Axis Capital Holdings Limited

Good day, and welcome to the second quarter 2020 Access Capital Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on a touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would like to turn our conference call over to Mr. Matt Rohrman, Investor Relations. Mr. Rohrman, the floor is yours, sir.

Thank you, Mike. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm happy to welcome you to our conference call to discuss the financial results for Axis Capital for the second quarter period ended June 30, 2020. Our earnings press release, financial supplement, and 10-Q were issued yesterday evening after the market closed. If you'd like copies, please visit the investor information section of our website at accesscapital.com. We set aside an hour for today's call, which is also available as an audio webcast. This is also available through the investor information section of our website. With me today are Albert Benchimol, our president and CEO, and Pete Vogt, our CFO. Before I turn the call over to Albert, I'll remind everyone that the statements made today during this call, including the question and answer session, which are not historical facts, may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including the risk factors set forth in the company's most recent report on Form 10-K and other reports the company files to the SEC. This includes the company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, as well as additional risks identified in the cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements and our earnings press release. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements. In addition, this presentation may contain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations are included in our earnings press release and financial supplement. With that, I'll turn the call over to Albert.

Thank you, Matt, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our second quarter earnings call. I'm pleased to report the positive momentum that we've seen in our underlying performance over the past few quarters continued into this most recent period. We're highly encouraged by the sustained progress, which follows several years of rigorous efforts to enhance our market positioning, reshape our portfolio, reduce volatility, and increase our operating efficiency with investments in technology and a company-wide focus on expense discipline. As we noted in the press release, we saw meaningful improvements in our underwriting results in the quarter. Underwriting income increased year over year, notwithstanding higher CATs and lower prior-year development. Our reported current accident-year combined ratio, excluding catastrophes and weather-related losses, of 91.4 is a nearly five-point improvement in core performance compared to the prior-year quarter. This includes a 1.7-point decrease in our current-year ex-CAT loss ratio, more than a one-point improvement in our acquisition costs, and a two-point reduction in our G&A ratio. And for the six-month period, our reported current year XCAT combined ratio of 92.3 reflects core performance that was more than 4.5 points better than the prior year. While the combined ratios I've noted are GAAP-reported figures, the year-over-year improvements in core performance are based on XGAAP figures, which I believe provide an apples-to-apples reflection of our progress on acquisition expense. We haven't reported quarterly or half-year ex-cat accident year combined ratios this low since 2013. This is tangible evidence that the work that our team has done over the past few years to strengthen our portfolio is bearing fruit. The improvements in our loss ratio is due to a combination of enhancements to our portfolio, change in mix and runoff of discontinued books of business, as well as the increase rates that we're earning. And even as we're delivering good growth and attractive lines, we're focused on limiting volatility and controlling expenses. While it may have taken longer than we wanted, we're convinced that this new level of profitability is not only sustainable, but one upon which we can continue to improve beyond simply the impact of rate. Stepping back, and as I've said this in past calls, we believe that our hardest work is behind us and that Axis is poised to capitalize on the best market conditions that the reinsurance industry has seen in more than a decade. We have the most balanced book in the history of our company, and given our leadership in our chosen markets and our very strong relationships with our producers, Axis is exceedingly well positioned to reap the benefits of the favorable market environment. We've worked very hard to get to this point, and with firming conditions and pricing momentum across virtually every line of business that we write, we have the win at our backs. Before passing the call to Pete, I'd like to mention a few words on the impact of COVID-19 on our company. You'll recall that Access was among the first to provide a more transparent and granular estimate of COVID losses. We conducted in-depth reviews of our policies and programs and found no reason to wait in sharing our conclusions with you. We took a charge of $235 million in the first quarter. So far, we've seen no surprises, and this estimate continues to hold. Pete will speak more on this during his financial update. While there was no impact of COVID on second quarter underwriting results, it did affect our investment income due to the one quarter lag in reporting performance of some alternative investments. Nevertheless, our high quality portfolio experienced a meaningful recovery in the quarter, contributing to our strong 11% growth in book value to $55.09 per share. Finally, I'd like to add that despite the unprecedented upheaval sparked by COVID-19, as well as societal challenges, including increased racial tensions in the U.S. and throughout the world, our teams have come together more than ever. We've been seeing the best of Access. I'm proud of our team and deeply appreciative of their tireless work, the way that they're working today to strengthen our business, support our clients and partners in distributions, promote a collaborative and inclusive culture within Access, and help make a positive impact in our local communities. In summary, this was a solid quarter for Axis where we continue to see meaningful improvements in our performance. We feel good about where our business is today and even better about where we're headed. Peter will now walk us through the financials, and I'll come back to talk more about pricing and have our Q&A. Pete?