SiriusPoint NYSE: SPNT reported a strong start to 2026, with management pointing to improved underwriting profitability, lower catastrophe volatility and continued capital returns during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
Chief Executive Officer Scott Egan said the company delivered a core combined ratio of 88.9%, which he described as the lowest level reported in six quarters. SiriusPoint generated $71 million of underwriting income, marking its 14th consecutive quarter of underwriting profitability. Operating return on equity was 15.3%, at the top end of the company’s 12% to 15% through-the-cycle target range, while GAAP return on equity was 17.4%, reflecting the closure of the Arcadian sale announced last year.
“We’ve started the year with a strong first quarter, continuing to build on our performance momentum,” Egan said. “We have delivered strong underwriting profits, disciplined growth, and attractive capital returns.”
Premium Growth Led by Insurance and Services
SiriusPoint reported gross written premium of $1 billion, up 1% year over year. Chief Financial Officer Jim McKinney said net written premium declined 7%, driven by a pre-announced aggregate cover and a one-time surety item in the prior year. Net earned premium increased 2%, as growth in insurance and services more than offset a deliberate pullback in reinsurance.
Egan said insurance and services gross written premium increased 8%, supported by specialty lines and a 9% increase in accident and health. Reinsurance gross written premium declined 10%, reflecting the company’s discipline in areas such as property catastrophe, where Egan said some risks did not offer adequate returns.
Management said first-quarter premium comparisons were affected by one-time items, including prior-year reinstatement premiums and a surety item. Adjusting for those effects, Egan said both gross and net written premiums grew about 4% year over year.
For the full year, SiriusPoint expects overall gross written premium growth of 5% to 10%, with stronger growth in insurance and services. Egan said growth is expected to be more weighted toward the second half of the year as the business mix continues to shift from reinsurance toward insurance.
Underwriting Results Improve as Catastrophe Exposure Falls
McKinney said SiriusPoint’s core combined ratio improved 6.5 points to 88.9%, driven primarily by lower catastrophe activity and continued improvement in attritional loss performance, despite a 1.2-point mix headwind. Operating net income was $86 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, up 37% from the prior year.
In reinsurance, the combined ratio improved to 84.2%, helped by lower catastrophe losses. In insurance and services, the combined ratio improved to 92%, while the ex-catastrophe combined ratio improved by just over half a point, according to Egan.
McKinney said catastrophe losses were $63 million lower than a year earlier and represented 0.8 points on the combined ratio, compared with 10.9 points in the first quarter of last year. Property catastrophe reinsurance now represents about 4% of the portfolio, and gross written premium in that line declined 31% amid lower reinstatement premiums and a deliberate pullback.
Management also highlighted favorable reserve development. SiriusPoint reported $32 million of favorable prior-year development within core results and $18 million on a consolidated basis, marking 20 consecutive quarters of favorable development.
Capital Returns Expanded After Ratings Upgrades
SiriusPoint said its balance sheet remains a strength. Egan said the company’s BSCR ratio was 242% in the first quarter, even after redeeming $200 million of preference shares. The company has also bought back more than $40 million of common shares in 2026.
Management announced that SiriusPoint is increasing its common share buyback intention from the previously announced $100 million to the full remaining amount under its existing authorization, or $174 million. Egan later said that, as of the call, about $135 million remained available under that authorization.
Book value per diluted share excluding accumulated other comprehensive income increased 5% sequentially to $18.98. McKinney said liquidity increased to more than $1 billion, supported by upstream dividends and holding company investments. Debt-to-capital declined to 22.8%, which he said was the lowest level in several years.
Egan also noted that S&P, AM Best and Fitch upgraded SiriusPoint’s financial strength ratings to A over the past three months, citing consistent earnings and balance sheet strength.
Management Defends Specialty and MGA Strategy
During the question-and-answer portion, analysts pressed management on growth in general liability and the company’s reliance on managing general agents. Egan said SiriusPoint remains alert to intensifying competition in general liability, especially as the excess and surplus market expands, but said the company is not pursuing broad, undifferentiated growth.
“There’s no such thing as big banner general headlines,” Egan said. “There are areas, pockets, and one of the advantages of the MGA distribution strategy is we believe we get access to niche business, niche markets.”
McKinney added that SiriusPoint is focused on specialty risks and works with partners that have expertise in specific areas, rather than pursuing commoditized products. Egan said the company evaluates many potential MGA partners but selects fewer than 10%, with onboarding typically taking six to nine months. He said there are no volume incentives in the company’s MGA relationships, and almost 90% of partners have incentives linked to underwriting profits.
Asked about higher acquisition costs in insurance and services, Egan said stronger partner performance and favorable prior-year development can lead to higher profit commission accruals for MGA partners. He emphasized that these are mostly accruals rather than cash payments and said many agreements include carry-forward features allowing profits and losses to offset across accident years.
Market Conditions Remain Mixed Across Specialty Lines
Management described market conditions as varied across business lines. McKinney said accident and health remains SiriusPoint’s largest line at about 28% of premium mix and continues to perform well, with growth in travel and U.S. medical. He said employer stop-loss has been challenged for several years, but the market is showing early signs of hardening.
General liability conditions were described as mixed, with competition increasing and some selective softening in terms and conditions. Financial and professional lines remain competitive, particularly directors and officers and professional lines, while auto remains challenged by loss cost inflation running ahead of rate.
In smaller specialty lines, Egan said aviation pricing improved during fourth-quarter renewals, though he said the market still needs more rate. Marine and energy conditions are mixed, with marine softening quickly, particularly in the London market. McKinney said credit remains well-priced, including areas such as trade credit, political risk and international mortgage.
Management also discussed the company’s London Market Specialty division, with Egan describing it as part of a strategic journey rather than a new business. He said SiriusPoint had completed remediation work in its Lloyd’s syndicate and managing agent operations and had moved from fourth-quartile to second-quartile syndicate performance over three years.
“We are feeling in a very good position for the rest of the year,” Egan said in closing remarks, citing continued momentum across the business.
About SiriusPoint NYSE: SPNT
SiriusPoint Ltd. is a global insurance and reinsurance company headquartered in Bermuda, offering a broad range of property and casualty solutions to clients around the world. The company operates through two core segments: reinsurance, which provides treaty and facultative coverage across property, casualty and specialty lines; and insurance, which underwrites specialty programs, fronting arrangements and other tailored products for commercial and niche markets. This integrated model allows SiriusPoint to leverage shared underwriting expertise and capital efficiency across its product suite.
On the reinsurance side, SiriusPoint’s offerings include coverage for natural catastrophes, casualty losses, political risk and other complex exposures, with both proportional and non-proportional treaty structures.
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