Employers Holdings Inc

Q3, 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, Jeff Lisenby, General Counsel for Employers Holdings. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Danny. 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 actual results to be materially different from our expectations, including the risks set forth in our filings with the 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 SEC Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included in the Investors section of our website. Accordingly, investors should monitor that section 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, we 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 investors section of our website. Now, I will turn the call over to Kathy Antonello, our Chief Executive Officer.

Thank you, Jeff. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our third quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today is Mike Pedraja, our Chief Financial Officer. As usual, I will begin with highlights of our third quarter results and then hand it over to Mike for more detail on our financials. Before we take your questions, I'll come back with some closing thoughts. Our third quarter results reflect the progress we're making to restore our underwriting profitability to historical levels. We reported net income of 64 cents per diluted share compared to a net loss of 36 cents Thank you for joining us today. Our loss and LAE ratio improved to 71.2% from 97.1%. We have not recognized any prior year development on our voluntary business this year, and our current accident year loss and LAE ratio, excluding the loss portfolio transfer, is 72%. Our GAAP combined ratio improved to 108.4% from 129.7%. that is significant progress but we are not satisfied with that level and will continue to strive for underwriting improvement. The reduction in the loss in LAE ratio was slightly offset by the underwriting expense ratio which was 24.3% compared to 20.6% a year ago and reflected the smaller premium base. Gross premiums written were $151.1 million, a decrease of 18%, and net premiums earned were $160.2 million, a decrease of 17%. These decreases reflect the pricing and underwriting actions we've taken to prioritize profitability in the prolonged soft market. Policies in force declined 8% to about 124,000, a smaller decline than premium, as we retained the majority of our small business customers while exiting selected classes of business. Underwriting expenses decreased slightly, primarily because of lower policyholder dividends, lower bad debt expense, and premium taxes and assessments. Our commission expense ratio was 12.9% compared to 12% a year ago. Our investment portfolio was a positive contributor, with net investment income increasing to $32.3 million, supported by higher yields following our 2025 investment rebalancing and $5.6 million in returns from our private equity investments. With a significant rise in U.S. interest rates, our portfolio is well positioned to take advantage of higher reinvestment rates which should contribute to earnings over time. Higher rates also impacted our book value through unrealized market value declines in our fixed income portfolio. The decrease is not a reflection of credit quality. Book value per share including the deferred gain was $49.44 up 2.1% from a year ago but down 5.3% from the end of the second quarter. with both rates including dividends. Adjusted book value per share which excludes accumulated other comprehensive income was $53.64, up 7.1% from a year ago and up 1.3% from last quarter, again with both rates including dividends. With that, Mike will provide a deeper dive into our third quarter financial results and then I'll return with some closing remarks. Mike?