United Fire Group Q1 2024 Earnings Report

United Fire Group EPS Results

• Actual EPS: $0.56
• Consensus EPS: $0.55
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$0.01
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

United Fire Group Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $296.00 million
• Expected Revenue: $282.30 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$13.70 million
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

United Fire Group Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q1 2024
• Date: 5/7/2024
• Time: N/A
• Conference Call Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2024
• Conference Call Time: 10:00AM ET

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS). (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that specializes in property and casualty coverage for commercial and personal lines. The company underwrites business through three primary segments: commercial, personal and specialty insurance. Within the commercial segment, United Fire Group offers tailored policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including general liability, commercial property and workers’ compensation. Its personal lines cover homeowners, auto, farm and umbrella policies.

United Fire Group distributes its products primarily through a national network of independent insurance agents and brokers. This agency-centric model allows the company to customize coverage options and underwriting solutions to meet the diverse needs of its clients. In addition to standard policies, United Fire Group provides specialized endorsements and risk management services, helping policyholders mitigate exposure to loss and manage claims efficiently.

Founded in 1946 as United Fire & Casualty Company, United Fire Group has built a presence in nearly every U.S. state, serving a broad geographic footprint across urban, suburban and rural markets. The company’s headquarters in Cedar Rapids supports its underwriting, claims, actuarial and administrative functions. Led by an experienced management team with deep insurance industry expertise, United Fire Group maintains a commitment to financial strength, customer service and sustained growth in its core markets.

United Fire Group Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• UFG reported a first quarter net income of $13.5 million and a 17.6% increase in net written premium to $321 million, with the combined ratio improving by four points to 98.9%, the lowest in eight quarters.
• The underlying loss ratio improved to 59.4% and the expense ratio to 34.9% thanks to disciplined underwriting, with core commercial renewal rates up 9% and premiums rising 10.9%.
• Net investment income rose 28.5% to $16.3 million, driven by reinvestment at higher interest rates and the strategic reallocation from public equity to fixed maturities under New England Asset Management.
• Specialty excess & surplus and surety lines saw slight net written premium declines as UFG continues to reposition its portfolio for more consistent, sustainable profitability.
• Reserve development was neutral overall with favorable emergence reinforcing positions against inflationary uncertainty, and UFG declared a $0.16 per share dividend, maintaining its 56-year payout history.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good morning. My name is Anthony, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the UFG Insurance First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw from the question queue, please press star, then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to UFG Vice President of Investor Relations, Tim Borst. Please go ahead.

[Tim Borst, VP of Investor Relations at UFG Insurance]

Good morning, and thank you for joining this call. Yesterday afternoon, we issued a press release on our results. To find a copy of this document, please visit our website at ufginsurance.com. Press releases and slides are located under the Investors tab. Joining me today on the call are UFG President and Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Leidwinger, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Julie Stephenson, and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Eric Martin. Before I turn the call over to Kevin, a couple of reminders. First, please note that our presentation today may include forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties and are not a guarantee of future performance.

[Tim Borst, VP of Investor Relations at UFG Insurance]

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this presentation is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. The actual results may differ materially due to a variety of factors, which are described in our press release and SEC filings, discussed specifically in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K. Also, please note that in our discussion today, we may use some non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are also available in our press release and SEC filings. At this time, I will turn the call over to Mr. Kevin Leidwinger, CEO of UFG Insurance.

[Kevin Leidwinger, CEO at UFG Insurance]

Thank you, Tim. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our first quarter conference call. I'll begin this morning by providing a high-level overview of our results. Following my comments, Julie Stephenson will discuss our underwriting results, and Eric Martin will discuss our financial results in more detail. I'm pleased with our first quarter as net income increased to $13.5 million, driven by improved underwriting results and higher investment income. The momentum we established in 2023 carried into the first quarter of 2024 as net written premium grew 17.6% to $321 million, led by our Core Commercial and Assumed Reinsurance business. Core Commercial growth remained strong, fueled by an average annual premium increase of 10.9%, steady retention and attractive new business opportunities reflective of our continued focus on profitability.

[Kevin Leidwinger, CEO at UFG Insurance]

Rates increased 9% and remained above loss cost trends. The first quarter combined ratio improved 4 points to 98.9% compared to the first quarter of 2023 and our lowest over the past eight quarters. The underlying loss ratio improved to 59.4%, reflecting continued underwriting and pricing discipline across the portfolio. Catastrophe losses contributed 4.6% to the combined ratio, in line with the same period last year and just below our 5-year historical average. The expense ratio improved to 34.9% as we continued to diligently manage cost structure while supporting strategic long-term investments in our business. Prior period reserve development was neutral overall, with favorable emergence across several lines of business, enabling us to further reinforce our position against the heightened inflationary uncertainty in some liability lines.

[Kevin Leidwinger, CEO at UFG Insurance]

Investment income increased 28.5% to $16.3 million as we continued to benefit from reinvesting at higher interest rates. In the first quarter, we completed the strategic reallocation of public equity assets into fixed maturities and transitioned management of our investment portfolio to New England Asset Management. Through continued robust execution of our strategic initiatives, we believe we are well positioned to deliver improved long-term performance. I'll now hand it over to Julie Stephenson, our Chief Operating Officer, to discuss our underwriting results in more detail.

[Julie Stephenson, EVP and COO at UFG Insurance]

Thank you, Kevin. Net written premium in our Core Commercial business, which includes small business, middle market, and construction, grew 12% to $223 million in the first quarter compared to prior year. Renewal premium change in our Core Commercial business was 10.9%, with rates up 9% and exceeding loss trends. Commercial Property premium change continued to exceed 20%, with rate achievement at 16.5% and exposures increasing 5.5%. Commercial Auto and Umbrella continued to improve, now achieving rate above 11%. We remain diligently focused on price adequacy across the portfolio, with an increased emphasis on General Liability as the industry continues to battle ongoing inflationary pressures. New business production was consistent with our expectations this quarter, and we remain pleased with the quality of accounts being added to the portfolio.

[Julie Stephenson, EVP and COO at UFG Insurance]

We are also encouraged by increased submission activity in middle market and construction as we better align with our distribution partners and focus on delivering additional capabilities in support of becoming an account solution provider. In small business, we rolled out our new BOP product and quoting platform in 12 additional states, helping accelerate new business production. Retention remained consistent and within expectations at 80% as we continue to refine our portfolio profile. Our Alternative Distribution portfolio showed strong, multifaceted growth in the quarter, resulting from the addition of several new accounts, continued benefit from 2023 contracts that have yet to expire, and organic growth from a few accounts benefiting from favorable market conditions. Our outlook for this business remains within our stated expectations of 25% of the UFG portfolio, and we are pleased with the continued opportunities this portfolio affords.

[Julie Stephenson, EVP and COO at UFG Insurance]

Specialty, Excess and Surplus Lines net written premiums declined approximately $1 million from prior year. As we continue repositioning our portfolio to reflect a mix of business that will produce more sustainable, consistent profitability. Surety net written premium declined slightly in the first quarter as we continued to take a measured approach to growth, taking steps to reinforce our underwriting discipline and territory management to return the portfolio to our historic levels of profitability. The first quarter underlying loss ratio of 59.4% improved just over 4 points from first quarter of 2023, as results reflect improvement in our Core Commercial lines from a combination of underwriting actions, rate achievement, and improving frequency. Most notably, the property portfolio produced significant improvement, as steady rate and exposure increases are starting to fully manifest in the results.

[Julie Stephenson, EVP and COO at UFG Insurance]

Additionally, automobile shows some improvement, as prior reunderwriting and changes in portfolio mix continue to show decreased frequency, while rate is covering our severity trends. Other liability and surety loss ratios are elevated relative to the first quarter, 2023, as they now reflect our recent opinion that evolved throughout 2023. Prior period reserve development was flat overall in the first quarter. Loss emergence was neutral to favorable across most of the portfolio. Lines that required additional strengthening throughout the latter half of 2022 and through 2023 revealed no additional pressure this quarter. However, favorable development in property, workers' compensation, and surety allowed us to further secure our reserve position in the other liability line, though we did not see any notable adverse activity to weaken reserves. This will further strengthen our position, given the uncertainty surrounding loss cost trends in these lines.

[Julie Stephenson, EVP and COO at UFG Insurance]

I will now turn the call over to Eric Martin, our Chief Financial Officer, to discuss the rest of our financial results.

[Eric Martin, EVP and CFO at UFG Insurance]

Thank you, Julie. Turning to the investment portfolio, as Kevin mentioned, late in the first quarter, we successfully transitioned management of our fixed income investment portfolio to our partners at New England Asset Management. Total invested assets and cash ended the first quarter at $1.9 billion, with a slightly higher position in cash equivalents as we completed the sale of our public equity portfolio and will work to reallocate that cash into fixed income. Net investment income was $16.3 million in the first quarter, up 28.5% compared to the first quarter of 2023. We continued to realize the benefits of investing in a higher interest rate environment, with new money yields exceeding total portfolio yield by a healthy margin.

[Eric Martin, EVP and CFO at UFG Insurance]

There was approximately $1 million of realized losses in the first quarter, as we have identified opportunities to make small adjustments in our fixed income portfolio that will further increase future income. First quarter net income was $0.52 per diluted share and non-GAAP adjusted operating income of $0.56 per diluted share. These positive earnings supported an improvement in book value per common share to $29.13. During the first quarter, we declared and paid a 16-cent per share cash dividend to shareholders of record as of March eighth, 2024, continuing our 56-year history of paying dividends back to March 1968. This concludes our prepared remarks. I will now have the operator open the line for questions.

[Operator]

We will now begin the Q&A session. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw from the question queue, please press star, then two. At this time, we'll pause momentarily to assemble our roster. Again, if you have a question, please press star, then one. It appears there are no questions at this time. This concludes our Q&A session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Kevin Leidwinger for any closing remarks.

[Kevin Leidwinger, CEO at UFG Insurance]

Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to talking with you again next quarter. Thank you.

[Operator]

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

Participants

Executives

• Eric Martin, EVP and CFO

Analysts

• Julie Stephenson, EVP and COO at UFG Insurance
• Kevin Leidwinger, CEO at UFG Insurance
• Tim Borst, VP of Investor Relations at UFG Insurance