time, the Company is involved in various legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. For example, to the extent a claim is asserted by a third party in a lawsuit against one of the Company’s insureds covered by a particular policy, the Company may have a duty to defend the insured party against the claim. These claims may relate to bodily injury, property damage or other compensable injuries as set forth in the policy. Such proceedings are considered in estimating the liability for loss and LAE expenses.

 

Office Lease

 

The Company enters into lease agreements for real estate that is primarily used for office space in the ordinary course of business. These leases are accounted for as operating leases, whereby lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. See Note 2 - Accounting Policies for additional information regarding the accounting for leases.

 

The Company is a party to a non-cancellable operating lease, dated March 27, 2015, for its office facility for KICO located in Valley Stream, New York expiring March 31, 2024.

 

On July 8, 2019, the Company entered into a lease agreement for an additional office facility for Cosi located in Valley Stream, New York under a non-cancelable operating lease. The lease had a term of seven years and two months expiring December 31, 2026. During January 2022, pursuant to a mutual agreement with the landlord at a cost of $40,000, the Cosi lease was terminated effective as of January 31, 2022.

Additional information regarding the Company’s office operating leases is as follows:

 

Threee months ended

Threee months ended

Lease cost

March 31, 2022

March 31, 2021

Operating lease

$46,938$60,518

Short-term leases

--

Total lease cost (1) (2)

$46,938$60,518

Other information on operating leases

Cash payments included in the measurement of lease liability reported in operating cash flows

$53,003$64,979

Discount rate

5.50%5.50%

Remaing lease term in years

KICO

2 years

3 years

Cosi

-

5.75 years

   

 

(1)

Included in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss within other underwriting expenses for KICO and within other operating expenses for Cosi.

 

The following table presents the contractual maturities of the Company’s lease liabilities as of March 31, 2022:

 

For the Year

Ending

December 31,

Total

Remainder of 2022

$142,450

2023

194,919

2024

49,145

Total undiscounted lease payments

386,514

Less: present value adjustment

40,098

Operating lease liability (1)

$346,416

  

 

(1)

The operating lease liability is recorded in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

 

Rent expense for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 amounted to $46,938 and $60,518, respectively. Rent expense is included in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss within other underwriting expenses.

 

Employment Agreements

 

Barry Goldstein, President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of the Board

 

On October 14, 2019, the Company and Barry B. Goldstein, the Company’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of the Board, entered into a Second Amended and Restated Employment Agreement (the “Amended Employment Agreement”). The Amended Employment Agreement became effective as of January 1, 2020 and expires on December 31, 2022. The Amended Employment Agreement extends the expiration date of the employment agreement in effect for Mr. Goldstein from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022.

Pursuant to the Amended Employment Agreement, Mr. Goldstein is entitled to receive an annual base salary of $500,000 and an annual bonus equal to 6% of the Company’s consolidated income from operations before taxes, exclusive of the Company’s consolidated net investment income (loss), net unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities and net realized gains (losses) on investments, up to a maximum of 2.5 times his base salary. In addition, pursuant to the Amended Employment Agreement, Mr. Goldstein is entitled to receive a long-term compensation (“LTC”) award of between $945,000 and $2,835,000 based on a specified minimum increase in the Company’s adjusted book value per share (as defined in the Amended Employment Agreement) as of December 31, 2022 as compared to December 31, 2019 (with the maximum LTC payment being due if the average per annum increase is at least 14%). Further, pursuant to the Amended Employment Agreement, in the event that Mr. Goldstein’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause or he resigns for good reason (each as defined in the Amended Employment Agreement), Mr. Goldstein would be entitled to receive his base salary, the 6% bonus and the LTC payment for the remainder of the term. In addition, in the event of Mr. Goldstein’s death, his estate would be entitled to receive his base salary, accrued bonus and accrued LTC payment through the date of death. Further, in the event that Mr. Goldstein’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause or he resigns for good reason, or, in the event of the termination of Mr. Goldstein’s employment due to disability or death, Mr. Goldstein’s granted but unvested restricted stock awards will vest. Mr. Goldstein would be entitled, under certain circumstances, to a payment equal to 3.82 times his then annual salary, the target LTC payment of $1,890,000 and his accrued 6% bonus in the event of the termination of his employment within eighteen months following a change of control of the Company.

 

Pursuant to the Amended Employment Agreement, in January 2020, Mr. Goldstein received a grant of 157,431 shares of restricted stock under the terms of the Company’s 2014 Plan determined by dividing $1,250,000 by the fair market value of the Company’s Common Stock on the date of grant. This 2020 grant vested with respect to one-third of the award on each of the first and second anniversaries of the grant date and will vest with respect to one-third of the award on December 31, 2022 based on the continued provision of services through such date. Also pursuant to the Amended Employment Agreement, Mr. Goldstein received a grant, under the terms of the 2014 Plan, during January 2021, of 230,769 shares of restricted stock determined by dividing $1,500,000 by the fair market value of the Company’s Common Stock on the date of grant. This 2021 grant vested with respect to one-half of the award on the first anniversary of the grant date and will vest with respect to one-half of the award on December 31, 2022 based on the continued provision of services through such date. Further, pursuant to the Amended Employment Agreement, Mr. Goldstein received in 2020, 2021, and 2022 a grant, under the terms of the 2014 Plan of a number of shares of restricted stock determined by dividing $136,500 by the fair market value of the Company’s Common Stock on the date of grant. In January 2020, Mr. Goldstein was granted 17,191 shares of restricted stock pursuant to this provision. This grant vested with respect to one-third of the award on each of the first and second anniversaries of the grant date and will vest with respect to one-third of the award on December 31, 2022 based on the continued provision of services through such date. In January 2021, Mr. Goldstein was granted 21,000 shares of restricted stock pursuant to this provision. This grant vested with respect to one-half of the award on the first anniversary of the grant date and will vest with respect to one-half of the award on December 31, 2022 based on the continued provision of services through such date. In January 2022, Mr. Goldstein was granted 27,300 shares of restricted stock pursuant to this provision. This grant will vest on December 31, 2022 based on the continued provision of services through such date.

 

Meryl Golden, Chief Operating Officer

 

On September 16, 2019, the Company and Meryl Golden entered into an employment agreement (the “Golden Employment Agreement”) pursuant to which Ms. Golden serves as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Golden also serves as KICO’s President and Chief Operating Officer. The Golden Employment Agreement became effective as of September 25, 2019 (amended on December 24, 2020) and now expires on December 31, 2022.

Pursuant to the Golden Employment Agreement, Ms. Golden is entitled to receive an annual salary of $500,000. The Golden Employment also provides for the grant on the effective date of a five year option for the purchase of 50,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock pursuant to the 2014 Plan. The options granted vest in four equal installments, with the first installment vesting on the grant date, and the remaining installments vesting on the first, second, and third anniversaries of the grant date, subject to the terms of the stock option agreement between the Company and Ms. Golden.  Pursuant to the Golden Employment Agreement as amended, in each of January 2021 and January 2022, Ms. Golden was granted 30,000 shares of restricted Common Stock pursuant to the 2014 Plan. Each such grant will vest in three equal installments on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date.

 

COVID-19

 

The outbreak of the coronavirus, also known as “COVID-19”, has spread across the globe and is impacting worldwide economic activity. Conditions surrounding the coronavirus including the emergence of new strains continue to rapidly evolve and government authorities have implemented emergency measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. The outbreak and the related mitigation measures have had and will continue to have a material adverse impact on global economic conditions as well as on the Company’s business activities. Although the impact has been manageable thus far, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact the Company’s business activities will depend on future developments, such as the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions, business disruptions, and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain, prevent and treat the disease. These events are highly uncertain and, as such, the Company cannot determine their financial impact at this time. No adjustments have been made to the amounts reported in these condensed consolidated financial statements as a result of this matter.