Three Months EndedMarch 31,
Three Months EndedMarch 31,
($ in thousands, except for share data)
2026
per diluted share
2025
per diluted share
Net (loss) income from continuing operations available to common shareholders
$
(10,743
)
$
(0.23
)
$
9,019
$
0.18
Net loss from discontinued operations1
(149
)
$
—
(1,414
)
$
(0.02
)
Net (loss) income available to common shareholders
(10,892
)
$
(0.23
)
7,605
$
0.16
Adjusted net operating income2
5,806
$
0.12
9,102
$
0.19
Unless specified otherwise, all underwriting performance ratios presented herein are for our continuing operations and business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting.
First Quarter 2026 Highlights:
Excess and Surplus ("E&S") segment gross written premium of $212.3 million as compared to $213.2 million in the prior year quarter. Active casualty lines grew modestly for the first time in three quarters.
General and administrative expenses declined 10.5% compared to the prior year quarter.
Results were negatively impacted by $6.7 million of reinsurance reinstatement premiums associated predominantly with one E&S claim, which lowered net written premium, net earned premium and underwriting income.
While the combined ratio was 104.6% as compared to 99.5% in the prior year quarter, absent the impact of the reinsurance reinstatement premiums, the consolidated loss ratio, expense ratio and combined ratio would have been 66.0%, 33.7%, and 99.7% respectively.
Frank D'Orazio, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "During the first quarter, we continued to see strong submission flow and rate opportunities across many casualty and specialty lines and grew our E&S casualty portfolio for the first time in several quarters. Although the reinsurance reinstatement premium impact was an unwelcome result, it was tied predominantly to a single claim prior to our 2023 treaty restructuring, which was specifically designed to mitigate volatility from this dynamic going forward. With a diligent focus on underwriting discipline and expense efficiency, we are excited about the market opportunity ahead of us in 2026."
First Quarter 2026 Operating Results
Gross written premium of $236.4 million, consisting of the following:
Three Months EndedMarch 31,
($ in thousands)
2026
2025
% Change
Excess and Surplus Lines
$
212,285
$
213,243
0%
Specialty Admitted Insurance
24,088
81,118
(70)%
$
236,373
$
294,361
(20)%
Net written premium3 of $120.1 million, consisting of the following:
Three Months EndedMarch 31,
($ in thousands)
2026
2025
% Change
Excess and Surplus Lines
$
118,685
$
115,079
3%
Specialty Admitted Insurance
1,413
12,877
(89)%
$
120,098
$
127,956
(6)%
Net earned premium3 of $135.7 million, consisting of the following:
Three Months EndedMarch 31,
($ in thousands)
2026
2025
% Change
Excess and Surplus Lines
$
131,826
$
137,028
(4)%
Specialty Admitted Insurance
3,886
14,874
(74)%
$
135,712
$
151,902
(11)%
As cited earlier, results were negatively impacted by $6.7 million of reinsurance reinstatement premiums associated predominantly with one E&S claim. The reinstatement premiums reduced net written and net earned premium, as well as underwriting income. Excluding these reinstatement premiums, the consolidated loss ratio, expense ratio, and combined ratio would have been 66.0%, 33.7%, and 99.7%, respectively. The Company changed the structure of its reinsurance program in 2023 with the goal of maintaining the balance sheet protection while reducing the potential for more volatile reinstatement premiums in the more recent underwriting years.
Pre-tax net favorable reserve development by segment on business not subject to retroactive reinsurance accounting was as follows:
Three Months EndedMarch 31,
($ in thousands)
2026
2025
Excess and Surplus Lines
$
100
$
10
Specialty Admitted Insurance
65
121
$
165
$
131
The Company experienced de minimis net favorable reserve development in each of the two insurance segments comparable to the prior year quarter. There remains $7.5 million of aggregate limit on the adverse development reinsurance contract with Cavello Bay ("E&S Top Up ADC"). The Company does not have a retention on the E&S Top Up ADC which covers the majority of the E&S segment's reserves for accident years 2023 and prior. The Company continues to observe lower frequency and incurred losses in recent accident years.
The Company reduced general and administrative expenses by 10.5% as compared to the prior year quarter, notably in the Specialty Admitted (down 46%) and Corporate (down 15%) segments. The consolidated expense ratio was 35.4% for the first quarter of 2026, as compared to 32.7% in the prior year quarter. Absent the $6.7 million aforementioned reinsurance reinstatement premiums in E&S, the expense ratio would have been 33.7% for the quarter.
Investment Results
Net investment income for the first quarter of 2026 was $21.3 million, an increase of 6.6% compared to $20.0 million in the prior year quarter. Private investment income of $1.8 million exceeded that of the prior year period as the Company diversified its private holdings portfolio away from more concentrated equity investments and into a selection of high-quality rated note exposure managed by core institutional managers. Fixed income securities generated higher net investment income following the increase in higher-yielding "A" rated structured securities in the second half of 2025. Short-term investments, cash, and bank loans contributed comparably less income due to an overall decrease in yields for these asset classes compared to the same period in 2025 as well as lower average balances.
The Company's net investment income consisted of the following:
Three Months EndedMarch 31,
($ in thousands)
2026
2025
% Change
Private Investments
1,815
200
n/m
All Other Investments
19,512
19,808
(1)%
Total Net Investment Income
$
21,327
$
20,008
7%
The Company's annualized gross investment yield on average fixed maturity, bank loan and equity securities for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was 4.5% (versus 4.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2025).
Net realized and unrealized losses on investments of $6.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026 were driven primarily by losses within the bank loan portfolio. This portfolio is predominantly senior secured and represents 7.8% of the Company's invested assets and cash. The Company has limited equity exposure in its investment portfolio and it has invested in the bank loan asset class for most of its history. This quarter, the asset class and the investment portfolio experienced volatility due to various market dynamics.
Capital Management
The Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.01 per share of common stock. This dividend is payable on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 to all shareholders of record as of Monday, June 8, 2026.
Tangible Common Equity
Shareholders' equity of $518.4 million at March 31, 2026 decreased 3.7% compared to shareholders' equity of $538.2 million at December 31, 2025. Tangible common equity4 of $405.5 million on March 31, 2026 decreased 1.3% from $411.0 million on December 31, 2025. Other comprehensive loss was $9.2 million during the first quarter of 2026, increasing accumulated other comprehensive loss to $43.9 million due to the increase in yields during the quarter.
Conference Call
James River will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter results tomorrow, May 5, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Investors may access the conference call by dialing (800) 715-9871, Conference ID 1541721, or via the investor website at https://investors.jrvrgroup.com and clicking on the "Investor Relations" link. A webcast replay of the call will be available by visiting the company website.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, such forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as believe, expect, seek, may, will, should, intend, project, anticipate, plan, estimate, guidance or similar words. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Although it is not possible to identify all of these risks and uncertainties, they include, among others, the following: the inherent uncertainty of estimating loss and loss adjustment expense reserves and the possibility that incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses may be greater than our estimate used to compute loss and loss adjustment expense reserves included in the financial statements; inaccurate estimates and judgments in our risk management may expose us to greater risks than intended; downgrades in the financial strength rating or outlook of our regulated insurance subsidiaries impacting our competitive position and ability to attract and retain insurance business that our subsidiaries write and ultimately our financial condition and triggering a default on our credit facility; the potential loss of key members of our management team or key employees, and our ability to attract and retain personnel; adverse economic and competitive factors resulting in the sale of fewer policies than expected or an increase in the frequency or severity of claims, or both; the impact of a higher than expected inflationary environment on our reserves, loss adjustment expenses, the values of our investments and investment returns, and our compensation expenses; exposure to credit risk, interest rate risk and other market risk in our investment portfolio and our reinsurers; reliance on a select group of brokers and agents for a significant portion of our business and the impact of our potential failure to maintain such relationships; reliance on a select group of customers for a significant portion of our business and the impact of our potential failure to maintain, or decision to terminate, such relationships; our ability to obtain insurance and reinsurance coverage at prices and on terms that allow us to transfer risk, adequately protect our Company against financial loss and that supports our growth plans; losses resulting from reinsurance counterparties failing to pay us on reinsurance claims, insurance companies with whom we have a fronting arrangement failing to pay us for claims, or a former customer with whom we have an indemnification arrangement failing to perform its reimbursement obligations, and our potential inability to demand or maintain adequate collateral to mitigate such risks; the inherent uncertainty of estimating reinsurance recoverable on unpaid losses and the possibility that reinsurance may be less than our estimate of reinsurance recoverable on unpaid losses; inadequacy of premiums we charge to compensate us for our losses incurred; changes in laws or government regulation, including tax or insurance laws and regulations; changes in U.S. tax laws (including associated regulations) and the interpretation of certain provisions applicable to insurance/reinsurance businesses with U.S. and non-U.S. operations, which may be retroactive and could have a significant effect on us including, among other things, by potentially increasing our tax rate, as well as on our shareholders; a failure of any of the loss limitations or exclusions we utilize in our insurance products to shield us from unanticipated financial losses or legal exposures, or other liabilities; losses from catastrophic events, such as natural disasters and terrorist acts, which substantially exceed our expectations and/or exceed the amount of reinsurance we have purchased to protect us from such events; potential effects on our business of emerging claim and coverage issues; the potential impact of internal or external fraud, operational errors, systems malfunctions or cyber security incidents; our ability to manage our growth effectively; failure to maintain effective internal controls in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended; changes in our financial condition, regulations or other factors that may restrict our subsidiaries' ability to pay us dividends; an adverse result in any litigation or legal proceedings we are or may become subject to; and inability to generate taxable income and execute tax planning strategies which could adversely impact our ability to recognize deferred tax assets at the level reflected on our balance sheet. Additional information about these risks and uncertainties, as well as others that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, is contained in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In presenting James River Group Holdings, Inc.'s results, management has included financial measures that are not calculated under standards or rules that comprise accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). Such measures, including underwriting (loss) profit, adjusted net operating (loss) income, tangible equity, tangible common equity, and adjusted net operating return on tangible equity (which is calculated as annualized adjusted net operating income expressed as a percentage of the average quarterly tangible equity balances in the respective period), are referred to as non-GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures may be defined or calculated differently by other companies. These measures should not be viewed as a substitute for those measures determined in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures are included at the end of this press release.
About James River Group Holdings, Inc.James River Group Holdings, Inc. is a holding company that owns and operates a group of specialty insurance companies. The Company operates in two specialty property-casualty insurance segments: Excess and Surplus Lines and Specialty Admitted Insurance. Each of the Company's regulated insurance subsidiaries are rated "A-" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company.Visit James River Group Holdings, Inc. on the web at https://jrvrgroup.com.
For more information contact:
Bob ZimardoSVP, Investments and Investor Relations[email protected]
James River Group Holdings, Inc. and SubsidiariesCondensed Consolidated Balance Sheet Data (Unaudited)
($ in thousands, except for share data)
March 31, 2026
December 31, 2025
ASSETS
Invested assets:
Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale, at fair value
$
1,434,375
$
1,404,774
Equity securities, at fair value
72,317
73,092
Bank loan participations, at fair value
153,336
155,138
Short-term investments
597
0
Other invested assets
67,413
64,152
Total invested assets
1,728,038
1,697,156
Cash and cash equivalents
227,607
260,941
Restricted cash equivalents (a)
8,557
8,481
Accrued investment income
12,900
12,744
Premiums receivable and agents' balances, net
127,702
153,638
Reinsurance recoverable on unpaid losses, net
2,014,564
2,026,110
Reinsurance recoverable on paid losses
82,808
118,243
Deferred policy acquisition costs
30,042
31,286
Goodwill and intangible assets
213,827
213,918
Other assets
315,764
337,413
Total assets
$
4,761,809
$
4,859,930
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses
$
3,087,848
$
3,099,418
Unearned premiums
407,499
447,644
Funds held (a)
7,485
7,485
Deferred reinsurance gain
100,909
86,720
Senior debt
