Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated

Good day and welcome to the Reinsurance Group of America Fourth Quarter 2020 Results Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to introduce Mr. Todd Lawson, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Ms. Anna Manning, President and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, Mr. Lawson.

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to RGA's Fourth Quarter 2020 2020 conference call. With me this morning on the call is Anna Manning, RGA's President and Chief Executive Officer, Alain Nimi, Chief Operating Officer, Leslie Barbee, Chief Investment Officer, Jonathan Porter, Chief Risk Officer, and Jeff Hobson, the Head of Investor Relations. We will discuss the fourth quarter results after a quick reminder about forward-looking information and non-GAAP financial measures. Following our prepared remarks, we'll be happy to take your questions. Some of our comments or answers to your questions may contain forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from expected results. Please refer to the earnings release we issued yesterday for a list of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Additionally, during the course of this call, information we provide may include non-GAAP financial measures. Please see our earnings release, earnings presentation, quarterly financial supplement, and website for discussion of these terms and reconciliations to GAAP measures. And now, I'll turn the call over to Anna for her comments.

Thank you, Todd. Good morning, everyone. And thank you for joining our call today. I hope you are all remaining safe and staying healthy. The loss and anxiety caused by the pandemic is extraordinary. And on behalf of everyone at RGA, I would like to express profound appreciation for those on the front lines in the fight against the pandemic and offer our deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones. Through these tough times, I have remained incredibly proud of the role that RGA has played in an industry that helps to safeguard the financial futures of millions of families from the unforeseen tragedies of life. Our purpose has never been made clearer than during this past year. Let me now move to our results. Last night, we reported adjusted operating EPS of $1.19 which we consider another solid quarter in the context of the pandemic. In this quarter, we were able to absorb estimated total COVID-19 related claim costs of $300 million globally and deliver profitable earnings due to the underlying strength in many of our businesses. These include our Asia business, our U.S. group and individual health operations, and our U.S. asset intensive business. Additionally, excluding the impact of claims attributed to COVID-19, our U.S. individual mortality experience was again favorable this quarter. Reported premium growth was strong driven by results in EMEA and Asia. We completed a number of transactions in the quarter and deployed approximately $100 million of capital. The transaction pipeline is very good overall and includes opportunities in all our regions. Our investment portfolio held up well, and we ended the year with a strong balance sheet and excess capital of $1.3 billion. Our approach to capital deployment during this crisis remains prudent, disciplined, and balanced. As I step back and consider our full year results, we reported adjusted operating EPS of $7.54. This includes absorbing estimated total COVID-19 related claim costs of $720 million globally. And when adjusted for COVID-19 related offsets, including longevity and reduced expenses, we estimate the full year impact of COVID-19 to be roughly $6.80 on adjusted operating EPS. I'm encouraged by the fact that our underlying fundamental performance and client relationships remain strong. It speaks to the resilience of our global franchise, the benefits of our diversified business, and to the success of our client-focused strategy. As we look forward, it is clear that COVID-19 remains both a global health and economic challenge. and we expect to see a meaningful level of claims in the first half of 2021. But we believe that the impact will be manageable given our strong balance sheet and our underlying earnings engine. We are optimistic that we will begin to see the benefits from the global vaccination programs as we move into the rest of the year, after which we expect to see some normalization of results. In the meantime, We will continue to remain focused on protecting our employees, serving our clients, and supporting the industry and our communities. The quality, strength, and resilience of our business give us confidence that we will emerge from the pandemic positioned to take advantage of the opportunities ahead and continue to build on our long track record of value creation. Thank you for your interest in RGA. and I hope you all continue to remain safe and well. Let me now turn it over to Todd to go over the detailed financial results.