CINF, §1A diff (2019 → 2020)

ITEM 1A. Risk Factors Our business involves various risks and uncertainties that may affect achievement of our business objectives. Many of the risks could have ramifications across our organization. For example, while risks related to setting insurance rates and establishing and adjusting loss reserves are insurance activities, actual results differing from our assumptions, judgments or estimates in these areas could have an impact on our investment activities, growth and overall results. The following discussion should be viewed as a starting point for understanding the significant risks we face. It is not a definitive summary of their potential impacts or of our strategies to manage and control the risks. Please see Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, for a discussion of those strategies. If any risks or uncertainties discussed here develop into actual events, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. In that case, the market price of our common stock could decline materially. The failure of our risk management strategies could have a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Readers should carefully consider this information together with the other information we have provided in this report and in other reports and materials we file periodically with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as news releases and other information we disseminate publicly. Risks related to insurance operations We rely primarily on independent insurance agents to distribute our products. We market our main products, insurance policies for businesses and individuals, through independent, nonexclusive insurance agents. These agents are not obligated to promote our products and can and do sell our competitors’ products. We must offer insurance products that meet the needs of these agents and their clients. We need to maintain good relationships with the agents who market our products. If we do not, these agents may market our competitors’ products instead of ours, which may lead to us having a less desirable mix of business and could affect our results of operations. In addition to our marketing of insurance policies for businesses and individuals, Cincinnati Re reinsures policies written by other insurance companies. This business is marketed through reinsurance intermediaries and is generally not offered by the typical independent agents who market our insurance policies. Certain events or conditions could diminish our agents’ desire to produce business for us and the competitive advantage that our independent agents enjoy, including: •Downgrade of the financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries. We believe our strong insurer financial strength ratings, in particular, the A+ (Superior) ratings from A.M. Best for our standard market property casualty insurance group and each subsidiary in that group, are an important competitive advantage. See Item 1, Our Business and Our Strategy, Financial Strength, for additional discussion of our financial strength ratings. •Concerns that doing business with us is difficult or not profitable, perceptions that our level of service is no longer a distinguishing characteristic in the marketplace, perceptions that our products do not meet the needs of our agents’ clients or perceptions that our business practices are not compatible with agents’ business models. •Mergers and acquisitions could result in a concentration of a significant amount of premium in one agency. •Delays in the development, implementation, performance and benefits of technology systems and enhancements or independent agent perceptions that our technology solutions do not match their needs. A reduction in the number of independent agencies marketing our products, the failure of agencies to successfully market our products or pay amounts due to us, changes in the strategy or operations of agencies or the choice of agencies to reduce their writings of our products could affect our results of operations if we were unable to replace them with agencies that produce adequate and profitable premiums. Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 34 Further, policyholders may choose a competitor’s product rather than our own because of real or perceived differences in price, terms and conditions, coverage or service. If the quality of the independent agencies with which we do business were to decline, that also might cause policyholders to purchase their insurance through different agencies or channels. Consumers, especially in the personal insurance industry segment, may increasingly choose to purchase insurance from distribution channels other than independent insurance agents, such as direct marketers. Increased advertising by insurers, especially direct marketers, could cause consumers to shift their buying habits, bypassing independent agents altogether. Innovation, new or changing technologies and/or buying trends or consumer preferences could reduce or eliminate the need or demand for products we sell. Our credit ratings or financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries could be downgraded. A downgrade in one or more of our company’s credit or debt ratings could adversely impact our borrowing costs or limit our access to capital. Financial strength ratings reflect a rating agency’s opinion of our insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength, operating performance, strategic position and ability to meet obligations to policyholders. Our ratings are subject to periodic review and there is no assurance that our ratings will not be changed. Rating agencies could change or expand their requirements or could find that our insurance subsidiaries no longer meet the criteria established for current ratings. If our property casualty or life insurance subsidiary insurer financial strength ratings were to be downgraded, our agents might find it more difficult to market our products or might choose to emphasize the products of other carriers. We could experience an unusually high level of losses due to catastrophic, terrorism or epidemic events or risk concentrations. In the normal course of our business, both in our insurance and reinsurance operations, we provide coverage against perils for which estimates of losses are highly uncertain, in particular catastrophic and terrorism events. Catastrophes can be man-made or caused by natural perils. Man-made catastrophes to which we may be exposed include, but are not limited to, industrial accidents, terrorist attacks, social unrest and riot. Natural peril catastrophe events to which we may be exposed include, but are not limited to, hurricanes, tornadoes, windstorms, earthquakes, landslides, hailstorms, flooding, severe winter weather and wildfires. Due to the nature of these events, we are unable to predict precisely the frequency or potential cost of catastrophe occurrences. Various scientists and other experts believe that changing climate conditions have added to the unpredictability, frequency and severity of such natural disasters in certain parts of the world and have created additional uncertainty as to future trends and exposures. We cannot predict the impact that changing climate conditions may have on our results of operations nor can we predict how any legal, regulatory or social responses to concerns about climate change may impact our business. Additionally, man-made events, such as hydraulic fracturing, could cause damage from earth movement or create environmental and/or health hazards. The extent of losses from a catastrophe is a function of both the total amount of insured and reinsured exposure in the area affected by the event and the severity of the event. Our ability to appropriately manage catastrophe risk depends partially on catastrophe models, which may be affected by inaccurate or incomplete data, the uncertainty of the frequency and severity of future events and the uncertain impact of climate change. Additionally, these models are recalibrated and changed over time, with more data availability and changing opinions regarding the effect of current or emerging loss patterns and conditions. According to these models, probable maximum loss estimates from a single hurricane event that combine the effects of property casualty insurance written on a direct basis by The Cincinnati Insurance Companies, the Cincinnati Re reinsurance portfolio and risks insured by Cincinnati Global include the following amounts, net of amounts recoverable through reinsurance ceded and also income taxes, and including the effects of estimated reinstatement premiums: $326 million for a once-in-a-100-year event and $459 million for a once-in-a-250-year event. Please see Item 7, Liquidity and Capital Resources, 2021 Reinsurance Programs, for a discussion of modeled losses considered in evaluating our risk mitigation strategy, which includes our ceded reinsurance program. Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 35 The geographic regions in which we market insurance and reinsurance are exposed to numerous natural catastrophes, such as: •Hurricanes in the gulf, eastern, southeastern and northeastern coastal regions. •Earthquakes in many regions, most particularly in the New Madrid fault zone, California, the Northwest and Southwest. •Tornadoes, wind and hail in the Midwest, South, Southeast, Southwest and the mid-Atlantic. •Wildfires. •On a worldwide basis, in the event of a severe catastrophic event or terrorist attack we may be exposed to material losses through our Cincinnati Re and Cincinnati Global operations. The occurrence of terrorist attacks in the geographic areas we serve could result in substantially higher claims under our insurance policies than we have anticipated. While our insurance policies provide coverage for terrorism risk in all areas we serve, we have identified our major terrorism exposure geographically as risks in the Tier 1 cities of Chicago, Dallas, New York, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. We have a greater amount of business in less hazardous Tier 2 cities such as Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Minneapolis, Phoenix-Mesa, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Tampa-St. Petersburg. We have exposure to small co-op utilities, water utilities, wholesale fuel distributors, small shopping malls and small colleges throughout our 45 active states and, because of the number of associates located there, our Fairfield, Ohio, headquarters. Additionally, our life insurance subsidiary could be adversely affected in the event of a terrorist event or an epidemic, particularly if the epidemic were to affect a broad range of the population, or affects the overall economy. Our associate health plan is self-funded and could similarly be affected. Our results of operations would be adversely affected if the level of losses we experience over a period of time were to exceed our actuarially determined expectations. In addition, our financial condition may be adversely affected if we were required to sell securities prior to maturity or at unfavorable prices to pay an unusually high level of loss and loss expenses. Securities pricing might be even less favorable if a number of insurance or other companies and other investors needed to sell securities during a short period of time because of unusually high losses from catastrophic events. Our geographic concentration ties our performance to business, economic, environmental and regulatory conditions in certain states. We market our standard market property casualty insurance products in 45 states, but our business is concentrated in the Midwest and Southeast. We also have exposure in states where we do not actively market insurance when clients of our independent agencies have businesses or properties in multiple states. The Cincinnati Insurance Company continues to expand its Cincinnati Re reinsurance assumed operations and has staffed it with seasoned underwriting and analytical talent who strive to assume risks that we understand well, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Business written includes treaties that provide coverage for property catastrophe and terrorism events on a worldwide basis. Based on treaties in effect at January 1, 2021, the largest loss exposure to us for Cincinnati Re is from natural catastrophe events. That exposure includes probable maximum loss estimates, on a marginal basis, of the following amounts: $116 million for a once-in-a-100-year event and $118 million for a once-in-a-250-year event. Those effects represent a single hurricane event and include the effects of income taxes, estimated reinstatement premiums and applicable reinsurance ceded, including any retrocessions for reinsurance assumed, and estimated reinstatement premiums. They are based on probable maximum loss estimates from the Applied Insurance Research Touchstone® version 7.0 catastrophe model. The marginal basis reflects diversification effects of the Cincinnati Re reinsurance portfolio and property casualty insurance written on a direct basis by The Cincinnati Insurance Companies. Ignoring diversification effects provided by those two components, on a standalone basis, probable maximum loss estimates for Cincinnati Re include the following amounts: $167 million for a once-in-a-100-year event and $193 million for a once-in-a-250-year event. If there is a high frequency of large property catastrophe or terrorism events, or a single extreme event, during the coverage period of these treaties, our financial position and results of operations could be materially affected. We are also expanding Cincinnati Global, our global specialty underwriter with premiums primarily for U.S. and international property exposures, given its seasoned underwriting talent. At January 1, 2021, the largest loss exposure to us for Cincinnati Global is from natural catastrophe events. That exposure includes probable maximum loss estimates of the following amounts: $48 million for a once-in-a-100-year event and $77 million for a once-in-a-250-year event. Those effects are on a standalone basis and represent a single hurricane event and include the effects of income taxes, applicable reinsurance ceded and estimated reinstatement premiums. They are Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 36 based on probable maximum loss estimates from the Applied Insurance Research Touchstone version 7.0 catastrophe model. If there is a high frequency of large property catastrophe or terrorism events, or a single extreme event, during the coverage period of its policies, our financial position and results of operations could be materially affected. Additionally, the companies we invest in might be severely affected by a severe catastrophic event, terrorist attack, or epidemic event which could affect our financial condition and results of operations. Our reinsurers might experience significant losses, potentially jeopardizing their ability to pay losses we cede to them. It could also reduce the availability of reinsurance. If we cannot obtain adequate coverage at a reasonable cost, it could constrain where we can write business or reduce the amount of business we can write in certain areas. We also may be exposed to state guaranty fund assessments if other carriers in a state cannot meet their obligations to policyholders. A catastrophe or epidemic event also could affect our operations by damaging our headquarters facility, injuring associates and visitors at our Fairfield, Ohio, headquarters or disrupting our associates’ ability to perform their assigned tasks. The outbreak of COVID-19 could result in an unusually high level of losses. In March 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The outbreak has become increasingly widespread in the United States, including in the markets in which we operate. Like many companies in the property casualty insurance industry, our property casualty subsidiaries were named as defendants in lawsuits seeking insurance coverage under commercial property insurance policies issued by the company for alleged losses resulting from the shutdown or suspension of their businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Risks to our business include legislation or court decisions that extend business interruption insurance in commercial property coverage forms to cover claims for pure economic loss related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislative initiatives and pending litigation are ongoing in numerous jurisdictions, and we cannot provide assurance that we will not be impacted by adverse legislation or adverse judicial rulings in certain of these jurisdictions. These actions seek to extend coverage beyond the terms and conditions we intended for those policies, including policies that do not contain specific virus exclusions. Therefore we could be forced to pay claims when no coverage was contemplated and for which no premium was collected. If these actions are successful, the aggregate amount of these claims could have a material, adverse impact on our business, financial condition, reputation, results of operations and cash flows. Our net losses and loss adjustment expenses are estimates and actual net losses could be higher. Our estimates for COVID-19 losses and loss adjustment expenses represent our best estimates as of December 31, 2020, based upon information currently available. These estimates are based on reported claims, policy level reviews and recent judicial rulings. However, assumptions about coverage, liability and reinsurance continue to be subject to on-going judicial review and may be subject to further government action. While we believe our net reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses for COVID-19 as of December 31, 2020, are adequate based on information available at this time, we continue to closely monitor reported claims, government actions, judicial decisions and changes in the levels of worldwide social disruption and economic activity arising from the pandemic and will adjust our estimates of gross and net losses as new information becomes available. Factors that affect our estimates of losses and loss adjustment expenses or our ability to reasonably estimate such losses include 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; difference in state law and developing case law in the relatively few decisions rendered to date; litigation trends, including varying legal theories advanced by policyholders; whether and to what degree any class of policyholders may be certified; and the inherent unpredictability of litigation. Such adjustments to our reserves for COVID-19 losses and loss adjustment expenses may be material to our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. A weaker economy could result in reduced insurance premium revenue. The outbreak of COVID-19 could have adverse impacts on economic activity that affect demand for insurance or cause substantial disruption to our distribution channel of independent agents, due to self-isolation, travel limitations, business restrictions, and otherwise. During the pandemic, many areas within the United States have imposed mandatory closures for businesses not deemed to be essential. It is currently unclear if such mandatory closures will again be imposed or for how long such closures will last. Though most of our employees are able to work remotely, these closures have affected agents, through which we sell our products and services, or their clients, which could result in significant declines in premium revenues. In an effort to support insurance consumers Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 37 during this pandemic, most states where we market our products have issued mandates or requests such as moratoriums on policy cancellations or nonrenewals for nonpayments of premiums, forbearance on premium collections, waivers of late payment fees and extended periods in which policyholders may make their missed payments. Such actions may result in delayed premium receipts, disrupting cash flows and increasing credit risk from policyholders unable to make timely premium payments. Cash flows and gross premium receipts may also be affected by mid-term adjustments to exposures on which premium calculations are based to reflect the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on insureds’ business operations. The amount or duration of the effects could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Such adverse impacts may be material. Our ability to properly underwrite and price risks and increased competition could adversely affect our results. Our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows depend on our ability to underwrite and set rates accurately for a full spectrum of risks. We establish our pricing based on assumptions about the level of losses that may occur within classes of business, geographic regions and other criteria. To properly price our products, we must collect, properly analyze and use data to make decisions and take appropriate action; the data must be sufficient, reliable and accessible; we need to develop appropriate rating methodologies and formulae; and we may need to identify and respond to trends quickly. We may overestimate or underestimate loss cost trends or these trends may unexpectedly change, leading to losing business by pricing risks above our competitors or charging rates too low to maintain profitability. Inflation trends, especially outside of historical norms, may make it more difficult to determine adequate pricing. If rates are not accurate, we may not generate enough premiums to offset losses and expenses, or we may not be competitive in the marketplace. Our ability to set appropriate rates could be hampered if states where we write business refuse to allow rate increases that we believe are necessary to cover the risks insured. A state could also hamper our ability to set appropriate rates if it no longer allowed us to use factors that we believe are predictive of loss, such as credit-based factors. Multiple states require us to purchase reinsurance from a mandatory reinsurance fund. Such reinsurance funds can create a credit risk for insurers if not adequately funded by the state and, in some cases, the existence of a reinsurance fund could affect the prices charged for our policies. The effect of these and similar arrangements could reduce our profitability in any given period or limit our ability to grow our business. The insurance industry is cyclical and intensely competitive. From time to time, the insurance industry goes through prolonged periods of intense competition during which it is more difficult to attract new business, retain existing business and maintain profitability. Competition in our insurance business is based on many factors, including: •Competitiveness of premiums charged •Relationships among carriers, agents, brokers and policyholders •Underwriting and pricing methodologies that allow insurers to identify and flexibly price risks •Compensation provided to agents •Underwriting discipline •Terms and conditions of insurance coverage •Speed with which products are brought to market •Product and marketing innovations, including advertising •Technological competence and innovation •Ability to control expenses •Adequacy of financial strength ratings by independent rating agencies such as A.M. Best •Quality of services and tools provided to agents and policyholders •Claims satisfaction and reputation Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 38 We compete with major U.S., Bermudian, European, and other international insurers and reinsurers and with underwriting syndicates, some of which have greater financial, marketing and management resources than we do. Recent industry consolidation, including business combinations among insurance and other financial services companies, has resulted in larger competitors with even greater financial resources. We also compete with new companies that continue to enter the insurance and reinsurance markets. In addition, capital market participants have created alternative products that are intended to compete with reinsurance products that we sell in Cincinnati Re. Increased competition could result in fewer submissions, lower premium rates, and less favorable policy terms and conditions, which could reduce our underwriting margins and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. If our pricing was incorrect or we were unable to compete effectively because of one or more of these factors, our premium writings could decline and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. Large competitors could intentionally disrupt the market by targeting certain lines or underpricing the market. Please see the discussion of our Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, Excess and Surplus Lines and Life Insurance Segments in Item 1, Our Segments, for a discussion of our competitive position in the insurance marketplace. Our pricing and capital models could be flawed. We use various actuarial pricing methods, predictive pricing and underwriting models, stochastic models and/or forecasting techniques to help us understand our business, analyze risk and estimate future trends. The output of these techniques and models is used to assist us in making underwriting, pricing, reinsurance, reserving and capital decisions and helps us set our strategic direction. These models contain numerous assumptions, including the assumption that the data used is sufficient and accurate. They are also subject to uncertainties and limitations inherent in any statistical analysis. Actual results may be materially different from modeled output, resulting in pricing our products incorrectly, overestimating or underestimating reserves, or inaccurately forecasting the impact of modeled events on our results. This could materially adversely impact the results of our operations. Our loss reserves, our largest liability, are based on estimates and could be inadequate to cover our actual losses. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared using GAAP. These principles require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. For a discussion of the significant accounting policies we use to prepare our financial statements, the material implications of uncertainties associated with the methods, assumptions and estimates underlying our critical accounting policies and the process used to determine our loss reserves, please refer to Item 8, Note 1 of the Consolidated Financial Statements, and Item 7, Critical Accounting Estimates, Property Casualty Insurance Loss and Loss Expense Reserves and Life Insurance Policy Reserves. Our most critical accounting estimate is loss reserves. Loss reserves are the amounts we expect to pay for covered claims and expenses we incur to settle those claims. The loss reserves we establish in our financial statements represent an estimate of amounts needed to pay and administer claims arising from insured events that have already occurred, including events that have not yet been reported to us. Loss reserves are estimates and are inherently uncertain; they do not and cannot represent an exact measure of liability. Inflationary scenarios, especially scenarios outside of historical norms or regulatory changes that affect the assumptions underlying our critical accounting estimates, may make it more difficult to estimate loss reserves. Accordingly, our loss reserves for past periods could prove to be inadequate to cover our actual losses and related expenses. Any changes in these estimates are reflected in our results of operations during the period in which the changes are made. An increase in our loss reserves would decrease earnings, while a decrease in our loss reserves would increase earnings. Unforeseen losses, the type and magnitude of which we cannot predict, may emerge. These additional losses could arise from changes in the legal environment, laws and regulations, climate change, catastrophic events, increases in loss severity or frequency, environmental claims, mass torts or other causes such as social inflation. Such future losses could be substantial. Inflationary scenarios may cause the cost of claims, especially medical claims, to rise, impacting reserve adequacy and our results of operations. Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 39 In addition to the risks stated above, Cincinnati Re reserves are subject to uncertainty because a reinsurer relies on the original underwriting decisions and claims reserving practices of ceding companies. As a result, we are subject to the risk that our ceding companies may not have adequately evaluated the risks reinsured by us and the premiums ceded may not adequately compensate us for the risks we assume. In addition, there is generally a longer lapse of time from the occurrence of the event to the reporting of the loss or benefit to the reinsurer and ultimate resolution or settlement of the loss. Similar risks exist for Cincinnati Global due to reliance on coverholders in underwriting parts of its business. The anticipated benefits may not be realized for our acquisition of Cincinnati Global. Cincinnati Global, our London-based global specialty underwriter for Lloyd's Syndicate 318, was acquired on February 28, 2019. We can provide no assurance that the anticipated benefits of the transaction will be fully realized in the time frame anticipated or at all, or that the costs or difficulties related to the integration of its operations will not be greater than expected. The success of the transaction will depend, in part, on our ability to realize the anticipated business opportunities and growth prospects from acquiring Cincinnati Global. We may never realize these business opportunities and growth prospects, and our management might have its attention diverted while trying to integrate operations. Cincinnati Global’s international operations subjects us to additional regulation and could expose us to additional investment, political and economic risks. We have international operations that could expose us to a number of additional risks. These risks include restrictions such as price controls, capital controls, currency exchange limits, ownership limits and other restrictive or anti-competitive governmental actions or requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our business and reputation. Our business activities outside the United States, including the United Kingdom (U.K.), could also be subject to political and economic risks, including foreign currency and credit risk. Additionally, Cincinnati Global’s operations will expand the products offered by us and could expose us to additional regulation or other risks. Additionally, business activities outside the United States will subject us to additional domestic and foreign laws and regulations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar laws in other countries that prohibit the making of improper payments to foreign officials. In addition, insurers in the U.K. (including managing agents and members of Lloyd’s of London) are subject to Solvency II and the U.K. regulatory regime, which itself includes rules promulgated by Lloyd's. Although we have policies and controls in place that are designed to ensure compliance with these laws and regulatory requirements, if those controls are ineffective and an employee or intermediary fails to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we could suffer civil and criminal penalties and our business and reputation could be adversely affected. Some countries have laws and regulations that lack clarity and, even with local expertise and effective controls, it can be difficult to determine the exact requirements of, and potential liability under, the local laws. Failure to comply with local laws in a particular market may result in substantial liability and could have a significant and negative effect not only on our business in that market but also on our reputation generally. Business activities at Cincinnati Global are subject to Lloyd's approval of a business plan each year. There is risk that plans will not be approved or will be limited. As a Lloyd’s managing agent and syndicate, Cincinnati Global is exposed to various risks and the uncertainties associated, including its obligation to maintain funds at Lloyd’s to support its underwriting activities and periodic assessment of its capital, governance and other aspects of its business. Developments relating to the United Kingdom’s leaving the European Union could adversely affect Cincinnati Global’s operations. The terms of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) and the relationship between the U.K. and the European Union going forward can affect economic conditions, including the terms of trade between them. The ultimate impact of Brexit is uncertain and will depend on any agreements that the U.K. makes to retain access to European Union markets. Brexit could also lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the U.K. determines which European Union laws to replace or replicate. These or other adverse consequences from Brexit could adversely affect the operations and business opportunities of Cincinnati Global. With a view to mitigating the potential effects of Brexit on business underwritten through Lloyd’s, it has set up an insurance company subsidiary in Belgium, with the intention of underwriting European Economic Area insurance business via that subsidiary. It is uncertain how effective Lloyd's proposed Brexit contingency plan will be. Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 40 Our ability to obtain or collect on our reinsurance protection could affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. We buy property casualty and life reinsurance coverage to mitigate the liquidity risk and earnings volatility risk of an unexpected rise in claims severity or frequency from catastrophic events or a single large loss. The availability, amount and cost of reinsurance depend on market conditions and may vary significantly. If we were unable to obtain reinsurance on acceptable terms and in appropriate amounts, our business and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, we are subject to credit risk with respect to our reinsurers. Although we purchase reinsurance to manage our risks and exposures to losses, this reinsurance does not discharge our direct obligations under the policies we write. We would remain liable to our policyholders even if we were unable to recover what we believe we are entitled to receive under our reinsurance contracts. Reinsurers might refuse or fail to pay losses that we cede to them, or they might delay payment. For long-tail claims, the creditworthiness of our reinsurers may change before we can recover amounts to which we are entitled. A reinsurer’s insolvency, inability or unwillingness to make payments under the terms of its reinsurance agreement with our insurance subsidiaries could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Please see Item 7, Liquidity and Capital Resources, 2021 Reinsurance Ceded Programs, for a discussion of selected reinsurance transactions. Risks related to investments or other financial matters Financial disruption or a prolonged economic downturn could materially and adversely affect our investment performance. The outbreak of COVID-19 has contributed to recent significant disruption and volatility for financial markets and decreased economic activity. Many companies have experienced uncertainty and reduced liquidity. These market conditions could cause our investment income or the value of securities we own to decrease. In the event that these conditions recur or result in a prolonged economic downturn, they could adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Such adverse impacts may be material. Our ability to achieve our performance objectives could be affected by changes in the financial, credit and capital markets or the general economy. We invest premiums received from policyholders and other available cash to generate investment income and capital appreciation, while also maintaining sufficient liquidity to pay covered claims and operating expenses, service our debt obligations and pay dividends. The value of our invested assets is an important component of shareholders’ equity, also known as book value. Changes in the valuation of invested assets can significantly affect changes in book value per share, a key performance objective as discussed in Item 7, Executive Summary of Management’s Discussion and Analysis. For fixed-maturity investments such as bonds, which represented 58.2% of the fair value of our investment portfolio at the end of 2020, the inverse relationship between interest rates and bond prices leads to falling bond values during periods of increasing interest rates. A significant increase in the general level of interest rates could have an adverse effect on our shareholders’ equity. Investment income is an important component of our revenues and net income. The ability to increase investment income and generate longer-term growth in book value is affected by factors beyond our control, such as: inflation, economic growth, interest rates, world political conditions, changes in laws and regulations, epidemic events, terrorism attacks or threats, adverse events affecting other companies in our industry or the industries in which we invest, market events leading to credit constriction, and other widespread unpredictable events. These events may adversely affect the economy generally and could cause our investment income or the value of securities we own to decrease. A significant decline in our investment income could have an adverse effect on our net income, and thereby on our shareholders’ equity and our statutory capital and surplus. For a more detailed discussion of risks associated with our investments, please refer to Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk. Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 41 We have issued life contracts with guaranteed minimum returns, referred to as bank-owned life insurance contracts (BOLIs). BOLI investment assets must meet certain criteria established by the regulatory authorities in the jurisdiction for which the group contract holder is subject. Therefore, sales of investments may be mandated to maintain compliance with these regulations, possibly requiring gains or losses to be recorded. We could experience losses if the assets in the accounts were less than liabilities at the time of maturity or termination. Our investment performance also could suffer because of the types of investments, industry groups and/or individual securities in which we choose to invest. Market value changes related to these choices could cause a material change in our financial condition or results of operations. At year-end 2020, common stock holdings made up 40.3% of our investment portfolio. Adverse news or events affecting the global or U.S. economy or the equity markets could affect our net income, book value and overall results, as well as our ability to pay our common stock dividend. See Item 7, Investments Results, and Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk, for a discussion of our investment activities. Deterioration in the banking sector or in banks with which we have relationships could affect our results of operations. Our ability to maintain or obtain short-term lines of credit could be affected if the banks from which we obtain these lines are acquired, fail or are otherwise negatively affected. We may lose premium revenue if a bank that owns appointed agencies were to change its strategies. We could experience increased losses in our director and officer liability line of business if claims were made against insured financial institutions. A deterioration of credit and market conditions could also impair our ability to access credit markets and could affect existing or future lending arrangements. Our overall results could be affected if a significant portion of our commercial lines policyholders, including those purchasing surety bonds, are adversely affected by marked or prolonged economic downturns and events such as a downturn in construction and related sectors, tightening credit markets and higher fuel costs. Such events could make it more difficult for policyholders to finance new projects, complete projects or expand their businesses, leading to lower premiums from reduced payrolls and sales and lower purchases of equipment and vehicles. These events could also cause claims, including surety claims, to increase due to a policyholder’s inability to secure necessary financing to complete projects or to collect on underlying lines of credit in the claims process. Such economic downturns and events could have a greater impact in the construction sector where we have a concentration of risks and in geographic areas that are hardest hit by economic downturns. Deteriorating economic conditions could also increase the degree of credit risk associated with amounts due from independent agents who collect premiums for payment to us and could hamper our ability to recover amounts due from reinsurers. Our status as an insurance holding company with no direct operations could affect our ability to pay dividends in the future. Cincinnati Financial Corporation is a holding company that transacts substantially all of its business through its subsidiaries. Our primary assets are the stock in our operating subsidiaries and our investments. Consequently, our cash flow to pay cash dividends and interest on our long-term debt depends on dividends we receive from our operating subsidiaries and income earned on investments held at the parent-company level. Dividends received from our lead insurance subsidiary are restricted by the insurance laws of Ohio, its domiciliary state. These laws establish minimum solvency and liquidity thresholds and limits. In 2021, the maximum dividend that may be paid without prior regulatory approval is limited to the greater of 10% of statutory capital and surplus or 100% of statutory net income for the prior calendar year, up to the amount of statutory unassigned capital and surplus as of the end of the prior calendar year. Dividends exceeding these limitations may be paid only with prior approval of the Ohio Department of Insurance. We might not be able to receive dividends from our insurance subsidiaries, or we might not receive dividends in the amounts necessary to meet our debt obligations or to pay dividends on our common stock without liquidating securities. This could affect our financial position. Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 42 Please see Item 1, Regulation, and Item 8, Note 9 of the Consolidated Financial Statements, for a discussion of insurance holding company dividend regulations. General risk factors Our business depends on the uninterrupted operation of our facilities, systems and business functions. Our business depends on our associates’ ability to perform necessary business functions, such as processing new and renewal policies and handling claims. We increasingly rely on technology and systems to accomplish these business functions in an efficient and uninterrupted fashion. Our inability to access our headquarters facilities for certain critical functions or a failure of technology, telecommunications or other systems or the loss or failure of services provided by key vendors, could significantly impair our ability to perform such functions on a timely basis or affect the accuracy of transactions. If sustained or repeated, such a business interruption or system failure could result in a deterioration of our ability to write and process new and renewal business, serve our agents and policyholders, pay claims in a timely manner, collect receivables or perform other necessary business functions. If our disaster recovery and business continuity plans did not sufficiently consider, address or reverse the circumstances of an interruption or failure, this could result in a materially adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. This risk is exacerbated because approximately 64% of our associates typically work at our Fairfield, Ohio, headquarters. As stay-at-home actions were enacted in 2020, we promptly and effectively transitioned most of our headquarters associates to working from home. Our ability to successfully execute business functions also depends on hiring and retaining qualified associates. Competition for high-quality executives and other key associates occurs within the insurance industry and from other industries. We also must effectively develop and manage associates, including providing training and resources. Such tools and information can allow them to effectively perform critical business functions and adapt to changing business needs. If we were unable to attract and retain certain associates, or if we fail to provide adequate training or resources, we could limit the success of executing our strategic plans and vital business functions. The effects of changes in industry practices, laws and regulations on our business are uncertain. As industry practices and legal, judicial, legislative, regulatory, political, social and other environmental conditions change, unexpected and unintended issues related to insurance pricing, claims and coverage may emerge. These issues may adversely affect our business by impeding our ability to obtain adequate rates for covered risks or otherwise extending coverage beyond our underwriting intent, by increasing the number or size of claims, by varying assumptions underlying our critical accounting estimates or by increasing duties owed to policyholders beyond contractual obligations. In some instances, unforeseeable emerging and latent claim and coverage issues and court decisions or legislative changes may not become apparent until sometime after we have issued the insurance policies that could be affected by the changes. As a result, the full extent of liability under our insurance contracts may not be known for many years after a policy is issued and our pricing and reserve estimates may not accurately reflect its effect. We are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards issued by recognized authoritative organizations, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the SEC. Future changes required to be adopted could change the current accounting treatment that we apply and could result in material adverse effects on our results of operations, financial position or cash flows. Our investment income benefits from tax rate preferences for municipal bond interest and dividend income from equity securities. Market valuations for these securities also benefit from the tax-preference aspect of current tax laws, affecting the value of our investment portfolio and also shareholders’ equity. Future changes in tax laws could result in material adverse effects on our results of operations and financial condition. The NAIC, state insurance regulators and state legislators continually re-examine existing laws and regulations governing insurance companies and insurance holding companies, specifically focusing on modifications to statutory accounting principles, interpretations of existing laws, regulations relating to product forms and pricing methodologies and the development of new laws and regulations that affect a variety of financial and nonfinancial components of our business. Any proposed or future legislation, regulation or NAIC initiatives, if adopted, may be more restrictive on our ability to conduct business than current regulatory requirements or may result in Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 43 higher costs. The loss or significant restriction on the use of a particular variable, such as credit, in pricing and underwriting our products could lead to future unprofitability and increased costs. Federal laws and regulations and the influence of international laws and regulations, including those that may be enacted in the wake of the financial and credit crises, may have adverse effects on our business, potentially including a change from a state-based system of regulation to a system of federal regulation, the repeal of the McCarran Ferguson Act, and/or measures under the Dodd-Frank Act that establish the Federal Insurance Office and provide for a determination that a nonbank financial company presents systemic risk and therefore should be subject to heightened supervision by the Federal Reserve Board. It is not known how this federal office will coordinate and interact with the NAIC and state insurance regulators. Adoption or implementation of any of these measures may restrict our ability to conduct our insurance business, govern our corporate affairs or increase our cost of doing business. The effects of such changes could adversely affect our results of operations. Please see Item 7, Critical Accounting Estimates, Property Casualty Insurance Loss and Loss Expense Reserves and Life Insurance Policy Reserves, for a discussion of our reserving practices. Managing technology initiatives and meeting data security requirements are significant challenges. While technology can streamline many business processes and ultimately reduce the costs of operations, technology initiatives present short-term cost and also have implementation and operational risks. In addition, we may have inaccurate expense projections, implementation schedules or expectations regarding the effectiveness and user acceptance of the end product. These issues could escalate over time. If we were unable to find and retain associates with key technical knowledge, our ability to develop and deploy key technology solutions could be hampered. We necessarily collect, use and hold data concerning individuals and businesses with whom we have a relationship. Threats to data security, including unauthorized access and cyberattacks, rapidly emerge and change, exposing us to additional costs for protection or remediation and competing time constraints to secure our data in accordance with customer expectations and statutory and regulatory requirements. While we take commercially reasonable measures to keep our systems and data secure, it is difficult or impossible to defend against every risk being posed by changing technologies as well as criminal and state-sponsored cybercrime and cyber threats. Increasing sophistication of cyber criminals and terrorists make keeping up with new threats difficult and could result in a breach. Patching and other measures to protect existing systems and servers could be inadequate, especially on systems that are being retired. Controls employed by our U.S., off-shore and cloud vendors could prove inadequate. We could also experience a breach by intentional or negligent conduct on the part of associates or other internal sources. Our systems and those of our third-party vendors may become vulnerable to damage or disruption due to circumstances beyond our or their control, such as from catastrophic events, power anomalies or outages, natural disasters, network failures, and viruses, ransomware and malware. A breach of our security or the security of a vendor that results in unauthorized access to our data could expose us to a disruption or challenges relating to our daily operations as well as to data loss, litigation, damages, fines and penalties, significant increases in compliance costs and reputational damage. Cincinnati Financial Corporation - 2020 10-K - Page 44 ITEM 1B.