J.S. Johnson Insurance company is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Matthew on its bottom line, the company said in recently released second quarter results, reporting an income decline of 17 percent.
According to the company, income declined from $13,350,833 to $11,136,630, "with the largest drop being in net commissions and fees".
"Net income of $3,363,168 was reported, falling some 36 percent from $5,225,871 and from all indications this trend will continue into the third quarter and possibly beyond," the company's results reveal.
"The performance of our underwriting arm, Insurance Company of The Bahamas Limited (ICB), continues to experience financial pressure in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. The 68 percent decline in net income to $815,180 was mainly due to the reduction in net commissions and fees, new premiums earned and a slight increase in expenses owing to the loss on investment in the securities portfolio."
The company said its agency and brokers business was "once again" able to contain declining expenses from $6,801,057 to $6,347,480, which the company said subsidized a decline in its total income. This resulted in an overall net profit of $2,547,988 compared to $2,713,809 last year.
This summer Chairman of J.S. Johnson Brian Moree revealed that claims relating to Hurricane Matthew totaled in excess of $112 million, adding that the financial impact of the storm on the company was "significant".
In its 2016 financial report, Moree wrote that 73 percent of the dollar value of gross claims originated in New Providence and 22 percent from Grand Bahama.
The claim expenses incurred by the insurance company last year led to a 30.8 percent decline in net income.
With value-added tax (VAT) on insurance products and services, Moree pointed out that in some cases, there was a reduction in cover due to an increase in insurance cost.

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