CNO Financial Group, Inc.

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the CNO Financial Group Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Adam Auvil. Please go ahead.

Good morning and thank you for joining us on CNO Financial Group's third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Today's presentation will include remarks from Gary Bhojwani, Chief Executive Officer, and Paul McDonough, Chief Financial Officer. Following the presentation, we will also have other business leaders available for the question and answer period. During this conference call, we will be referring to information contained in yesterday's press release. You can obtain the release by visiting our website at cnoinc.com. This morning's presentation is also available in the Investors section of our website and was filed in a Form 8K yesterday. Let me remind you that any forward-looking statements we make today are subject to a number of factors which may cause actual results to be materially different than those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Today's presentation contains a number of non-GAP measures, which should not be considered as substitutes for the most directly comparable GAP measures. You'll find a reconciliation of the non-GAP measures to the corresponding GAP measures in the appendix. Throughout the presentation, we'll be making performance comparisons, and unless otherwise specified, any comparisons made will refer to changes between the third quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2025. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Gary.

Thanks, Adam. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. C&O delivered an excellent quarter, demonstrating the strength of our diversified business model and our ability to generate consistent, repeatable results. Operating earnings per diluted share were up 47% in the third quarter and up 43% year to date. We delivered our 17th consecutive quarter of sales growth, and our 15th consecutive quarter of producing agent count growth. As a result, we are raising our full year operating earnings per share guidance and either improving or maintaining most other 2026 guidance. We remain focused on growing sales and earnings, improving profitability and reinvesting in the business. We were also pleased to execute our third reinsurance transaction with our Bermuda affiliate. Paul will provide further details later in his prepared remarks. Our business model continues to perform well. Sales results in the quarter were solid across both divisions. Producing agent count grew 4%. Our career field agents delivered across every major product line while momentum remains strong in our asset accumulation products. Our exclusive middle market focus and our last mile captive agent distribution model are the foundation of our durable competitive moat. This difficult-to-replicate model remains a key competitive advantage that drives consistent sales performance and profitable growth. Earnings benefited from strong insurance product margin and investment results, reflecting growth in the business and expansion of the portfolio book yield. Investment results were very strong in the quarter. New money rates have exceeded 6% for 15 consecutive quarters while maintaining a high quality portfolio. We maintained a robust capital position while returning $77 million to shareholders. Book value per diluted share excluding AOCI was $41.29 up 8%. Turning to slide five in our growth scorecard. Nearly all of our growth scorecard metrics were up for the quarter with strong performance across production, distribution, and investments in capital. Turning to slide six in our consumer division, we delivered our 16th consecutive quarter of sustained sales growth with continued strength in health, annuities, and brokerage and advisory. Strong agent productivity and retention fueled our sales momentum. Producing agent count was up 4%, our 15th consecutive quarter of growth. Total life and health NAP was down year over year against a strong prior year comparison. NAP generated by our career field agents was up 13% in the quarter. This channel is core to our business and a key driver of our success, reflecting the strength of our local agent distribution model and the value of the relationships we build with customers. Total Health NAP was up 7%, marking 17 consecutive quarters of growth. Our Medicare business continued to perform well. Medicare Supplement NAP increased 41% in the quarter and has grown more than 60% over the last 12 months. The results reflect the ongoing shift in consumer preferences from Medicare Advantage to Medicare Supplement. The broader Medicare Advantage market continues to experience significant disruption during this year's Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. More than 3 million Medicare Advantage members will need to choose new coverage for 2027 as many leading carriers continue to exit plans, pare back benefits, and or reduce service areas. This environment reinforces the value of offering Both Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage through our local agents who can help customers navigate these changes. Medicare remains a flagship door-opening product for C&O, supporting our ability to expand the total number of households we serve over time. Total Medicare policies sold, including Medicare Advantage, were up 20%. LifeNap was down 9% for the quarter against a strong prior year comparison that included $13 million of NAP from a third-party pilot program that we discontinued earlier this year. Excluding that production, LifeNap increased 20% and direct to consumer NAP was up 29%. In our D2C channel, we continue to take a measured approach to managing our business. We invest where we see productive opportunities to optimize performance while selectively experimenting with third-party partners that complement our existing capabilities and allow us to test new opportunities with limited upfront investment. This strategy will create quarterly variability, but we remain comfortable with the business and its long-term performance. This quarter, non-television marketing channels including web, Digital and third-party partners generated 71% of all DSC live sales. We delivered strong results in our asset accumulation business during the quarter. Annuity collected premiums in the quarter totaled $514 million, up 9%. Account values were up 7%. We also delivered our 14th consecutive quarter of brokerage and advisory growth. Client assets were up 15% to a new record and total accounts were up 13%. Registered agent count grew 4%. When combined with our annuity account values, our clients now entrust us with nearly $20 billion of their assets, up 9%. Next, slide seven and our worksite division performance. We delivered our 18th consecutive quarter of sustained sales growth. Life and Health NAP was up 18% for the quarter. This represents our eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth. Producing agent count reached a record level, up 6%, marking the 17th consecutive quarter of growth. Productivity remained robust across all agent cohorts. NAP generated by our worksite career field agents was up 29% in the quarter. Similar to our consumer division, our last mile captive agent distribution model is an important driver of our worksite success. Sales highlights from the quarter included life up 59% and hospital indemnity and accident each up 16%. Our focus on small to mid-sized businesses and associations continues to drive meaningful sales growth. Employers are increasingly turning to employee paid voluntary benefits to manage healthcare costs. Our products are designed to address these protection needs. And our career agents and partners are well positioned to help employees address potential gaps in traditional medical coverage. NAP from new clients increased 168%. This growth is well balanced between geographic expansion and further penetration into existing markets. Live sales continue to experience a significant uptick from these new client relationships. Across both divisions, our results highlight the value of a diversified product portfolio built around customer needs rather than individual products. It's a unique strength that allows us to meet a broad range of needs, build lasting customer relationships, and deliver consistent performance over time. And with that, I'll turn it over to Paul.