Highlands Insurance Trims Workforce

A first-quarter net loss will require property and casualty insurer Highlands Insurance Group Inc. to trim its workforce by some 115 positions and obtain a charge for restructuring.

According to a Reuters report, the New Jersey-based company pointed to a gain in loss and loss adjustment expense reserves and a larger initial loss and loss adjustment expense ratio, as reasons for the quarterly setback.

The company stated a loss of $14.7 million or $1.11 per diluted share compared with a gain of $2 million or 15 cents per diluted share one year earlier. To restructure the company, Highlands is decreasing the processing of commercial renewal policies from eight locations to a pair. The company figures to take a second-quarter charge of $700,000 due to the restructuring.