First-quarter 2026 net income of $274 million, or $1.75 per share, compared with a net loss of $90 million, or $0.57 per share, in the first quarter of 2025, after recognizing an $82 million first-quarter 2026 after-tax decrease in the fair value of equity securities still held.
First-quarter 2026 non-GAAP operating income* of $330 million, or $2.10 per share, compared with an operating loss of $37 million, or $0.24 per share, in the first quarter of last year. The increase of $367 million included a favorable effect of $233 million from a decrease in after-tax catastrophe losses.
$364 million increase in first-quarter 2026 net income, compared with first-quarter 2025, primarily due to after-tax net increases of $326 million from property casualty underwriting profit and $31 million from investment income.
$101.60 book value per share at March 31, 2026, down $0.75 since year-end.
0.2% value creation ratio for the first three months of 2026, compared with negative 0.5% for the same period of 2025.
Financial Highlights
(Dollars in millions, except per share data)
Three months ended March 31,
2026
2025
% Change
Revenue Data
Earned premiums
$ 2,604
$ 2,344
11
Investment income, net of expenses
318
280
14
Total revenues
2,863
2,566
12
Income Statement Data
Net income (loss)
$ 274
$ (90)
nm
Investment gains and losses, after-tax
(56)
(53)
(6)
Non-GAAP operating income (loss)*
$ 330
$ (37)
nm
Per Share Data (diluted)
Net income (loss)
$ 1.75
$ (0.57)
nm
Investment gains and losses, after-tax
(0.35)
(0.33)
(6)
Non-GAAP operating income (loss)*
$ 2.10
$ (0.24)
nm
Book value
$ 101.60
$ 87.78
16
Cash dividend declared
$ 0.94
$ 0.87
8
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding
157.0
156.4
0
*
The Definitions of Non-GAAP Information and Reconciliation to Comparable GAAP Measures section defines and reconciles measures presented in this release that are not based on U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.Forward-looking statements and related assumptions are subject to the risks outlined in the company's safe harbor statement.
Insurance Operations Highlights
95.6% first-quarter 2026 property casualty combined ratio, improved from 113.3% for the first quarter of 2025.
7% growth in first-quarter net written premiums, including price increases, premium growth initiatives, a higher level of insured exposures and with 2% of the growth due to first-quarter 2025 net reinstatement premiums.
$339 million first-quarter 2026 property casualty new business written premiums, down 11%. Agencies appointed since the beginning of 2025 contributed $23 million or 7% of total new business written premiums.
$26 million first-quarter 2026 life insurance subsidiary net income, up $5 million compared with the first quarter of 2025, and 7% growth in first-quarter 2026 term life insurance earned premiums.
Investment and Balance Sheet Highlights
14% or $38 million increase in first-quarter 2026 pretax investment income, including a 12% increase in bond interest income and a 13% increase in stock portfolio dividends.
Three-month increase of 1% in fair value of total investments at March 31, 2026, including a 2% increase for the bond portfolio and a 1% decrease for the stock portfolio.
$5.550 billion parent company cash and marketable securities at March 31, 2026, down less than 1% from year-end 2025.
Solid Start to the YearStephen M. Spray, president and CEO, commented: "We recorded $330 million of non-GAAP operating income in the first quarter compared to a loss of $37 million a year ago.
"The first-quarter results for our insurance operations laid a nice foundation for us to build on for the rest of the year. Our 95.6% combined ratio improved almost 18 points from last year's 113.3%. While lower catastrophe losses drove much of the improvement, we also saw a decline in our current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses, giving us confidence in the health of our overall book of business. As we continue to refine pricing segmentation and risk selection, we've lowered that ratio by 3 points compared with last year's first quarter to 87.5%.
"Robust results from our investment operations also contributed. Pretax investment income rose $38 million in the first quarter as dividends from our equity portfolio increased 13% and bond interest income grew 12%."
Focus on Underwriting Discipline"Since 2018, we've doubled the size of our insurance portfolio, growing from around $5 billion in net written premiums to more than $10 billion at the end of 2025. We intend to continue growing through all market cycles, and we understand that growth can't come at the cost of underwriting profitability.
"Consolidated net written premiums grew 7% compared with first-quarter 2025. While average renewal pricing increases moderated slightly, we continued to price on a policy-by-policy basis. The pricing sophistication we've built into our underwriting process allows our underwriters to charge what we believe is an appropriate rate for the risk we are assuming based on each account's unique characteristics. That rate might be higher or lower than the average.
"For the remainder of the year, we'll lean into our strategy of appointing more agencies and offering new products as a means to continue delivering profitable growth. In just the first three months of 2026, we've appointed 108 agencies across the U.S. We also continued to add new products, especially in excess and surplus lines.
"E&S isn't the market of last resort anymore. While it remains flexible in terms and rates, our approach to this business has been more strategic. We often find that if we can write one portion of the account through our E&S operations, we have a better chance of placing other risks for that account in our standard business."
Confidence in the Future"At March 31, parent company cash and marketable securities remained strong at more than $5 billion, and our equity portfolio holds more than $8 billion in appreciated value before taxes. In January, the board of directors expressed its confidence in our financial strength by again raising the cash dividend.
"Our associates are determined to do things just a little better every day, strengthening our ability to compete by enhancing the advantages of our local independent agencies. That has been and continues to be our plan for creating shareholder value far into the future."
Insurance Operations Highlights
Consolidated Property Casualty Insurance Results
(Dollars in millions)
Three months ended March 31,
2026
2025
% Change
Earned premiums
$ 2,519
$ 2,264
11
Fee revenues
4
4
0
Total revenues
2,523
2,268
11
Loss and loss expenses
1,667
1,887
(12)
Underwriting expenses
741
679
9
Underwriting profit (loss)
$ 115
$ (298)
nm
Ratios as a percent of earned premiums:
Pt. Change
Loss and loss expenses
66.2 %
83.3 %
(17.1)
Underwriting expenses
29.4
30.0
(0.6)
Combined ratio
95.6 %
113.3 %
(17.7)
% Change
Agency renewal written premiums
$ 2,045
$ 1,912
7
Agency new business written premiums
339
383
(11)
Other written premiums
284
200
42
Net written premiums
$ 2,668
$ 2,495
7
Ratios as a percent of earned premiums:
Pt. Change
Current accident year before catastrophe losses
58.1 %
60.5 %
(2.4)
Current accident year catastrophe losses
11.3
26.8
(15.5)
Prior accident years before catastrophe losses
(2.7)
(2.2)
(0.5)
Prior accident years catastrophe losses
(0.5)
(1.8)
1.3
Loss and loss expense ratio
66.2 %
83.3 %
(17.1)
Current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses
87.5 %
90.5 %
(3.0)
$173 million or 7% growth of first-quarter 2026 property casualty net written premiums, reflecting premium growth initiatives, price increases and a higher level of insured exposures. The growth included the effect of $52 million of net reinstatement premiums in first-quarter 2025 related to the January 2025 wildfires in southern California. The contribution to first-quarter growth from Cincinnati Re® and Cincinnati Global Underwriting Ltd.SM in total was 0.9 percentage points.
$44 million decrease in first-quarter 2026 new business premiums written by agencies, due to our personal lines insurance segment. The $44 million decrease included a $19 million increase in production from agencies appointed since the beginning of 2025.
108 new agency appointments in the first three months of 2026, including 19 that market only our personal lines products.
17.7 percentage-point first-quarter 2026 combined ratio improvement, including a decrease of 14.2 points for losses from catastrophes.
3.2 percentage-point first-quarter 2026 benefit from favorable prior accident year reserve development of $81 million, compared with 4.0 points or $91 million for first-quarter 2025.
2.4 percentage-point improvement in the three-month 2026 ratio for current accident year loss and loss expenses before catastrophes, including a favorable 1.4 points due to the effect of net reinstatement premiums in first-quarter 2025.
0.6 percentage-point decrease in the underwriting expense ratio for the first three months of 2026, compared with the same period of 2025. The 2025 ratio included an unfavorable 0.7 points from the effect of net reinstatement premiums in first-quarter 2025.
Commercial Lines Insurance Results
(Dollars in millions)
Three months ended March 31,
2026
2025
% Change
Earned premiums
$ 1,241
$ 1,179
5
Fee revenues
1
2
(50)
Total revenues
1,242
1,181
5
Loss and loss expenses
847
735
15
Underwriting expenses
377
349
8
Underwriting profit
$ 18
$ 97
(81)
Ratios as a percent of earned premiums:
Pt. Change
Loss and loss expenses
68.2 %
62.3 %
5.9
Underwriting expenses
30.4
29.6
0.8
Combined ratio
98.6 %
91.9 %
6.7
% Change
Agency renewal written premiums
$ 1,184
$ 1,152
3
Agency new business written premiums
205
203
1
Other written premiums
(30)
(30)
0
Net written premiums
$ 1,359
$ 1,325
3
Ratios as a percent of earned premiums:
Pt. Change
Current accident year before catastrophe losses
62.8 %
61.1 %
1.7
Current accident year catastrophe losses
9.7
4.8
4.9
Prior accident years before catastrophe losses
(4.2)
(2.4)
(1.8)
Prior accident years catastrophe losses
(0.1)
(1.2)
1.1
Loss and loss expense ratio
68.2 %
62.3 %
5.9
Current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses
93.2 %
90.7 %
2.5
$34 million or 3% growth in first-quarter 2026 commercial lines net written premiums, primarily due to higher agency renewal premiums.
$32 million or 3% increase in first-quarter renewal written premiums, with commercial lines average renewal pricing increases near the high end of the low-single-digit percent range.
$2 million or 1% increase in first-quarter 2026 new business premiums written by agencies, as we continue to carefully underwrite each policy in a highly competitive market.
6.7 percentage-point first-quarter 2026 combined ratio increase, including an increase of 6.0 points for losses from catastrophes.
4.3 percentage-point first-quarter 2026 benefit from favorable prior accident year reserve development of $53 million, compared with 3.6 points or $43 million for first-quarter 2025.
Personal Lines Insurance Results
(Dollars in millions)
Three months ended March 31,
2026
2025
% Change
Earned premiums
$ 873
$ 698
25
Fee revenues
2
1
100
Total revenues
875
699
25
Loss and loss expenses
607
846
(28)
Underwriting expenses
238
210
13
Underwriting profit (loss)
$ 30
$ (357)
nm
Ratios as a percent of earned premiums:
