The following table highlights underwriting income and combined ratios by segment for the year.
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting Income(1) | | | | | | | | Combined Ratio(1) | | | | |
(in millions) | | 2024 | | 2023 | | | | 2024 | | 2023 |
Casualty | | $ | 17.8 | | $ | 59.5 | | Casualty | | 97.9 | | 92.2 |
Property | | | 167.6 | | | 86.3 | | Property | | 68.5 | | 78.5 |
Surety | | | 25.3 | | | 27.4 | | Surety | | 82.2 | | 79.6 |
Total | | $ | 210.7 | | $ | 173.2 | | Total | | 86.2 | | 86.6 |
| (1) | See discussion below: Non-GAAP and Performance Measures. |
Other Income(2)
Net investment income for the quarter increased 19% to $38.8 million, compared to the same period in 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2024, net investment income was $142.3 million, compared to $120.4 million for the same period in 2023. The investment portfolio’s total return was -1.1% for the quarter and 6.4% for the year.
RLI’s comprehensive loss was $26.3 million for the quarter (-$0.28 per share), compared to comprehensive earnings of $216.2 million ($2.35 per share) for the same quarter in 2023. In addition to net earnings, comprehensive loss included after-tax unrealized losses from the fixed income portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2024, due to increasing interest rates. Full-year comprehensive earnings were $338.4 million ($3.66 per share), compared to $367.4 million ($3.99 per share) in 2023.
Special and Regular Dividends(2)
On December 20, 2024, the company paid a special cash dividend of $2.00 per share and a regular quarterly dividend of $0.145 per share for a combined total of $196.8 million. RLI has paid dividends for 194 consecutive quarters and increased regular dividends in each of the last 49 years. Over the last 10 years, the company has returned nearly $1.5 billion to shareholders and the regular dividend has grown an average of 4.9% per year.
Non-GAAP and Performance Measures
Management has included certain non-generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP) financial measures in presenting the company’s results. Management believes that these non-GAAP measures further explain the company’s results of operations and allow for a more complete understanding of the underlying trends in the company’s business. These measures should not be viewed as a substitute for those determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In addition, our definitions of these items may not be comparable to the definitions used by other companies.
Operating earnings and operating earnings per share (EPS) consist of our GAAP net earnings adjusted by net realized gains/(losses), net unrealized gains/(losses) on equity securities and taxes related thereto. Net earnings and net earnings per share are the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to operating earnings and operating EPS. A reconciliation of the operating earnings and operating EPS to the comparable GAAP financial measures is included in the 2024 financial highlights below.
Underwriting income or profit represents the pretax profitability of our insurance operations and is derived by subtracting loss and settlement expenses, policy acquisition costs and insurance operating expenses from net premium earned, which are all GAAP financial measures. The combined ratio, which is derived from components of underwriting income, is a performance measure commonly used by property and casualty insurance companies and is calculated as the sum of loss and settlement expenses, policy acquisition costs and insurance operating expenses, divided by net premiums earned, which are all GAAP measures.
Other News
At 10 a.m. central standard time (CST) on January 23, 2025, RLI management will hold a conference call to discuss quarterly results with insurance industry analysts. Interested parties may listen to the discussion at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/436980475.
(2) All share and per share data reflect the 2-for-1 stock split that occurred on January 15, 2025.
