Erie Indemnity Company

Good morning, and welcome to the Area Indemnity Company Third Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. This call was prerecorded, and there will be no question and answer session following the recording. Now, I'd like to introduce your host for the call, Vice President of Investor Relations, Scott Byhars.

Thank you, and welcome, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for this recorded discussion about our 2021 Third Quarter results. This recording will include remarks from Tim DeCastro, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Greg Gutting, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Our earnings release and financial supplement were issued yesterday afternoon after the market closed and are available within the investor relations section of our website, yourinsurance.com. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that today's discussion may contain forward-looking remarks that reflect the company's current views about future events. These remarks are based on assumptions subject to known and unexpected risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties may cause results to differ materially from those described in these remarks. For information on important factors that may cause such differences, please see the Safe Harbor Statements in our Form 10-Q filing with the SEC, dated October 28, 2021, and in the related press release. This prerecorded call is the property of Erie Indemnity Company. It may not be reproduced or rebroadcast by any other party without the prior written consent of Erie Indemnity Company. With that, we move on to Tim's remarks.

Tim? Thanks, Scott, and thanks to all of you for taking time to learn more about Erie's performance in the third quarter of 2021. In our last call, I discussed our plans to begin returning significant numbers of employees to our offices in September. However, as the Delta variant spread, presenting new challenges and uncertainties, we made the decision to pause those plans until January of 2022. Returning more employees back to our offices is important to our close-knit, relationship-based culture, and we're eager to do so. But ensuring the health and safety of our employees and communities while maintaining business continuity remains the top priority. One decision we did move ahead on was the historic and long-anticipated dedication of Erie's new seven-story office tower The Thomas B. Hagan Building, appropriately named for our esteemed chairman of the board, is an impressive addition to our home office campus and to the City of Erie. This occasion was delayed by 17 months due to the pandemic. However, the dedication date of September 15th was significant. It was the 68th anniversary of the day Tom Hagan joined Erie Insurance as a part-time file clerk while attending college. Tom, of course, is one of my predecessors in the CEO office and since 2007, he has served as the chairman of Erie Indemnity. Tom's influence and contributions as an Erie CEO, a businessman, philanthropist, preservationist, and historian are evident across the city, and his wisdom and leadership have helped Erie Insurance grow into the thriving company it is today. The Hagen Building is a monumental symbol of that continued growth and success, and of our hope for the future. When the building was designed, It was targeted to provide relief to expanding employee ranks, supporting our robust business growth. In the workplace reset underway, the building provides us ample space and an inspiring environment for new, safe ways to come together. We're targeting January to start the return of our workforce to on-site locations. That return is marked by greater flexibility and empowerment in deference to our relationship culture and the changing nature of work. Now let's turn to our third quarter financial results. As you saw in our press release filed after the market closed yesterday, Erie Indemnity reported a net income of $90 million or $1.72 per diluted share for the third quarter. This is compared to a net income of $89 million or $1.71 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2020. I'd now like to invite Greg Gutting to share a deeper review of the financials. Greg?