International General Insurance Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Strong Q1 underwriting results: Underwriting income rose 35.1% to $37.7 million with a combined ratio of 89.1% (5.3 points improvement year‑over‑year), despite about $15 million of net losses tied to the Middle East conflict and a 4.5% decline in gross written premiums from cycle management and non‑renewals.
• Segment dynamics and market opportunity: The Long‑tail business was a bright spot (top line up 22% and underwriting income up roughly $25 million), while Reinsurance is increasingly competitive; IGI sees large rate increases and constrained capacity in political violence/war markets, creating selective growth opportunities.
• Capital strength and shareholder returns: Total assets were $2.1 billion with $1.3 billion in investments and cash (fixed‑income yield ~4.3%), and management returned nearly $65 million to shareholders in the quarter via $51.5 million of dividends (including a $1.15 special) and share repurchases.

International General Insurance NASDAQ: IGIC executives highlighted what they described as a strong start to 2026, pointing to improved underwriting profitability despite heightened global uncertainty and losses tied to the ongoing Middle East conflict.

“As you saw from our Q1 financial results that we issued last night, we are off to a strong start in 2026,” Executive Chairman Wasef Jabsheh said, adding that the quarter’s performance underscored “the value of consistency and discipline in executing our strategy.” He noted the war’s broader economic and insurance-market implications, saying the company was already hearing insured market loss estimates “out upwards of the $3 billion mark.”

Quarterly performance and key metrics

President and CEO Waleed Jabsheh said first-quarter results demonstrated “resilience and also stability” amid “increasing competitive pressures and heightened global uncertainty.” Gross written premiums were $197.2 million, a 4.5% decline from the prior-year quarter, which management attributed to “cycle management actions” and the non-renewal of two reinsurance programs—one by IGI’s decision and one after the cedent opted to retain the risk.

Underwriting income increased 35.1% year-over-year to $37.7 million, producing a combined ratio of 89.1%, which management said was 5.3 points better than the first quarter of 2025 and “in line with our long-term averages.” Waleed Jabsheh said the combined ratio included approximately $15 million of net losses related to the Middle East conflict.

Other reported highlights included:

• Return on average equity: 12.7%; core ROE: 14.3%
• Book value per share: $16.60, down slightly from year-end 2025, which management said reflected significant capital returns
• Core operating income: $24.4 million, or $0.56 per share, compared with $19.5 million, or $0.42 per share, a year earlier
• Net premiums earned: $111.2 million, “relatively flat” year-over-year

Waleed Jabsheh also detailed combined ratio components, including 19.2 points of catastrophe losses “primarily related to the Middle East war losses,” and 29 points of favorable prior-year reserve development. By comparison, the first quarter of 2025 combined ratio of 94.4% included 25 points of accident-year catastrophe losses and just under 23 points of favorable reserve development.

Segment results: long-tail gains offset mixed short-tail and competitive reinsurance

Management described conditions as “quite mixed” in the Short-tail segment. While the segment’s top line was down about 4%, Waleed Jabsheh said underwriting income remained “in very positive territory” at $9.5 million, despite war-related losses and an energy loss in the Persian Gulf. The $15 million in war-related losses was “mainly recorded in the political violence line,” alongside the energy loss, he said.

In the Reinsurance segment, Waleed Jabsheh said conditions were becoming more competitive. Underwriting income rose just under 6% on lower gross written premiums and net earned premiums, reflecting the two non-renewed programs. He said the company was starting to see “decent opportunities in the specialty treaty lines.”

The Long-tail segment was described as a “bright spot.” The company posted a 22% increase in top line, driven by new business, “most notably within the professional indemnity and marine liability lines.” Waleed Jabsheh said the company had previously non-renewed certain business in long-tail lines with the expectation of improving profitability, and that underwriting income was up “significantly by about $25 million” on slightly higher net earned premiums.

Balance sheet, investments, and shareholder returns

Total assets were $2.1 billion, with total investments and cash of $1.3 billion. The fixed income allocation generated “just over $14 million” of investment income in the quarter, which Waleed Jabsheh said represented a 4.3% yield. Average duration declined slightly to 3.5 years.

IGI repurchased a little over 545,000 common shares in the quarter at an average price of $24.11. As of quarter-end, the company had about 4.1 million shares remaining under its 5 million-share repurchase authorization, according to management.

Total equity was $653.6 million at quarter-end, compared with “just over $710 million” at the end of 2025. Waleed Jabsheh said the change reflected nearly $65 million of capital returned to shareholders, including $51.5 million in dividends—incorporating a $1.15 special dividend paid in April—and just over $13 million in share repurchases.

Middle East conflict losses and underwriting implications

Management said first-quarter losses tied to the conflict were primarily in political violence coverage and were “predominantly in the UAE and Bahrain relating to physical damage,” along with an upstream energy loss from damage to an oil facility in the Persian Gulf.

During Q&A, Waleed Jabsheh provided additional detail on the non-cat energy loss, saying it stemmed indirectly from the conflict when “a large support vessel in the energy industry collided into an offshore oil platform.” He said safety measures were reduced amid the conflict, including “GPS was turned off, lights were turned off,” and the vessel “ended up colliding with an offshore platform.” The loss was “about $10.5 million dollars net to us in the quarter,” he said.

Asked about the durability of the opportunity in political violence and war markets, Waleed Jabsheh pointed to the scale of industry losses relative to premium. He cited estimates that losses could exceed $3 billion and possibly approach $4 billion, while saying the global political violence market premium is “estimated to be around $1.5 billion.” He added that IGI was seeing “huge, huge multiples in rate increases,” including “in some cases over…in the thousands of percent,” while noting that limits were shrinking and capacity was “much less ample.”

Pricing and outlook themes: discipline amid competitive pressure

Waleed Jabsheh said competitive pressure remained elevated across multiple lines, describing conditions in parts of the energy and property markets as “quite irrational in some cases.” At the same time, he cited healthier conditions and “excellent deal flow” in specialist lines such as Construction & Engineering, and described contingency as “a bright spot” that “continues to grow for us.”

In marine liability, Waleed Jabsheh referenced the 2024 Baltimore bridge collapse and noted media reports estimating losses “as high, if not excess, $2.8 billion,” calling it “the single largest loss in the history of the marine market.” He emphasized that IGI does not expect “any material change” in its previously recorded loss estimates related to that event, but said the loss was “upending marine markets globally,” creating an opportunity to benefit from improved pricing and demand for capital.

On reserve development, Waleed Jabsheh said favorable prior-year performance “continued to perform ahead of expectation,” and releases were “pretty much…across the board” rather than concentrated in a specific segment. He said the company expects the pattern to continue, while also indicating IGI would become more cautious in reserving assumptions as competitive pressures persist.

Looking into the second quarter, Waleed Jabsheh said March was “definitely the busiest month” for conflict-related activity and anticipated continued loss development, though he expected it to be “more limited than it was in Q1.” He also noted that political violence coverages are typically written on an aggregate basis, meaning once policy limits are exhausted by an event, “you’re not exposed to it anymore.”

Closing the call, Waleed Jabsheh reiterated management’s focus on underwriting discipline: “We won’t, under any circumstances, sacrifice the bottom line to benefit the top line.”

About International General Insurance NASDAQ: IGIC

International General Insurance NASDAQ: IGIC is a global specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on underwriting a diverse portfolio of property and casualty risks. Headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda, the company provides tailored risk solutions across a broad range of industry sectors. IGIC operates within the excess and surplus lines market, leveraging specialized expertise to cover complex and hard-to-place risks that fall outside the scope of standard commercial insurance.

Founded in 1988, IGIC has grown its product offering to include marine, energy, aviation, construction, professional liability and credit & surety lines.

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