8-K
CINCINNATI FINANCIAL CORP (CINF)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report: November 2, 2021
(Date of earliest event reported)
CINCINNATI FINANCIAL CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Ohio | 0-4604 | 31-0746871 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (State or other jurisdiction <br>of incorporation) | (Commission <br>File Number) | (I.R.S. Employer <br>Identification No.) | |
| 6200 S. Gilmore Road | Fairfield, | Ohio | 45014‑5141 |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (513) 870-2000
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered |
|---|---|---|
| Common stock | CINF | Nasdaq Global Select Market |
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13a-4(c))
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§203.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
☐ Emerging growth company
☐ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Items 1.01 Entry into Material Definitive Agreements.
Item 2.03 Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant.
On November 2, 2021, Cincinnati Financial Corporation as borrower, entered into an Amendment Letter No. 3 (the “Third Amendment”) to the Letter of Credit Facility Agreement, dated February 25, 2019 (the “Facility Agreement”) with The Bank of Nova Scotia as issuing lender. The Third Amendment amends Section 1.1 Expiration Date to February 28, 2026, changes multiple references from the year 2021 to 2022, and replaces Section 3.6 with a new Benchmark Replacement provision.
All other terms and conditions of the Facility Agreement are unchanged and remain in full force and effect. The Third Amendment filed as Exhibit 10.1 hereto and the description set forth above is qualified in its entirety by the full terms of the Facility Agreement dated February 25, 2019, the First Amendment dated November 4, 2019, and the Second Amendment dated October 30, 2020.
Safe Harbor Statement
This is our “Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our business is subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements in this report. Some of those risks and uncertainties are discussed in our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Item 1A, Risk Factors, Page 34.
Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to:
•Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that could affect results for reasons such as:
◦Securities market disruption or volatility and related effects such as decreased economic activity that affect the company’s investment portfolio and book value
◦An unusually high level of claims in our insurance or reinsurance operations that increase litigation-related expenses
◦An unusually high level of insurance losses, including risk of legislation or court decisions extending business interruption insurance in commercial property coverage forms to cover claims for pure economic loss related to the COVID-19 pandemic
◦Decreased premium revenue and cash flow from disruption to our distribution channel of independent agents, consumer self-isolation, travel limitations, business restrictions and decreased economic activity
◦Inability of our workforce, agencies or vendors to perform necessary business functions
•Ongoing developments concerning business interruption insurance claims and litigation related to the COVID-19 pandemic that affect our estimates of losses and loss adjustment expenses or our ability to reasonably estimate such losses, such as:
◦The continuing duration of the pandemic and governmental actions to limit the spread of the virus that may produce additional economic losses
◦The number of policyholders that will ultimately submit claims or file lawsuits
◦The lack of submitted proofs of loss for allegedly covered claims
◦Judicial rulings in similar litigation involving other companies in the insurance industry
◦Differences in state laws and developing case law
◦Litigation trends, including varying legal theories advanced by policyholders
◦Whether and to what degree any class of policyholders may be certified
◦The inherent unpredictability of litigation
•Unusually high levels of catastrophe losses due to risk concentrations, changes in weather patterns, environmental events, terrorism incidents or other causes
•Increased frequency and/or severity of claims or development of claims that are unforeseen at the time of policy issuance, due to inflationary trends or other causes
•Inadequate estimates, assumptions or reliance on third-party data used for critical accounting estimates
•Declines in overall stock market values negatively affecting the company’s equity portfolio and book value
•Prolonged low interest rate environment or other factors that limit the company’s ability to generate growth in investment income or interest rate fluctuations that result in declining values of fixed-maturity investments, including declines in accounts in which we hold bank-owned life insurance contract assets
•Domestic and global events resulting in capital market or credit market uncertainty, followed by prolonged periods of economic instability or recession, that lead to:
◦Significant or prolonged decline in the fair value of a particular security or group of securities and impairment of the asset(s)
◦Significant decline in investment income due to reduced or eliminated dividend payouts from a particular security or group of securities
◦Significant rise in losses from surety and director and officer policies written for financial institutions or other insured entities
•Our inability to integrate Cincinnati Global and its subsidiaries into our ongoing operations, or disruptions to our ongoing operations due to such integration
•Recession or other economic conditions resulting in lower demand for insurance products or increased payment delinquencies
•Difficulties with technology or data security breaches, including cyberattacks, that could negatively affect our or our agents’ ability to conduct business; disrupt our relationships with agents, policyholders and others; cause reputational damage, mitigation expenses and data loss and expose us to liability under federal and state laws
•Disruption of the insurance market caused by technology innovations such as driverless cars that could decrease consumer demand for insurance products
•Delays, inadequate data developed internally or from third parties, or performance inadequacies from ongoing development and implementation of underwriting and pricing methods, including telematics and other usage-based insurance methods, or technology projects and enhancements expected to increase our pricing accuracy, underwriting profit and competitiveness
•Increased competition that could result in a significant reduction in the company’s premium volume
•Changing consumer insurance-buying habits and consolidation of independent insurance agencies that could alter our competitive advantages
•Inability to obtain adequate ceded reinsurance on acceptable terms, amount of reinsurance coverage purchased, financial strength of reinsurers and the potential for nonpayment or delay in payment by reinsurers
•Inability to defer policy acquisition costs for any business segment if pricing and loss trends would lead management to conclude that segment could not achieve sustainable profitability
•Inability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends consistent with current or past levels
•Events or conditions that could weaken or harm the company’s relationships with its independent agencies and hamper opportunities to add new agencies, resulting in limitations on the company’s opportunities for growth, such as:
◦Downgrades of the company’s financial strength ratings
◦Concerns that doing business with the company is too difficult
◦Perceptions that the company’s level of service, particularly claims service, is no longer a distinguishing characteristic in the marketplace
◦Inability or unwillingness to nimbly develop and introduce coverage product updates and innovations that our competitors offer and consumers expect to find in the marketplace
•Actions of insurance departments, state attorneys general or other regulatory agencies, including a change to a federal system of regulation from a state-based system, that:
◦Impose new obligations on us that increase our expenses or change the assumptions underlying our critical accounting estimates
◦Place the insurance industry under greater regulatory scrutiny or result in new statutes, rules and regulations
◦Restrict our ability to exit or reduce writings of unprofitable coverages or lines of business
◦Add assessments for guaranty funds, other insurance‑related assessments or mandatory reinsurance arrangements; or that impair our ability to recover such assessments through future surcharges or other rate changes
◦Increase our provision for federal income taxes due to changes in tax law
◦Increase our other expenses
◦Limit our ability to set fair, adequate and reasonable rates
◦Place us at a disadvantage in the marketplace
◦Restrict our ability to execute our business model, including the way we compensate agents
•Adverse outcomes from litigation or administrative proceedings
•Events or actions, including unauthorized intentional circumvention of controls, that reduce the company’s future ability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
•Unforeseen departure of certain executive officers or other key employees due to retirement, health or other causes that could interrupt progress toward important strategic goals or diminish the effectiveness of certain longstanding relationships with insurance agents and others
•Events, such as an epidemic, natural catastrophe or terrorism, that could hamper our ability to assemble our workforce at our headquarters location or work effectively in a remote environment
Further, the company’s insurance businesses are subject to the effects of changing social, global, economic and regulatory environments. Public and regulatory initiatives have included efforts to adversely influence and restrict premium rates, restrict the ability to cancel policies, impose underwriting standards and expand overall regulation. The company also is subject to public and regulatory initiatives that can affect the market value for its common stock, such as measures affecting corporate financial reporting and governance. The ultimate changes and eventual effects, if any, of these initiatives are uncertain.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(c) Exhibits
Exhibit 10.1 - Amendmentexhibit101cinfin-fallcxame.htmLetterNo. 3 to the Letter of Credit Facility Agreement dated November 2, 2021.
Exhibit 104 – The cover page from this Current Report on Form 8-K, formatted as Inline XBRL
Signature
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| CINCINNATI FINANCIAL CORPORATION | |
|---|---|
| Date: November 3, 2021 | /S/ Michael J. Sewell |
| Michael J. Sewell, CPA | |
| Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and Treasurer | |
| (Principal Accounting Officer) |
Document
Execution Version
AMENDMENT LETTER NO. 3 (LETTER OF CREDIT FACILITY AGREEMENT)
To: The Bank of Nova Scotia (the "Bank")
November 2, 2021
Letter of credit facility agreement dated as of February 25, 2019 between Cincinnati Financial Corporation as Borrower and The Bank of Nova Scotia as Bank, as amended on November 4, 2019, and as further amended on October 30, 2020 (the "Facility Agreement")
1.We refer to the Facility Agreement. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Facility Agreement.
2.With effect from the Effective Date:
(a)The second WHEREAS clause in the recitals of the Facility Agreement shall be amended such that the reference therein to "2021" shall be deleted and replaced with reference to "2022".
(b)Section 1.1 of the Facility Agreement shall be amended by deleting the following definition in its entirety and replacing it with the following:
"Expiration Date shall mean February 28, 2026."
(c)Section 1.1 of the Facility Agreement shall be further amended by inserting the following definitions in proper alphabetical order:
(i)"Amendment No. 3 shall mean that certain amendment letter No. 3 (letter of credit facility agreement) dated as of November 2, 2021 between the Borrower and the Bank, which amends this Agreement."
(ii)"Amendment No. 3 Effective Date shall mean the Effective Date as defined in Amendment No. 3."
(d)Section 2.3.1 of the Facility Agreement shall be amended such that each reference therein to "2021" shall be deleted and replaced with a reference to "2022".
(e)Section 3.5.2 of the Facility Agreement shall be amended by replacing "If on any date" with "Subject to Section 3.6, if on any date" therein.
(f)Section 3.6 of the Facility Agreement shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the provisions set forth on Schedule A hereto.
(the Facility Agreement, as so amended, the "Amended Facility Agreement").
3.This amendment letter shall take effect on the date (the "Effective Date") on which the Bank confirms to the Borrower that it has received in form and substance satisfactory to it:
(a)a duly executed copy of this amendment letter signed by the Bank and an Authorized Officer of the Borrower;
(b)resolutions of the board of directors of the Borrower approving this amendment letter and the Amended Facility Agreement and authorizing specified persons to execute this amendment letter on the Borrower's behalf;
| 1 | |
|---|---|
| 394356205 |
(c)officer's certificates signed by the Borrower and dated as of the Effective Date substantially in the forms delivered to the Bank on the Closing Date pursuant to Section 5.1.1(i) and (ii) of the Facility Agreement;
(d)a certified copy of the business plan for the 2022 year of account prepared in relation to the Managed Syndicate;
(e)satisfactory evidence that as of the Effective Date the Own FAL of the Corporate Member is not less than 50% of Total FAL;
(f)a letter from the Borrower to the Bank requesting that the Letter of Credit issued under the Facility Agreement be amended to give effect to the amendments contemplated under this amendment letter and that any notice of termination issued with respect to the Letter of Credit be revoked; and
(g)such other documents as the Bank may reasonably request.
4.The Borrower (a) repeats and restates its representations and warranties contained in Section 4 of the Facility Agreement as of the date of this amendment letter and as of the Effective Date, except to the extent such representations and warranties relate to an earlier date and (b) confirms that with effect from (and including) the Effective Date, its liabilities and obligations arising under the Amended Facility Agreement form part of (but do not limit) the obligations which are secured by the FAL LC Documents and that all of its obligations and the liens granted thereunder shall be valid and enforceable and shall not be impaired or limited by the execution or effectiveness of this amendment letter.
5.Promptly after the Effective Date, the Borrower shall deliver to the Bank a Letter of Comfort signed on behalf of Lloyd's.
6.Promptly after the Effective Date, the Borrower shall deliver to the Bank a certified copy of the reinsurance resume of the Managed Syndicate for the 2022 year of account and each year of account then open.
7.Except as varied by the terms of this amendment letter, the Facility Agreement and the other FAL LC Documents will remain in full force and effect and each party hereto confirms all of its obligations under the Amended Facility Agreement and under the other FAL LC Documents.
8.This amendment letter constitutes a FAL LC Document for the purposes of Amended Facility Agreement.
9.This amendment letter may be executed in any number of counterparts and all of those counterparts taken together will be deemed to constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed signature page of this amendment letter by facsimile or other electronic transmission shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart hereof.
10.This amendment letter and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with it are governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.
[Remainder of page intentionally left blank.]
| 2 | |
|---|---|
| 394356205 |
Yours sincerely
CINCINNATI FINANCIAL CORPORATION,
as the Borrower
By: ___/S/ Michael J. Sewell________ Name: Michael J. Sewell Title: Chief Financial Officer
| [Signature Page to Amendment Letter No. 3] |
|---|
We hereby acknowledge and agree to the above.
THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA,
as Bank
By: ____/S/ Aron Lau____________ Name: Aron Lau Title: Director
| [Signature Page to Amendment Letter No. 3] |
|---|
SCHEDULE A
Benchmark Replacement Setting
3.6 Benchmark Replacement Setting
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein:
(a) Replacing USD LIBOR. On March 5, 2021 the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"), the regulatory supervisor of USD LIBOR’s administrator ("IBA"), announced in a public statement the future cessation or loss of representativeness of overnight/Spot Next, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month and 12-month USD LIBOR tenor settings. On the earlier of (i) the date that the one month tenor of USD LIBOR has either permanently or indefinitely ceased to be provided by IBA or have been announced by the FCA pursuant to public statement or publication of information to be no longer representative and (ii) the Early Opt-in Effective Date, if the then-current Benchmark is USD LIBOR, the Benchmark Replacement will replace such Benchmark for all purposes hereunder in respect of any setting of such Benchmark on such day and all subsequent settings without any amendment to, or further action or consent of any other party to this Agreement.
(b) Replacing Future Benchmarks. Upon the occurrence of a Benchmark Transition Event, the Benchmark Replacement will replace the then-current Benchmark for all purposes hereunder in respect of any Benchmark setting at or after 5:00 p.m. on the fifth (5th) Business Day after the date notice of such Benchmark Replacement is provided to the Borrower without any amendment to this Agreement, or further action or consent of the Borrower.
(c) Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes. In connection with the implementation and administration of a Benchmark Replacement, the Bank will have the right to make Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes from time to time and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, any amendments implementing such Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes will become effective without any further action or consent of any other party to this Agreement.
(d) Notices; Standards for Decisions and Determinations. The Bank will promptly notify the Borrower of (i) the implementation of any Benchmark Replacement and (ii) the effectiveness of any Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes. Any determination, decision or election that may be made by the Bank pursuant to this Section, including any determination with respect to a tenor, rate or adjustment or of the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event, circumstance or date and any decision to take or refrain from taking any action, will be conclusive and binding absent manifest error and may be made in its sole discretion and without consent from any other party hereto, except, in each case, as expressly required pursuant to this Section.
(e) Unavailability of Tenor of Benchmark. At any time (including in connection with the implementation of a Benchmark Replacement), (i) if the then-current Benchmark is a term rate (including Term SOFR or USD LIBOR), then the Bank may remove any tenor of such Benchmark that is unavailable or non-representative for Benchmark (including Benchmark Replacement) settings and (ii) the Bank may reinstate any such previously removed tenor for Benchmark (including Benchmark Replacement) settings.
(f) Definitions.
"Available Tenor" means, as of any date of determination and with respect to the then-current Benchmark, as applicable, (x) if the then-current Benchmark is a term rate, any tenor for such Benchmark that is or may be used for determining the length of an Interest Period or (y) otherwise, any payment period for interest calculated with reference to such Benchmark, as applicable, pursuant to this Agreement as of such date.
"Benchmark" means, initially, USD LIBOR; provided that if a replacement of the Benchmark has occurred pursuant to this Section 3.6, then "Benchmark" means the applicable Benchmark
A-1
Replacement to the extent that such Benchmark Replacement has replaced such prior benchmark rate. Any reference to "Benchmark" shall include, as applicable, the published component used in the calculation thereof.
"Benchmark Replacement" means, for any Available Tenor:
(1) For purposes of clause (a) of this Section, the first alternative set forth below that can be determined by the Bank:
(a) the sum of: (i) Term SOFR and (ii) 0.11448% (11.448 basis points) for an Available Tenor of one-month’s duration, 0.26161% (26.161 basis points) for an Available Tenor of three-months’ duration, and 0.42826% (42.826 basis points) for an Available Tenor of six-months’ duration, or
(b) the sum of: (i) Daily Simple SOFR and (ii) the spread adjustment selected or recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body for the replacement of the tenor of USD LIBOR with a SOFR-based rate having approximately the same length as the interest payment period specified in clause (a) of this Section; and
(2) For purposes of clause (b) of this Section, the sum of (a) the alternate benchmark rate and (b) an adjustment (which may be a positive or negative value or zero), in each case, that has been selected by the Bank as the replacement for such Available Tenor of such Benchmark giving due consideration to any evolving or then-prevailing market convention, including any applicable recommendations made by the Relevant Governmental Body, for U.S. dollar denominated syndicated or bilateral credit facilities at such time;
provided that, if the Benchmark Replacement as determined pursuant to clause (1) or (2) above would be less than the Floor, the Benchmark Replacement will be deemed to be the Floor for the purposes of this Agreement.
"Benchmark Replacement Conforming Changes" means, with respect to any Benchmark Replacement, any technical, administrative or operational changes (including changes to the definition of "ABR," the definition of "Business Day," the definition of "Interest Period," timing and frequency of determining rates and making payments of interest, timing of borrowing requests or prepayment, conversion or continuation notices, the applicability and length of lookback periods, the applicability of breakage provisions, and other technical, administrative or operational matters) that the Bank decides may be appropriate to reflect the adoption and implementation of such Benchmark Replacement and to permit the administration thereof by the Bank in a manner substantially consistent with market practice (or, if the Bank decides that adoption of any portion of such market practice is not administratively feasible or if the Bank determines that no market practice for the administration of such Benchmark Replacement exists, in such other manner of administration as the Bank decides is reasonably necessary in connection with the administration of this Agreement).
"Benchmark Transition Event" means, with respect to any then-current Benchmark other than USD LIBOR, the occurrence of a public statement or publication of information by or on behalf of the administrator of the then-current Benchmark, the regulatory supervisor for the administrator of such Benchmark, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, an insolvency official with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark, a resolution authority with jurisdiction over the administrator for such Benchmark or a court or an entity with similar insolvency or resolution authority over the administrator for such Benchmark, announcing or stating that (a) such administrator has ceased or will cease on a specified date to provide all Available Tenors of such Benchmark, permanently or indefinitely, provided that, at the time of such statement or publication, there is no successor administrator that will continue to provide any Available Tenor of such Benchmark or (b) all Available Tenors of such Benchmark are or will no longer be representative of the underlying market and economic reality that such Benchmark is intended to measure and that representativeness will not be restored.
A-2
"Daily Simple SOFR" means, for any day, SOFR, with the conventions for this rate (which will include a lookback) being established by the Bank in accordance with the conventions for this rate recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body for determining "Daily Simple SOFR" for bilateral business loans; provided, that if the Bank decides that any such convention is not administratively feasible for the Bank, then the Bank may establish another convention in its reasonable discretion.
"Early Opt-in Effective Date" means, with respect to any Early Opt-in Election, the sixth (6th) Business Day after the date notice of such Early Opt-in Election is provided to the Borrower, so long as the Bank has not received, by 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the fifth (5th) Business Day after the date notice of such Early Opt-in Election is provided to the Borrower, written notice of objection to such Early Opt-in Election from the Borrower.
"Early Opt-in Election" means the election by the Bank to trigger a fallback from USD LIBOR and the provision by the Bank of written notice of such election to the Borrower.
"Floor" means the benchmark rate floor, if any, provided in this Agreement initially (as of the execution of this Agreement, the modification, amendment or renewal of this Agreement or otherwise) with respect to the LIBOR Rate.
"Relevant Governmental Body" means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or a committee officially endorsed or convened by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or any successor thereto.
"SOFR" means a rate per annum equal to the secured overnight financing rate for such Business Day published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (or a successor administrator of the secured overnight financing rate) on the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, currently at http://www.newyorkfed.org (or any successor source for the secured overnight financing rate identified as such by the administrator of the secured overnight financing rate from time to time).
"Term SOFR" means, for the applicable corresponding tenor, the forward-looking term rate based on SOFR that has been selected or recommended by the Relevant Governmental Body.
"USD LIBOR" means the London interbank offered rate for U.S. dollars.
A-3