Old Republic International Corporation

ladies and gentlemen thank you for standing by my name is brent and i will be your conference operator today at this time i would like to welcome everyone to the old republic international first quarter 2023 earnings conference call all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise after the speaker's remarks there will be a question and answer session If you would like to ask a question at that time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, again, press star one. Thank you. It is now my pleasure to turn today's call over to Mr. Joe Calabrese with the Financial Relations Board. Sir, please go ahead.

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us for the Old Republic Conference Call to discuss first quarter 2023 results. This morning, we distributed a copy of the press release and posted a separate financial supplement, which we assume you have seen and or otherwise have access to during the call. Both of the documents are available at Old Republic's website, which is www.oldrepublic.com. Please be advised that this call may involve forward-looking statements as discussed in the press release and financial supplement dated April 27, 2023. Risks associated with These statements can be found in the company's latest SEC filings. This afternoon's conference call will be led by Craig Schmitty, President and CEO of Old Republic International Corporation, and several other senior executive members as planned for this meeting. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Craig Schmitty. Please go ahead, sir.

Okay, thank you, Joe, and good afternoon, everyone, and welcome again to Old Republic's first quarter earnings call. With me today is Frank Sidero, CFO of ORI, and Carolyn Monroe, President and CEO of our Title Insurance segment. Well, despite the headwinds in title insurance, we're off to a good start to 23, with consolidated pre-tax operating income of $223 million for the quarter. General insurance produced significantly greater income, while title insurance produced considerably less income due to the effects of higher mortgage interest rates. Underwriting results, of course, are the cornerstone of how we create value. So we're pleased with our consolidated combined ratio of 92.7%. Consolidated net premiums and fees earned for the quarter were lower with general insurance increasing 6% and title insurance decreasing 42%. Our conservative reserving practices are again clearly visible with the favorable reserve development reported in all three segments led by general insurance. And our balance sheet remains strong even as we continue to return capital to shareholders during the quarter through both dividends and share repurchases. So I will now turn the discussion over to Frank and then Frank will turn things back to me to cover general insurance. which will be followed by Carolyn, who will discuss title insurance, and then we'll open things up for conversation and Q&A. So with that, Frank.