Employers Holdings Inc

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the first quarter 2026 Employers Holdings, Inc. Earnings 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, Matthew Hendrickson, Senior Vice President, Treasury Investments. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Today's call is being recorded and webcast from the Investors section of our website, where a replay will be available following the call. Statements made during this conference call that are not based on historical facts are considered forward-looking statements. These statements are made in reliance on the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although we believe the expectations expressed in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, risks and uncertainties could cause the actual results to be materially different from our expectations, including the risks set forth in our filings with Securities and Exchange Commission. All remarks made during the call are current only at the time of the call and will not be updated to reflect subsequent developments. The company also uses its website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with disclosure obligations under the SEC's regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included in the investor section of our website. Accordingly, investors should monitor that portion of our website in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, and webcasts. In our earnings press release and in our remarks or responses to questions, may use non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to our GAAP results are included in our financial supplement as an attachment to our earnings press release, our investor presentation, and any other materials available in the investor section on our website. Now, I'll turn the call over to Kathy Antonello, our Chief Executive Officer.

Thank you, Matthew. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our first quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today is Mike Pedraja, our Chief Financial Officer. I will begin by providing highlights of our first quarter 2026 financial results and then hand it over to Mike for more details on our financials. Before our Q&A, I'll come back to you with some additional thoughts. If I had to characterize this quarter in a single word, it would be discipline. We made a deliberate choice to prioritize underwriting quality over volume and the numbers reflect that conviction. Our underwriting expense ratio improved, our actuarial estimates came in on target, and we returned $83 million to shareholders while growing book value per share, including the deferred gain, by 8.9%. That same discipline positions us well to capitalize on favorable market developments, including the continued shift in the California rate environment. The California Bureau voted earlier this month to submit a second consecutive double-digit pure premium rate increase to the commissioner, consistent with the underwriting conditions we have observed throughout the state. As we discussed last quarter, we expect pricing and underwriting actions will pressure growth throughout 2026. Our earned premium was essentially flat year over year, down 1%. The steps we took in certain jurisdictions and segments in 2025 are working as intended. New growth opportunities are now taking shape, including entering new underwriting segments, appointing new agents, and our recently launched excess workers' compensation product. Profitable growth remains our North Star. Our first quarter actuarial review confirmed the adequacy of our prior year reserve. with no strengthening required. We recognized a current accident year loss and LAE ratio of 72%, which is consistent with our 2025 accident year ratio. After delivering a record level of $215 million in capital to our shareholders in 2025, we continued our commitment by returning an additional $83 million in the first quarter through share repurchases and regular quarterly dividends. We also completed the $125 million new debt issuance associated with the recapitalization plan through the cost-effective sources of $105 million from the Federal Home Loan Bank and $20 million from our credit facility, resulting in a weighted average pre-tax interest rate of 4.1%. These capital management steps reflect our continued confidence in our financial position and commitment to delivering value to our shareholders. Along with our operational performance, these actions increased our book value per share, including the deferred gain, to $51.26. We believe our focus on disciplined underwriting, prudent risk management, and strategic investments continues to position us strongly in the workers' compensation insurance market. With that, Mike will now provide a deeper dive into our first quarter financial results And then I will return to provide my closing remarks.