Crawford & Company Q2 2026 Earnings Report

Crawford & Company EPS Results

• Actual EPS: $0.38
• Consensus EPS: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Crawford & Company Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $321.44 million
• Expected Revenue: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Crawford & Company Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q2 2026
• Date: 8/3/2026
• Time: After Market Closes
• Conference Call Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026
• Conference Call Time: 8:30AM ET

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.A) is a global provider of claims management and related services for the insurance market. The company works with insurance carriers, brokers, corporations and other self-insured organizations to manage claims throughout the claims life cycle, including loss assessment, investigation, adjustment, administration and resolution.

Its services include property and casualty claims adjusting, workers’ compensation and liability claims management, third-party administration, catastrophe response, medical management and claims consulting. Crawford also provides managed repair and contractor-network services through Crawford Contractor Connection, while its Broadspire business focuses on workers’ compensation, disability and liability claims administration for employers and insurers.

Founded in 1941 by Jim Crawford, the company has expanded from its U.S. roots into an international claims services organization. Crawford serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets through a network of offices, field professionals and specialized service providers. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Rohit Verma.

Crawford & Company Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly earnings rebound: Consolidated operating earnings rose 34% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS increased to $0.38 from $0.22. Management cited improved execution, Broadspire growth, and international weather-related activity, and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share.
• Positive Sentiment: Broadspire showed improving momentum: Revenue increased 1.2%, operating earnings rose 10.8%, and margins expanded by 130 basis points. Management said new disability clients, better medical-management revenue, and opportunities among captives, MGAs, and MGUs support an active future pipeline.
• Positive Sentiment: Balance sheet and business development remain supportive: Year-to-date operating cash flow improved to $23.1 million, leverage was 1.45 times EBITDA, and the company added nearly $22 million in new and enhanced business during the quarter. Crawford also continues to pursue share repurchases, acqui-hires, and selective acquisitions, particularly to expand Global Technical Services.
• Negative Sentiment: Some earnings drivers may not persist: International results benefited from carried-over weather claims in Australia and Asia, but management expects that activity to moderate materially in the third and fourth quarters. International margins are therefore likely to decline from the quarter’s elevated level, despite a longer-term goal of reaching roughly 10%.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Property & Casualty remains pressured: Segment revenue fell 10.2% year over year, primarily because of weaker networks performance amid lower property-claim frequency and carriers internalizing some staff-augmentation work. Management also characterized property insurance markets as softer, with lower premiums and looser coverage terms, which could limit near-term claims-related demand.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good morning. My name is Carly, and I will be your conference facilitator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Crawford & Company second quarter 2026 earnings release conference call. In conjunction with this call, a supplementary financial presentation is available on our website at www.crawco.com under the Investor Relations section.

[Operator]

All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer period. Instructions will follow at that time. Should anyone need assistance at any time during this conference, please press star, then zero, and an operator will assist you. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, this conference is being recorded today, Tuesday, August 4th, 2026. Now I would like to introduce Tami Stevenson, Crawford & Company's General Counsel.

[Tami Stevenson, General Counsel at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Thank you, Carly. Some of the matters to be discussed in this conference call and in the supplementary financial presentation may include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may relate to, among other things, our expected future operating results and financial condition, our ability to grow our revenues and reduce our operating expenses, expectations regarding our anticipated contributions to our underfunded defined benefit pension plans, collectability of our billed and unbilled accounts receivable, financial results from our recently completed acquisitions, our continued compliance with the financial and other covenants contained in our financing agreements, our long-term capital resource and liquidity requirements, and our ability to pay dividends in the future. The company's actual results achieved in future quarters could differ materially from the results that may be implied by such forward-looking statements.

[Tami Stevenson, General Counsel at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly release revisions to any forward-looking statements made in this conference call to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of the call or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. In addition, you are reminded that operating results for any historical period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any future period.

[Tami Stevenson, General Counsel at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

For a complete discussion regarding factors which could affect the company's financial performance, please refer to the company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ending June 30, 2026, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly the information under the headings Risk Factors and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as subsequent company filings with the SEC. This presentation also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules.

[Tami Stevenson, General Counsel at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

As required, a reconciliation is provided for those measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. I would now like to introduce Mr. Bruce Swain, Chief Executive Officer of Crawford & Company. Bruce, you can begin the conference.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Good morning, welcome to our second quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today are Holly Boudreau, our Chief Financial Officer, and Tami Stevenson, our General Counsel. After our prepared remarks, we will open the call for your questions. As you know, Crawford is a global provider of claims management and outsourcing solutions, bringing deep expertise across the full spectrum of claims services to major insurance carriers and self-insured organizations.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

At the heart of what we do is a commitment to restore lives, businesses, and communities by delivering reliable and comprehensive claims solutions and outcomes. We have a long and successful track record operating across more than 70 countries, backed by 10,000 professionals and managing over $20 billion in claims each year.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

It's this global footprint, paired with more than eight decades of technical expertise and a steadfast focus on service excellence and client success, that enables us to serve the world's top insurers and corporations, no matter the size or complexity of the program. Our blend of global presence, deep technical knowledge, and proven performance make Crawford & Company the partner clients turn to as they work through an ever-shifting risk environment, no matter where they operate or what market conditions they face.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

There are several favorable industry dynamics that combine with our core capabilities to form the foundation for our organic growth strategy. First, as risk grows more complex, the major and complex loss market continues to expand, prompting clients to seek partners that combine a deep technical skill set with speed and efficiency in handling high-severity claims.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Second, the start of 2026 marked the unification of our U.S. operating structure, aimed at improving efficiency and supporting scalable growth going forward. We believe this strengthened client-centric operating model will allow us to be a more nimble and cohesive organization as we continue delivering value-added outcomes to our clients and partners.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Third, the depth of our experience and our investment in technology continue to set us apart. By prioritizing our people and staying at the forefront of technological innovation, we're able to stand out across every market we operate in.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Fourth, natural disasters continue to fuel steady demand for our services. While the timing and severity of weather events can't always be anticipated, the overall long-term trend suggests a more active and complex loss environment where Crawford is uniquely positioned to serve.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Finally, as the claims environment becomes more difficult to navigate, more carriers and self-insured clients are turning to third-party administrators as strategic partners. Our worldwide TPA footprint offers the reach, scale, and expertise needed to successfully support clients as they navigate the evolving claims landscape.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Let me take a moment to discuss our second quarter 2026 results. We delivered a solid second quarter, driven primarily by weather-related claims volume in International and growth in Broadspire. In fact, this quarter had the best overall operating earnings since the 2023 third quarter.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Second quarter revenues were $321.4 million, which was down slightly year-over-year. Our consolidated operating earnings increased 34% over the prior year quarter related to strong performance in Broadspire and in International, the latter of which was driven by heightened weather-related revenues in Australia and Asia.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Our non-GAAP EPS was $0.38 for both CRDA and CRDB, up substantially from $0.22 for both share classes in the prior year quarter. Operating cash flow was $23.1 million year-to-date, improving over the 2025 period and providing us with continued financial resilience and flexibility. We added nearly $22 million in new and enhanced business during the second quarter. I'm encouraged by the number and size of opportunities we're seeing in the marketplace.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

The team is focused on closing the deals currently in play. Our leverage ratio was 1.45x EBITDA, at the low end of our targeted range and well below industry levels. Our liquidity remains very strong. Our disciplined capital allocation approach reflects a commitment to steadily building long-term growth. We continue to strategically invest in the business while maintaining a strong balance sheet and continued liquidity strength.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

In addition to organic investments and opportunistic share repurchases, we actively evaluate inorganic growth opportunities, such as selective acquisitions or acqui-hires that can sharpen our capabilities and expand our competitive positioning in the marketplace.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

We are committed to paying a quarterly dividend. Given our consistent profitability and strong cash generation, the board has approved an increase to the quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share. With that, I'll turn the call over to Holly for a deeper look at our second quarter financial and operational performance.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Thank you. In second quarter 2026, U.S. Property & Casualty, which consists of our U.S. loss adjusting and networks businesses, contributed 23% of revenue. Broadspire, our U.S.-based third-party administration business, represented 34% of revenues. International Operations accounted for 43% of revenues. U.S. Property & Casualty revenues decreased 10.2% year-over-year related to softer performance in our networks business.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Operating earnings in the segment decreased by $300,000 or 4% year-over-year, with operating margin up 70 basis points, in part due to continued expense management efforts to mitigate the impact of lower revenues. Although we're continuing to see claims frequency tracking below historical levels, we remain a premier destination for seasoned, high-caliber insurance adjusters dedicated to service excellence, ready and able to serve a wide variety of major and complex claims with speed, efficiency, and expertise.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Broadspire delivered quarterly revenues of $109.4 million, an increase of 1.2% from the prior year period, reflecting the addition of new disability clients as well as improved medical management revenues. Our retention rate during the quarter was 87.5%, up sequentially from the first quarter.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Operating earnings was $15.7 million in the quarter, increasing by $1.5 million or 10.8% year-over-year, with operating margins increasing by 130 basis points. We continue to see tailwinds in the alternative market space related to growth in outsourced captives and MGAs markets.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

International Operations' second quarter 2026 revenues increased 4.2% to $138 million compared to the prior year. Excluding the impact from the exit of Crawford Legal Services and foreign currency exchange rate movements, revenues increased by 1.6%. Operating earnings increased by $3.5 million or 48.2%, with operating margin increasing by 240 basis points.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

International second quarter operating performance was driven by heightened weather-related claims revenues from Australia and Asia, as well as improved performance in Canada as we continue to recognize efficiency from cost control initiatives. As we look at the ongoing impact of weather-related claims on our business, this slide encapsulates the U.S. severe storm activity, which declined 6.8% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year period.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Nonetheless, our weather-related revenues remained relatively stable, declining a modest 1.4% in the second quarter. Furthermore, our non-weather business was consistent year-over-year, evidence of the diversification of our business and the resilience of our core operations.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

In the 2026 second quarter, company-wide revenues before reimbursements were $321.4 million, a slight decrease compared to the prior year period. Foreign exchange rates increased revenues before reimbursements by $7.7 million or 2.5%.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

GAAP net income attributable to shareholders totaled $13.4 million, compared to net income of $7.8 million in the same period of 2025. GAAP diluted EPS in the 2026 second quarter was $0.27 and $0.28 for CRDA and CRDB, respectively, an increase from earnings of $0.16 for both share classes in the prior year period.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

On a non-GAAP basis, diluted EPS was $0.38 for both CRDA and CRDB, increasing from $0.22 for both share classes in the 2025 quarter. The company's non-GAAP operating earnings totaled $29.4 million in the 2026 second quarter, or 9.2% of revenues, compared to $22 million, or 6.8% of revenues in the prior year period. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $37.6 million in the 2026 second quarter, or 11.7% of revenues, increasing from $31.4 million or 9.7% of revenues in the 2025 quarter.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

The company's cash and cash equivalents as of June 30th, 2026 totaled $69.4 million, compared to $64.1 million at December 31st, 2025. Total receivables were $259.8 million as of June 30th, 2026, up $17.2 million from 2025 year-end. The company's total debt outstanding as of June 30th, 2026 totaled $198.1 million, up $9 million from December 31st, 2025.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Net debt was approximately $129 million as of June 30th, 2026, while our U.S. pension liability was $16.3 million, reflecting a funded ratio of 94.4%. We made no discretionary contributions to our U.S. defined benefit pension plan during the second quarter of 2026.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Cash flow provided by operating activities for the first six months of 2026 was $23.1 million, increasing from $21.1 million in the prior year period. Free cash flow was $7.9 million in the 2026 period, improving from $2.6 million in the first six months of 2025.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Unallocated corporate costs were $4.3 million in the 2026 second quarter, compared to costs of $7 million in the 2025 period. The variance was primarily driven by the absence of a one-time $3.1 million indirect tax expense that occurred in the second quarter of 2025, caused by a change in international tax law.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Non-service pension costs were $1.5 million in the 2026 second quarter, a decrease from $2.4 million in the same period of 2025. In the second quarter of 2026, we recognized a $2.3 million impairment charge related to the carrying value of two software assets.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Additionally, as mentioned in our fourth quarter 2025 call, we finalized the sale of our Crawford Legal Services operations in the U.K. and Chile. Crawford recognized a net loss on the disposal of $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2026.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

During the second quarter of 2026, we paid a quarterly dividend of $0.075 a share. As Bruce mentioned, the board has approved an increase to the quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share, which will be payable in August.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

The company repurchased approximately 295,000 shares of CRDA and 38,000 shares of CRDB during the second quarter of 2026. Approximately 1.3 million shares remain eligible to be repurchased under our existing share repurchase program as of June 30th, 2026. Now I'll turn the call back over to Bruce.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Thanks, Holly. The second quarter of 2026 marked a nice rebound from the slow start to the year, as we achieved our highest quarterly operating earnings in nearly three years, thanks to operational execution and weather-related activity internationally, the latter of which was episodic in nature. We're making solid progress on continuing to strengthen sales effectiveness, accelerate our U.S. integration, and improve operating discipline to move our company forward.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

We look towards the remainder of the year, organic revenue growth and profitable market share gains remain our top priorities. We remain focused on increasing client centricity and continued operational execution to drive long-term growth. We remain confident in the strength of our underlying operations and the depth and experience of our leadership team, will continue working to deliver measurable long-term value to our clients, employees, and shareholders. Thank you for your time today and for your continued interest in Crawford. We look forward to keeping you apprised of our progress through the remainder of 2026. Carly, please open the call for questions.

[Operator]

At this time, if you would like to ask a question, please press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, press the pound key. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before asking your question. We'll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question is from Mark Hughes with Truist.

[Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist]

Yeah, thank you. Good morning.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Hey, good morning, Mark.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Go ahead.

[Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist]

Bruce, you talked about, in the release at least, a reduction in centralized indirect support expenses. Could you expand on that a little bit, and what will that mean on a go-forward basis for the margin?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Yeah. We have seen some reduction in our SG&A cost and in our administrative expenses this year. Always a focus of ours is on administrative cost efficiency, and we're certainly keyed in on that this year as well.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

The primary vehicle that we're looking for earnings improvement though is on profitable revenue growth. As we can hold our administrative expenses in check and even reduce them a bit, that's going to deliver the incremental margins that we need to get us to our target operating margins that we've talked about.

[Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist]

Yeah. On that topic, any carryover in the International, obviously some beneficial weather trends from a claims standpoint. What's the duration? How much visibility do you have into 3Q?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Yeah. We've benefited a bit this year from carryover of events, in Australia and Asia. We saw some benefit of that in the second quarter. Those projects are winding down, and I think that you'll see much less of an impact as we go through the third quarter and especially the fourth quarter.

[Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist]

Similar question on the expense front. The U.S. P&C margin was up year-over-year despite a decline at the top line. Is that some of the SG&A you're talking about, or is there another dynamic at play there?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

A bit of that's SG&A. Some of it's a mix in business that we've got. We have reductions in some of our staff augmentation business that was in the catastrophe services business, as that's been internalized by the carriers.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

That was lower margin work. That mix shift has helped us to increase our margins. There's also a cost focus within the business, not just within the U.S. P&C business, but you see that in Broadspire and our International Operations as well.

[Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist]

In Broadspire, you talked about the outsourced MGA benefits. Could you talk about the magnitude of that, and what sort of end markets those MGAs, for instance, are operating in?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Yeah. We see that as a tremendous market opportunity for us, and there's a lot of capital moving into the alternative space, whether that's MGAs or MGUs. There's also a lot of captive formation that's happening. When that occurs, those vehicles really aren't creating their own internal claims organization like a carrier would.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

They look for partners and turnkey claim solutions, and we're seeing a lot of opportunity there. Our pipeline has a number of material opportunities. Some of the increases in new business that we put on in the second quarter was related to that space.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

We see that as a fertile ground for us in the future for growth. Kind of the end markets we see, a lot of it's casualty and complex casualty. We also see some property out there, overall it's an area that we're investing resources in from a sales and marketing perspective to help unlock those opportunities for us.

[Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist]

The corporate expense of $4.3 million, it was obviously down year-over-year. I think some non-recurring expense in the year-ago quarter. Is $4.3 million kind of a good starting point run rate for corporate?

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

That is a good starting point run rate for corporate. We had that one-time expense in prior year that's non-recurring.

[Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist]

Okay. Very good. A final question. The networks business, you've had lower claims volume there. Is that the broader market, or are there any customer moves within networks? What's the potential for a turnaround recovery in that operation?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

It's a bit of a mix. With property claim volumes in the U.S. down pretty significantly, given the absence of major events, kind of severe convective storm activity in the second quarter notwithstanding. Over the last couple of years, there's been an absence of major events.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Property losses are down, and that drives networks revenues. Within networks, in the catastrophe business, we had some large staff augmentation programs, if you go back several years. As property losses have come down, those carriers have internalized that volume. I think if we see heightened events in the future, that's going to help unlock the potential within that business. It's largely property, and weather is going to drive property losses there.

[Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist]

Very good. Thank you.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Okay.

[Operator]

Again, if you would like to ask a question, press star one on your telephone keypad. Your next question is from Kevin Steinke with Barrington Research.

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Thank you. Good morning.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Hey, Kevin

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Wanted to just follow up on Broadspire. Can you talk about how new business is ramping there? I think you had mentioned on the last call maybe a couple were ramping up a little more slowly than originally anticipated, just maybe how contracts are ramping and what the new business pipeline looks like there.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Sure. Yeah. We're very pleased with Broadspire's performance in the second quarter. They had a nice quarter with revenues up and profits up, margins up. We saw the benefit of that ramp in the new business that they've been putting on. They've got a very active pipeline. When we think about our pipeline and opportunities out there, they tend to be overweighted to Broadspire in the TPA market.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

As I was just talking about with Mark, a material component of our pipeline is in the alternative markets within TPA, we are kind of excited at the prospects there to drive future growth. On the call that we had last quarter, we were talking about cost that we had put in early in the year in order to serve the new business that was coming on.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Those early hires and advanced hires that we made in anticipation of that business coming in and ramping, was in place and helped us to support our clients and support the revenue growth in the quarter.

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Great. Yeah, the Broadspire operating margin really picked up nicely sequentially. I guess should we just think about that as those hiring investments that you made are starting to be leveraged or kind of anything else that you'd point to?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Yeah. We've kind of talked about low to mid-teens as the operating margin for that business. We're always making advanced hires, right? We've got new business that's going to be put on in the third quarter and the fourth quarter, and we'll hire in advance of that because it's difficult just to take and to fill an experienced workers' compensation adjuster role or an experienced liability or casualty adjuster role.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

You need to bring them in in advance in order to get them ready. Depending upon where we see the new business coming online, you could see some advanced hiring that we make in consideration of that. When you look over the longer-term trend for Broadspire, we're very bullish on the business.

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Great. The $22 million of new enhanced business in the quarter, are there any particular areas where that new business came in? Is that mostly Broadspire or anything else dispersed across the segments?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Yeah. It wasn't all Broadspire. We saw some nice Broadspire programs come in. We saw some nice International programs come in and some other U.S. Property & Casualty business. It came from all of our segments.

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Okay, good. The International margin also picked up nicely. As you mentioned, there was some help from weather-related revenue there. I think you also referenced some cost-cutting initiatives. Did you feel like you have the cost base in place where you needed to be internationally? Just, again, I know you feel like International margin can continue to improve over time. There'll be some variance from quarter-to-quarter, but maybe just where you feel like that business is in terms of its overall margin progression.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Yeah, sure. We did get some benefit from carried over claims in Australia and Asia that helped us in the quarter. Their operating margin was almost 8%. That's materially higher than where they've run the past couple of years. We do expect that activity to moderate as we go through the remainder of the year, and I think you'll see their margins come down from that level.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

I think there's still work to do on our cost structure and operating efficiency within the International business. It's a collection of 28 countries, so you don't have the same scale benefits that you do in the U.S., and it makes managing that segment a bit trickier. I think there's some cost efficiencies that we can still recognize.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Some of that's going to be driven by our ongoing technology investment that we're making that should make our operations more efficient across the globe. There's also pricing and ensuring that we maintain our pricing discipline in the market and don't fall behind there.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Then profitable revenue growth, which is kind of the main driver of margin improvement that we see not only in International, but in all of our business units as well. I would say it's a combination of those things. We expect International's margins, if you look at it on a year-over-year basis, to continue to improve towards a goal of being in the 10% neighborhood going forward. That'll be a journey that takes a few years.

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Right. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. On Global Technical Services, GTS, can you maybe talk about the hiring pipeline there and your continued pursuit of building out the team there over time?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Yeah. Global Technical Services, whether it's in the U.S. or, as the name implies, globally, is a very important business for us. We see the expansion of GTS as one of our primary strategic growth drivers as we go forward. As we look at growing that business, it's through three primary ways.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

One, we want to have organic revenue growth. We do good business for our clients. We get new and enhanced business from them, and we grow through that means organically. We're also very active in recruiting talent into that business across the globe, and we've been successful in bringing in new talent. We call that acqui-hire, where we bring in kind of the best talent in the industry to come work under the Crawford umbrella.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

People do that, teams do that because they see us as a company that is committed to the platform, that is investing actively in the platform, and has long-term ambition for growth and being the market leader in that business.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

That's our ultimate objective. We want to be the market leader globally in GTS. Then we'll also look at tuck-in acquisitions. There could be a lot of boutiques out there and small firms that if we can't arrange an acqui-hire type of an arrangement, we'll look at acquisitions as well. Those are really the three primary growth drivers that we see for GTS. You'll see GTS not only in the U.S., obviously, but in International as well.

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Yeah. That's helpful. Thank you. You referenced the mixed claims environment and a lot of that driven by the lack of severe weather. Any updated thoughts on some of the insurance affordability pressures you've mentioned in the past? Do you continue to see signs that maybe is continuing to loosen up a bit? Or any other thoughts on the industry direction there?

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Everything that I'm seeing is property market's pretty soft at this point. Premiums are coming down and some of the terms of coverage are loosening. Yeah, you're starting to feel a little bit of softness in casualty as well on some of the liability books.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Some are still pretty firm, things like commercial vehicles and commercial auto that has a pretty heavy litigation risk and history with it. But, generally, the market is much softer now than it was a year ago, for sure.

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Okay, great. Then lastly, you exited, I think, the remainder of your Legal Services businesses Internationally. I think in the past, you talked about annual revenue of about $16 million from the businesses you had exited in Legal Services. Do you have an updated number there? I just want to make sure I've got the detail correct in terms of the revenue that you've exited in total from Legal Services on an annual basis.

[Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Last year, that number was about $18.8 million of revenue. Like you said, we exited both the U.K. and Chile during the quarter and took a loss of $1.3 million on that. We do anticipate that when we fully shut down that U.K. entity, because we sold the assets of it, that we would have an additional $1.3 million of expense when we close that entity. It's $18.8 million of revenues for the prior year.

[Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research]

Okay. Thanks. That's helpful. I appreciate you answering the questions. I'll turn it back over.

[Operator]

At this time, there are no further questions. I'll now turn the call back over to Mr. Swain for any closing remarks.

[Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY]

Thank you, Carly, and thank you to all of our employees, clients, and shareholders for your continued commitment to Crawford & Company. I hope you all have a great rest of the week. Thank you.

[Operator]

Thank you for participating in today's Crawford & Company conference call.

Participants

Executives

• Tami Stevenson, General Counsel

Analysts

• Bruce Swain, CEO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY
• Holly Boudreau, CFO at CRAWFORD & COMPANY
• Mark Hughes, Analyst at Truist
• Kevin Steinke, Analyst at Barrington Research