Intact Financial Corporation

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Intact Financial Corporation Q1 2026 Results Conference Call. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session, and if at any time during this call you require needed assistance, please press star 0 for the operator. Also note that this call is being recorded on May 6, 2026. And now, I would like to turn the conference over to Jeff Kwan, Chief Investor Relations Officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Sylvie. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining the call to discuss our first quarter financial results. A link to our live webcast and materials for this call have been posted on our website at impactfc.com under the Investors tab. Before we start, please refer to slide two for a disclaimer regarding the use of forward-looking statements, which form part of this morning's remarks. and slide three for a note on the use of non-GAAP financial measures and other terms used in this presentation. To discuss our results today, I have with me our CEO, Charles Brindamore, our CFO, Ken Anderson, and Patrick Barbeau, Chief Operating Officer. We will begin with prepared remarks followed by Q&A, and with that, I will turn the call over to Charles.

Good morning, and thanks for joining us. Last night, we announced another very strong quarter. Net operating income per share increased 8% to $4.33, our highest ever in Q1. Norwich has grown at a compounded rate of 14% in the past five years and 12% over a decade. Just as important, our operating ROE came in at 19.4%, the third consecutive quarter above 19%, despite a very strong balance sheet. For 25, we estimate that our REO performance reached 740 basis points, well above our 500 basis points objective, and higher than our 670 basis points track record in the last decade. Our capital generation engine continues to strengthen our balance sheet, giving us a lot of optionality on capital deployment. Our top-line growth in Q1 was 4%, and 5% when used through the non-recurring items and personal property. I'm encouraged to see continued strength in personal lines, as well as sequential improvements in commercial and specialty lines in both the UK and in Canada. The combined ratio for Q1 of 91.3 was in line with last year. This was an excellent result, reflecting our continued disciplined underwriting. Looking ahead in 26, I expect the platform overall to continue to deliver top and bottom line industry health performance. Let me now provide some color in the results and outlook by line of business, starting with Canada. In personal auto, premiums grew 9% in the quarter. With the industry remaining unprofitable in 2025, we expect industry premium growth to remain in the high single digits throughout the year. Over the next 12 months, when it comes to the industry, reforms will take place in both Ontario and Alberta. We view those as positive for drivers and for the vibrancy of the automobile insurance market in these provinces. In Alberta in particular, these reforms will go a long way to stabilize what's today a loss-making market with severe capacity shortages. Overall in personal auto in Canada, our underlying loss ratio improved 2.2 points year over year. The overall combined ratio of 94.4 was a strong result for a first quarter, and we remain very well positioned to sustain our sub-95 annual guidance. In personal property, premium growth was 3%, driven by a 2% increase in units. As I mentioned on our call last quarter, Q1 premium growth was impacted by five points from one-time items in our affinity and travel business. Adjusting for this, growth is running in the upper single-digit range, a level we expect to return to in Q2. The combined ratio of 84.4 was strong, reflecting a robust underlying performance and lower catastrophe losses. Personal property is really set up to operate at a sub-95 combined, even with severe weather. In commercial lines, premium growth was 2%, a one-point improvement sequentially, driven by further momentum in our growth initiatives, despite close to two-point drag due to mix, as competition is more intense for large accounts. This mixed drag is intentional. It results from discipline across all segments, the deployment of machine learning models in pricing, and picking the right verticals to grow in in specialty lines. Given these are geared to drive combined ratio improvement, a drag-and-mix doesn't translate in a drag in absolute earnings growth. Talking about growth, we still expect the industry premium growth in the low to mid single digit range over the next 12 months. On the combined ratio front in commercial in Canada, it's very strong at 86.2%, despite more large losses year over year. Looking ahead, our business remains very well positioned to deliver a sustainable, low 90s or better performance, and we expect to continue to outperform the industry, both from a top and bottom line, point of view. Moving now to our UKI business. Premiums increased 2% in the quarter, a four-point improvement sequentially, as expected. While our top-line growth may vary quarter to quarter, we expect it to gradually improve in 2026 as we leverage growth opportunities and focus on service to our brokers and customers. We still expect industry premium growth in the low to mid single-digit range over the next 12 months. The combined ratio of 103.2 was disappointing and included eight points of elevated tax and large losses. And so as we continue to enhance our pricing and risk selection models, our technology capabilities, and the expense base in the coming months, we're confident that this business is on track to evolve towards a 90% combined ratio. In the U.S., premiums increased 4% year over year, and we continue to grow faster in our most profitable lines. Our broader product offering, combined with continued momentum in expanding and strengthening broker relationships, is delivering positive results. From an industry perspective, we expect premium growth to continue in the mid single over the next 12 months. The combined ratio of 83.4% in the quarter improved three points year over year, reflecting continued underwriting discipline and lower catastrophe losses. Our focus on profitable growth helped us deliver the 11th successive quarter in a row with a sub 90% combined ratio. Our team, also continue to execute on our strategic priorities in the first quarter. Let me highlight a few of these achievements. First, we're a global leader in leveraging data and AI within the P&C industry. We're now realizing $220 million in annual recurring benefits, up from $150 million we announced at the Investors Day last year. We're well on our way to exceeding our $500 million target. In global specialty lines, we continue to expand our product offering as we began writing in both the U.S. construction liability through Shepard and MGA. We have a minority stake in, as well as European trade credit, the carton trade, and MGA, where we have a controlling stake. We've also extended our marine offer globally and recently launched a surety business in the U.K. tremendous momentum in global specialty lines. In our UK commercial lines business, our UK rebrand continues to gain traction. Broker advocacy continues to improve quarter over quarter, and brokers are increasingly recognizing the product and service improvements we've made since the launch. With best or better than industry scores improving on a sequential basis by 17 points, on consistency of service, seven points on ease of contact, and 10 points on quality of cover. I'm pleased with the progress we're making in the UK. Overall, our track record of delivering for shareholders through the cycle is really solid. Our net operating income per share has grown at a compounded rate of 14% over the last five years and 12% over the last 10, and 15 years. Our REL performance has been almost 700 basis points on a 5-, 10-, and 15-year basis. Our book value per share grew at a compounded rate of 13% over the last five years and 10% in the last 10 and 15 years. That consistency of delivery shows that external factors, including industry pricing cycles, did not inhibit our ability to deliver both REO performance and double-digit earnings growth annually over time. Remaining focused on profitable growth, protecting underwriting margins, and allocating capital with discipline wins the game. If I look prospectively, there are a number of very specific reasons why our track record can be maintained, despite investor concerns about broader industry pricing cycles. First, the vast majority of our business operates where market conditions are constructed, north of 80%. Second, across all segments, we leverage our pricing and risk selection advantage to navigate even the toughest markets. These tools are available in the field to help underwriters grow in the right segments with the right accounts. Third, our sandbox is 10 times bigger than a decade ago and offers tremendous growth optionality. Our footprint today is not only much larger, but it's diversified across geographies and specialty verticals. Our game plan obviously targets most profitable segments, regions, and customers. And finally, beyond a diversified footprint, an advantage in risk selection. We've built an ROE advantage by leveraging claims, supply chain, distribution, and asset management. This allows us to ensure the ROE is solid in all phases of the so-called industry pricing cycle. Ultimately, the sum of these attributes has not only allowed us to shift the ROE in an opportune zone, It's also resulted in a lower ROE volatility versus our peers. In fact, since 2011, the standard deviation of our ROE was half that of our peers. We've demonstrated in past decades that the impact machine is built to create value in good and in bad times. And I'd say we're even better positioned today. That's why we've decided to accelerate buying back our own shares. While our priority remains capital deployment through acquisitions, the big disconnect between our share price and the underlying performance and earnings power of the firm is too good an opportunity to pass up. So finally, I want to thank our employees for their efforts in delivering yet another record quarter. and for positioning us to deliver exceptional returns to shareholders in the years ahead. It's your contributions day in, day out, that allows us to build such an outstanding machine. I've no doubt we'll continue to deliver at least 10% annual net operating income per share growth over time, and at least 500 basis points of ROEL performance every year. With that, I'll turn the call over to our CFO, Ben Anderson. Thanks, Charles, and good morning, everyone.