Nov. 10 Earnings: HCII

Homeowners Choice Inc. earned $1.7 million in third quarter profits, more than doubling its total from the same time period last year of $800,000. It's the company's 12th consecutive profitable quarter, says CEO F.X. McCahill, who explained that the companies revised rate structures are helping to combat increased costs.

“Like others in our industry, we have struggled with reinsurance costs, which rose sharply in 2009,” McCahill said. “However, we are now seeing significant beneficial results from our own rate increases.”

Indeed, net premiums earned, which account for higher reinsurance rates, fell 11% over the first nine months of 2010 compared to last year, from $53.0 million down to $47.0 million. But the firm's most recent quarter showed marked improvement, with a 25.6% year-the-year gain in net premiums.

Headquartered in Clearwater, the company is using a portion of its profits to finance a share repurchase program. HCI has bought back 215,969 shares of common stock so far in 2010.