Reno, NV – Employers Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE:EIG), a holding company with subsidiaries that are specialty providers of workers’ compensation insurance and services focused on select, small businesses engaged in low-to-medium hazard industries, today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2022.
Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights
- Net income of $47.2 million, or $1.72 per diluted share;
- Adjusted net income of $34.4 million, or $1.25 per diluted share;
- Net investment income of $27.0 million, up 53% year-over-year;
- Net realized and unrealized gains on investments recorded through the income statement of $13.7 million;
- Gross premiums written of $173.8 million, up 22% year-over-year;
- Net premiums earned of $181.1 million, up 16% year-over-year;
- Favorable prior year loss reserve development of $23.2 million, versus $24.2 million a year ago;
- Returned $43.6 million to stockholders through a combination of share repurchases, quarterly and special dividends.
Full-Year 2022 Financial Highlights
- Net income of $48.4 million, or $1.75 per diluted share;
- Adjusted net income of $81.0 million, or $2.93 per diluted share;
- Net investment income of $89.8 million, up 24% year-over-year;
- Net realized and unrealized losses on investments recorded through the income statement of $51.8 million;
- Gross premiums written of $714.2 million, up 21% year-over-year;
- Net premiums earned of $675.2 million, up 18% year-over-year;
- Record number of ending policies in-force of 121,356, up 9% year-over-year;
- Favorable prior year loss reserve development of $33.5 million, versus $39.8 million a year ago;
- Returned $121.7 million to stockholders through a combination of share repurchases, quarterly and special dividends;
- Adjusted Book value per share of $43.78, up 3.0% year-over-year including dividends declared.
CEO Commentary
Chief Executive Officer Katherine Antonello commented: “We are pleased with our fourth quarter and full-year 2022 results and closed the year with strong revenue growth driven by sharp increases in both premium writings and net investment income. The growth in written premium in 2022 resulted from a 16% increase in new business coupled with an 8% increase in renewal business, and notable audit premium recognition.
“We maintained our current accident year loss and loss adjustment expense ratio on voluntary business at 64.0%, largely consistent with the 63.5% we recorded throughout 2021. During the fourth quarter, we recognized $23.2 million of net favorable prior year loss reserve development resulting from lower-than-expected loss emergence.”
Ms. Antonello continued, “Underwriting discipline remains a top priority as we continue to thoughtfully execute our growth strategy for both Employers and Cerity. The higher premium we experienced throughout 2022, along with our strict focus on managing our fixed expenses, resulted in a consolidated underwriting and general and administrative expense ratio of 24.7% for 2022, far lower than any other year since 2018.
“Our Cerity operating segment, which offers direct-to-consumer digital workers’ compensation insurance solutions, continues to successfully grow its business within our targeted low-to-medium hazard groups. Cerity’s written premium increased to $6.7 million in 2022, from just $1.5 million in 2021.
“Our active capital management efforts throughout 2022, which consisted of $30.4 million of share repurchases, $28.8 million of regular quarterly dividends and $61.5 million of special dividends, coupled with the greater economies of scale we are achieving, bode well for the future of Employers. Our strong balance sheet and abundant underwriting capital are highly supportive of our plans for continued growth and success. Finally, I want to thank our dedicated employees for an outstanding 2022. The unwavering service you provide our agents, our policyholders and their injured workers drive our continued success.”
The complete results release is available here: Employers Holding Fourth Quarter 2022 and Full-Year Financial Results