Slide Insurance Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Strong Q2 performance: Net income rose 92.4% year over year to $134.9 million, while gross written premiums increased 16.7% to $508 million. The combined ratio improved 990 basis points to 57.5%, supported by lower catastrophe losses and improved loss experience.
• Reinsurance and geographic expansion: Slide expanded its 2026 catastrophe reinsurance capacity by more than $2 billion, including a first-event return period of approximately 180 years. The company is also expanding beyond Florida, with California operations underway and approvals secured for Rhode Island and New Jersey.
• Capital returns and outlook maintained: Slide repurchased about 3 million shares, approved its first quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, and reaffirmed 2026 guidance for $1.85 billion–$1.95 billion in gross written premiums and $455 million–$470 million in net income.

Slide Insurance NASDAQ: SLDE reported second-quarter net income of $134.9 million, up 92.4% from $70.1 million a year earlier, as gross written premiums increased and the company’s combined ratio improved.

Diluted earnings per share were $1.06 for the quarter. Gross written premiums rose 16.7% year over year to $508 million, driven by voluntary new-business growth and renewals of policies previously acquired from Citizens. Total revenue increased 47.9% to $386.8 million, while net premiums earned also climbed 47.9% to $360.6 million.

“We once again executed at a high level this quarter,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Lucas said, citing the company’s coastal specialty model, underwriting discipline and lower catastrophe losses.

Profitability and expense trends

Slide’s combined ratio improved 990 basis points from the prior-year period to 57.5%. The current accident-year loss ratio declined to 30.2% from 37.2%, which Chief Financial Officer Andy Omiridis said primarily reflected improved overall loss experience.

Net losses and loss adjustment expenses totaled $108.7 million, compared with $91.4 million in the second quarter of 2025. The company recorded $8.8 million of convective storm losses during the quarter, representing 2.4 points of its loss ratio, according to management. Lucas said Slide recorded no prior-year development through the first six months of 2026.

Policy acquisition and other underwriting expenses increased to $42.3 million from $32.1 million, reflecting premium growth and higher policy acquisition costs. General and administrative expenses rose to $55 million from $37.9 million, primarily due to higher staffing levels supporting expansion.

Despite those increases, Slide’s overall expense ratio fell to 27.4% from 30% a year earlier. Omiridis attributed the improvement to operating leverage as the company scales. During the question-and-answer session, he said the company expects its expense ratio to be near 28% and models it in a range of 28% to 30%.

For the first six months of 2026, Slide reported a 56.5% combined ratio and a 23.8% return on equity, which Lucas said equates to a 45% annualized return on equity.

Reinsurance program expands

During the quarter, Slide completed its 2026 catastrophe reinsurance program. Lucas said the company achieved a double-digit year-over-year decline in risk-adjusted reinsurance rates while increasing its first-event reinsurance tower by $1.4 billion from 2025 and expanding total capacity by more than $2 billion.

The company purchased coverage to a return period above the 130-year level commonly used in Florida, Lucas said, adding that Slide’s first-event return period was about 180 years. He said the larger program is intended to protect the balance sheet and policyholders from shock losses during the Atlantic hurricane season.

Lucas said it was difficult to provide a direct comparison of total reinsurance costs with the prior year because Slide’s exposure has grown substantially. He also noted that the company manages its growth relative to the exposure projections given to reinsurers. Writing more business than projected could lead to a reinsurance true-up payment, which he said would be more expensive than purchasing coverage upfront.

Expansion beyond Florida

Slide launched a residential property excess and surplus lines program in California in May. Lucas said the company has taken a measured approach to underwriting in the state, beginning with a limited group of agents, and expects growth to accelerate later in the year as it adds producers.

The company also received regulatory approval to enter Rhode Island and New Jersey, which Lucas described as Slide’s fourth and fifth states of operation. During the call, he said New York was expected to launch during the current quarter.

California had generated “a couple of million” dollars in premium as of the call, Lucas said. However, Florida is expected to account for the vast majority of in-force premium through year-end because of the size of the company’s existing portfolio. He said the geographic mix is expected to change more materially in 2027.

Management said it continues to see lower loss costs in Florida following state legal reforms. Lucas said Slide first saw the effects of the changes in early 2023 after acquiring a large group of policies from the insolvent UPC Insurance that were issued with policy language reflecting the reforms. He said Florida’s litigation environment has improved, while noting that plaintiff attorneys continue to file lawsuits.

Capital returns and outlook

Slide repurchased approximately 3 million common shares during the second quarter at a weighted average price of $17.95 per share. The company had $114.1 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization as of June 30.

The board also approved Slide’s first quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per share. Lucas said the dividend and repurchase program reflect the company’s free-cash-flow generation and capital position while allowing it to continue funding growth investments.

As of June 30, Slide held $1.24 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $839.1 million in total invested assets, primarily fixed-maturity securities available for sale.

The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, forecasting gross written premiums of $1.85 billion to $1.95 billion and net income of $455 million to $470 million. Omiridis said anticipated premium growth is expected to come primarily from organic expansion outside Florida, supplemented by selective Florida opportunities that meet the company’s return targets.

Lucas said the company believes it could exceed elements of its outlook but is maintaining a conservative guidance posture, particularly given exposure management considerations associated with its reinsurance program.

About Slide Insurance (NASDAQ:SLDE)

Launched in 2021, we are a technology enabled, fast-growing, coastal specialty insurer. We focus on profitable underwriting of single family and condominium policies in the property and casualty (“P&C”) industry in coastal states along the Atlantic seaboard through our insurance subsidiary, Slide Insurance Company (“SIC”). We utilize our differentiated technology and data-driven approach to focus on market opportunities that are underserved by other insurance companies. We acquire policies both from inorganic block acquisitions and subsequent renewals, as well as new business sales through a combination of independent agents and our direct-to-consumer(“DTC”) channel, through which we sell our insurance products directly to end consumers, without the use of retailers, brokers, agents or other intermediaries.

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