Axis Capital Holdings Limited

Our Mesa Conference Operator, the Access Capital Earnings Call will begin momentarily. We thank you for your patience. Thank you. Good day and welcome to the first quarter 2022 Axis Capital Earnings Call. 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. Please note this event is being recorded. And I'd like to turn the conference over to Matt Rohrman, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Jason. 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 first quarter ended March 31st, 2022. Earnings press release and financial supplement were issued last night after the market closed. If you'd like copies, please visit the investor information section of our website at accesscapital.com. We've set aside an hour for today's call, which is also available as an audio webcast on our website. With me today are Albert Benchmal, our president and CEO, and Pete Vogt, our CFO. Before I turn the call over to Albert, I will remind everyone that the statements made 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 filed with the SEC. This includes additional risks identified in the cautionary notes regarding forward-looking statements in our earnings press release issued last night. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. In addition, this presentation may contain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations are included in our earnings press release and financial supplements. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Albert.

Thank you, Matt. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining today's call. Before starting our quarterly update, I'd like to express that at Axis, we're dismayed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and our hearts and minds are with the people and families whose lives have been affected by the war. In all instances where it's possible, we've stopped writing business in Russia and the impacted regions, and through our philanthropic programs, We're supporting the relief efforts to address the humanitarian crisis that's happening on the ground in Ukraine. I'll now begin our traditional quarterly update. Axis started 2022 with another strong earnings report, the latest in a succession of positive quarters. In fact, we've seen our operating income more than double as compared to the prior year quarter. Even with some headwinds driven by business mix, as we continue to reduce our exposure to volatile, cat-exposed lines, we've delivered improvement across every key metric on our operating ratios and income statement. During the first quarter of 2022, we continued to expand our footprint in some of the most attractive specialty P&C markets, strengthen the overall quality of our book, and materially lower our net CAD exposures, all the while delivering great service to our customers and distributors. Our first quarter performance was highlighted by record premiums written and earned a combined ratio of 91.4, a materially lower market share of global NASCATs, and an operating ROE of 15%. Substantially, every line across our company achieved improved core underwriting results. A handful of lines were impacted by the war in Ukraine, but we're confident our exposures there are well-contained and manageable, given what we know today. Our insurance segment delivered its fifth consecutive quarter of 20% growth, setting production records for growth and net premiums written and net premiums earned. Our progress is underpinned by our focus on those lines and markets where we have strong competitive positioning, enhancing the value proposition that we offer to our customers, all while leveraging the deep expertise and relationships that we have in the ENS specialty and wholesale channels, as well as our strategic retail partners. This, coupled with favorable market conditions, has contributed to increased new business opportunities, rate increases on renewal, and continued strong retentions. At the same time, we've continued to drive meaningful improvement in underwriting performance. Our insurance combined ratio of 87.5 is down over six points from the prior year period, with almost two points of reduction in the core XCAT loss ratio and almost four points of reduction in the NATCAT loss ratio. The momentum underway gives me even greater confidence that we're on pace to become a top performer in the specialty insurance space. I feel very good about the progress we're making in the reinsurance side as well. We continue to proactively build the best portfolio for enhanced profitability and lower volatility. Our reinsurance segment's lower premiums written were purely on the back of a planned 45% reduction in CAT reinsurance that only serves to increase the quality and sustainability of that book. We're also making great progress in the profitability of our reinsurance business with a combined ratio of 92.5. While the ex-CAT loss ratio is up over the prior year, this is entirely due to targeted mix shift. Excluding CAT, excluding CAT lines, the core ex-CAT loss ratio for all other lines other than CAT improved by over two points in the quarter. Stepping back, the actions that we're taking across both insurance and reinsurance are delivering strong results. Finally, I would like to take a moment to recognize and extend my appreciation to Access Insurance Chief Executive Officer Pete Wilson, who will transition out of the CEO role on the first of June and be succeeded by Vince Tizio. Under Peter's leadership, we've driven significant transformation that strengthened our insurance business and we're grateful for all of his contributions to Axis. Thank you, Pete. Vince is becoming our new CEO at a great time. The business is delivering strong results and has got terrific momentum. While 2022 is off to a tremendous start, we also know that we can build further on the progress achieved. We're excited by the opportunities available in pursuing new avenues for profitable growth and in further enhancing our efficiency all as we continue to sustain lower cap volatility. We're committed to taking the business to the next level, and there's a palpable sense of excitement across the organization. And with that, I'll now pass the floor to Pete, who will walk us through the first quarter financials, and then we'll come back and discuss market trends, and we'll have our Q&A.