UNIVERSAL INSURANCE HOLDINGS INC

Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. Welcome to our quarterly earnings call. On the call with me today are Steve Donaghy, Chief Executive Officer, and Frank Wilcox, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, please note today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures. Forward-looking statements involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. For more information, please see the press release on Universal's SEC filings, all of which are available on the investor section of our website at universalinsuranceholdings.com and on the SEC's website. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP measures is included in the quarterly press release and can also be found on Universal's website at universalinsuranceholdings.com. With that, I'll turn the call over to Steve.

Thanks, Arash. Good morning, everyone. It was a strong quarter, including a 29.4% annualized adjusted return on common equity and 35.4% adjusted diluted earnings per share growth year over year. Results were solid across the board, including profitable underwriting that was complemented by our non-underwriting operations, which is a testament to our differentiated business model. Direct premiums written growth accelerated sequentially as policies in force are stabilizing following our previous underwriting initiatives. I'm pleased to announce the completion of our 2024-2025 reinsurance renewal for our insurance entities, as our program is now fully supported and secured. We've also secured additional multi-year coverage, taking us through the 2025-2026 hurricane season and have added new, financially strong reinsurers to our existing panel of long-term partners. This achievement reflects the diligence and planning of our reinsurance team throughout the year. Program costs and coverage were consistent with our expectations, and we'll provide specific details at the end of May, as we typically do. I'll turn it over to Frank to walk through our financial results. Frank.

Thanks, Steve. Good morning. Adjusted diluted earnings per common share was $1.07, up from 79 cents in the prior year quarter. The increase mostly stems from higher underwriting and net investment income, partially offset by lower commission revenue. Core revenue of $364.9 million was up 15.4% year over year, with growth primarily stemming from higher net premiums earned and net investment income, partially offset by lower commission revenue. Direct premiums written were $446.2 million, up 8.8 percent from the prior year quarter, including 5.2 percent growth in Florida and 25.6 percent growth in other states. Overall growth mostly reflects higher rates, inflation adjustments, and stabilizing policies in force. Direct premiums earned were $482.1 million, up 5.9 percent from the prior year quarter, reflecting rate-driven direct premiums written growth over the last 12 months. Net premiums earned were $334 million, up 18.4 percent from the prior year quarter. The increase is primarily attributable to higher direct premiums earned and a lower seeded premium ratio. The net combined ratio was 95.5 percent, down 4.5 points compared to the prior year quarter. The decrease reflects lower net loss and expense ratios. The 71.9% net loss ratio was down 1.2 points compared to the prior year quarter with the decrease primarily attributable to higher net premiums earned associated with lower reinsurance costs in the current quarter. The 23.6% net expense ratio improved by 3.3 points compared to the prior year quarter primarily reflecting higher net premiums earned associated with lower reinsurance costs in the current year and economies of scale. During the first quarter, the company repurchased approximately 208,000 shares at an aggregate cost of $4.1 million. The company's current share repurchase authorization program has approximately $20 million remaining. On April 10, 2024, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per share of common stock payable on May 17, 2024 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 10, 2024. With that said, I'd like to ask the operator to open the line for questions.