Eastern Insurance Holdings reported net income for the fourth quarter of $2.7 million, marking a turnaround from its $18.4 million in net losses reported for the same period in 2008.

The company also has plans to expand with offices in Nashville, Tenn., and western Pennsylvania. Office space has already been leased in Nashville for the company’s expansion into the Southeast, company officials said.

The Lancaster, Pa.-based insurer reported a “solid quarter of results across all business segments,” said CEO Bruce M. Eckert in a statement. The company reported a consolidated combined ratio of 95.0%, with its largest business segment, workers’ compensation insurance, reporting a combined ratio of 86%. For the full year, the company’s workers’ compensation insurance posted an 87.7% combined ratio.

Last year was “a challenging year with persistent downward pressure on both workers’ compensation rates and employer payrolls,” Eckert said.

“Despite these headwinds, we were not only profitable in all three of our operating segments, but we also grew our policyholder base by approximately 15 percent.”

The majority of growth was in its small-employer book, he said. The company marked its first full year of operations after acquiring Employers Security Insurance Co., which led to “our bottom line results exceeded expectations in the Midwest, our top line grew by approximately 164 percent in the Southeast, and the Mid-Atlantic region remained the consistent generator of profits as it has throughout our history,” Eckert said.

EIHI owns and operates Eastern Alliance Insurance Group, which operates in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware; Eastern Life and Health Insurance Co.; Employers Alliance, which operates in Maryland and Pennsylvania; and Eastern Re Ltd.