AXIS Capital (AXS) Telefonkonferenz zu den Ergebnissen für Q3 2026: Prämien steigen um 11 %, Aktienrückkäufe beschleunigen sich

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse

• AXIS Capital wies für das dritte Quartal 2026 gebuchte Bruttoprämien von 2,4 Milliarden US-Dollar aus. Dies entspricht einem Anstieg von 11 % gegenüber dem Vorjahreszeitraum, getragen von einem Wachstum von 13 % im Versicherungsgeschäft und 4 % im Rückversicherungsgeschäft.
• Der den Stammaktionären zustehende Nettogewinn belief sich auf 202 Millionen US-Dollar bzw. 2,75 US-Dollar je verwässerter Aktie. Das Betriebsergebnis lag bei 229 Millionen US-Dollar bzw. 3,12 US-Dollar je verwässerter Aktie.
• Die Schaden-Kosten-Quote (Combined Ratio) des Konzerns stieg von 89,4 % auf 94,0 %. Darin enthalten sind Katastrophen- und kriegsbedingte Schäden in Höhe von 75 Millionen US-Dollar sowie eine begünstigende Reserveabwicklung für Vorjahre von 15 Millionen US-Dollar.
• Das Versicherungssegment erzielte ein versicherungstechnisches Ergebnis von 104 Millionen US-Dollar und eine Combined Ratio von 92,0 %. Die Combined Ratio für das laufende Schadenjahr ohne Katastrophenschäden lag bei 87,2 %.
• Das Nettokapitalanlageergebnis stieg um 14 % auf 211 Millionen US-Dollar, begünstigt durch eine größere Basis an investierten Vermögenswerten, verbesserte Renditen und positive Bewertungen im Private-Equity-Bereich.
• AXIS kaufte im Laufe des Quartals eigene Aktien im Wert von 109 Millionen US-Dollar zurück. Die Anzahl der Aktien verringerte sich seit dem vierten Quartal 2023 um rund 16,6 %.

Wichtige Finanzdaten

Geschäfts- und operative Entwicklung

Versicherungsgeschäft

Die gebuchten Bruttoprämien im Versicherungsgeschäft stiegen um 13 % auf 1,9 Milliarden US-Dollar, darunter 630 Millionen US-Dollar an Neugeschäftsprämien. AXIS Capacity Solutions trug 7 Prozentpunkte zum Wachstum bei, erweiterte Sparten steuerten 5 Punkte bei und das Kern-Versicherungsportfolio lieferte den Rest. Die nordamerikanischen Einzelhandelssparten wuchsen um 16 %, während die Anfragen (Submissions) in der Region um 15 % zunahmen.

Die Prämien in der Sachversicherung stiegen um 11 %, die Tarife gingen jedoch um 10 % zurück und das E&S-Geschäft (Excess & Surplus) sank um 15 %. Die Unternehmensleitung erklärte, dass AXIS dort selektiver vorgeht, wo die Preisgestaltung nicht mehr rational ist. Das Portfolio weist durchschnittliche Netto-Haftungslimits im niedrigen einstelligen Millionenbereich auf, wobei der Exzedenten-Deckungsschutz bei Katastrophen ab 100 Millionen US-Dollar pro Ereignis greift.

Die Tarife in der Haftpflichtversicherung stiegen um 8 % und entsprachen damit weitgehend der Schadenentwicklung. Die Raten für US-Excess-Casualty stiegen um 10 %, aber AXIS erzielte in dieser Sparte kein Neugeschäftswachstum. Die spezialisierte Excess-Casualty-Einheit für den unteren Mittelstand wuchs um 23 %, während die Tarife in der Erst-Haftpflichtversicherung ebenfalls um 10 % zulegten.

Die Finanz- und Vermögensschadenlinien (Professional Lines) wuchsen um 16 %, bei einem Tarifanstieg von 3 %. E&O, Allied Health, das Umweltschutzgeschäft und die RAC-Re-Partnerschaft stützten das Wachstum. Die Cyber-Tarife gaben um 4 % nach, während die Prämien um 7 Millionen US-Dollar stiegen, was sich auf ausgewählte Großkunden konzentrierte.

Die Basis-Schadenquote (Attritional Loss Ratio) in der Versicherung stieg um 1,9 Punkte auf 54,2 %, was auf den Geschäftsmix und den stärkeren Wettbewerb in der Sach- und Haftpflichtversicherung zurückzuführen ist. Verdiente Prämien aus dem Marine-War-Geschäft in Höhe von rund 100 Millionen US-Dollar verbesserten die Quote um etwa 0,5 Prozentpunkte.

Rückversicherungsgeschäft

Die gebuchten Bruttoprämien in der Rückversicherung stiegen um 4 % auf nahezu 450 Millionen US-Dollar. Auf spezialisierte Kurzlaufzeit-Sparten (Short-tail Lines) entfielen 57 % der Prämien. Das Segment zeichnete mehr als 70 Millionen US-Dollar an Neugeschäft, wovon 60 % auf Kurzlaufzeiten entfielen, und verzeichnete eine Combined Ratio von 92,4 %.

Das Management positioniert AXIS Re weiterhin als Boutique-Spezialisten um und bleibt in den Haftpflicht- sowie Professional-Lines-Sparten selektiv. Das Segment wies in 11 aufeinanderfolgenden Quartalen Gewinne aus.

Aufwendungen, Provisionserträge und Technologie

Die Provisionserträge beliefen sich auf insgesamt 23 Millionen US-Dollar, wovon 18 Millionen US-Dollar die Verwaltungs- und Vertriebskosten ausglichen und 5 Millionen US-Dollar als sonstige versicherungsbezogene Erträge verbucht wurden. Höhere Abschlusskosten spiegelten das Wachstum im Bereich Tierversicherung, Kautionsversicherung (Surety), ACS und Marine War wider, was teilweise durch geringere Schäden, niedrigere interne Aufwendungen oder Provisionserträge ausgeglichen wurde.

AXIS gab bekannt, dass die Underwriting-Plattform der nächsten Generation die Bearbeitungszeiten für Angebote im Geschäft mit dem unteren Mittelstand um bis zu 70 % verkürzt hat. Das Unternehmen nutzt zudem eine KI-gestützte („agentic“) Funktion zur Erstmeldung von Schadenfällen (First Notice of Loss) bei Sachschäden.

Prognose der Unternehmensleitung

• Das Management rechnet weiterhin damit, dass die Rückversicherungsprämien im Gesamtjahr im niedrigen zweistelligen Prozentbereich sinken werden.
• Die konsolidierte G&A-Quote seit Jahresbeginn lag bei 10,7 % und damit leicht besser als das Jahresziel des Unternehmens von 11 %.
• Das Management deutete an, dass circa 22 % ein angemessener Richtwert für die Abschlusskostenquote im vierten Quartal ist, was das fortgeführte Marine-War-Geschäft widerspiegelt.
• AXIS geht davon aus, dass der Wachstumsbeitrag der erweiterten Sparten von rund 5 % bis 6 % bis zum Jahresende anhält.
• Laut Management ist ein Wert von rund 200 Millionen US-Dollar eine angemessene grobe Schätzung für das Nettokapitalanlageergebnis im vierten Quartal, wobei darauf hingewiesen wurde, dass die Ergebnisse im Private-Equity-Bereich volatil sein können.
• Das Unternehmen machte keine Angaben zur Prognose für das Prämienwachstum im Jahr 2027. Das Management erklärte, im vierten Quartal voraussichtlich weiterhin aktiv eigene Aktien zurückzukaufen.

Risiken und Beobachtungspunkte

Der Preisdruck nimmt in mehreren Versicherungsmärkten zu. Die Raten in der Sachversicherung gingen um 10 % zurück, und die Unternehmensleitung gab an, dass der Wettbewerb in den meisten Sparten steigt. Die Basis-Schadenquote in der Versicherung ist bereits gestiegen, und das Management rechnet mit einem anhaltenden Marktdruck.

AXIS bleibt in der Haftpflichtversicherung vorsichtig, da die Preise der Schadenentwicklung nur weitgehend Schritt halten. Zudem behält das Unternehmen eine hochgradig selektive Cyber-Strategie bei, da KI, Ransomware und andere Bedrohungen das Risikoumfeld verschärfen.

Das Marine-War-Geschäft trug zum Prämienwachstum und zum versicherungstechnischen Ergebnis bei, das künftige Geschäft hängt jedoch von der Entwicklung des Iran-Konflikts ab. Zudem fallen für dieses Geschäft Abschlusskosten von etwa 30 % bis 40 % an, je nachdem, ob AXIS die Platzierung führend oder beteiligend zeichnet.

Highlights aus der Fragerunde für Analysten

Das Management erklärte, dass organisches Wachstum und Aktienrückkäufe keine konkurrierenden Prioritäten darstellen, da AXIS über ausreichend Bilanzkapazität verfügt, um beides zu unterstützen. Das Unternehmen hält seine aktuelle Aktienbewertung für attraktiv und geht davon aus, weiterhin aktiv eigene Aktien zu erwerben.

Zu AXIS Capacity Solutions teilte das Management mit, dass das Volumensniveau von RAC Re weiterhin bei etwa 400 Millionen US-Dollar plus liegt, obwohl das Portfolio im zweiten Jahr nach den Underwriting-Standards von AXIS angepasst wird. Eine etwaige Verkleinerung wird die versicherungstechnischen Kennzahlen voraussichtlich nicht wesentlich verändern. Durch Provisionserträge wirkt sich ACS trotz höherer ausgewiesener Abschlusskosten im Wesentlichen neutral auf die Gesamtkostenquote aus.

Das Management lehnte es ab, sich auf ein zweistelliges Versicherungswachstum im Jahr 2027 festzulegen. Es betonte selektives Wachstum bei komplexen Transaktionsgeschäften und Marktverwerfungen bei gleichzeitiger Reduzierung der Risikopositionen dort, wo die risikoadjustierten Renditen den internen Standards nicht entsprechen.

Im Bereich Cyber gab AXIS an, dass das Netto-Haftungslimit unter 4 Millionen US-Dollar liegt und der Schwerpunkt vor allem auf Großkunden liegt. Das Portfolio wird durch ein umfangreiches Quoten-Rückversicherungsprogramm sowie eine Exzedenten-Tail-Absicherung unterstützt.

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz zu den Quartalszahlen

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Ausführungen des Managements

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the AXIS Capital Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded.

I would now like to hand the call to Clifford, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Clifford Gallant

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to our third quarter 2026 conference call. Our earnings press release and financial supplement were issued last night. If you would like copies, please visit the Investor Information section of our website at axiscapital.com. We set aside an hour for today's call, which is also available as an audio webcast on our website. Joining me on today's call are Vince Tizzio, our President and CEO; and Matt Kirk, our CFO.

I'd like to remind everyone that the statements made during this call, including the question-and-answer session, which are not historical facts, may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including the risk factors set forth in the company's most recent report on the Form 10-K or our quarterly report on Form 10-Q and other reports the company files with the SEC. This includes the additional risks identified in the cautionary note regarding the forward-looking statements in our earnings press release issued last night. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

In addition, our non-GAAP financial measures may be discussed during this conference call. Reconciliations are included in our press release and financial supplement.

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Vince.

Vincent Tizzio

Thank you, Cliff. Good morning, and thank you for joining our third quarter call. Before turning to our results, I'll take a moment to recognize the outstanding efforts of our team. During the quarter, we celebrated AXIS' 25th anniversary, a milestone that underscores both the progress we've made and the strength of the company we are today. AXIS was born as a specialist underwriter. And as we bridge past, present and future, we continue to lean into our specialist value proposition to address the needs of our customers. This was evident in our third quarter performance.

Our guiding metric continues to be growth in diluted book value, and we delivered a 7% increase over the past 12 months or a 14.4% increase ex AOCI. We produced $2.4 billion in gross premiums written, representing an 11% increase year-over-year with more than $700 million in new business. We continue to target short-tail specialty businesses and short-tail lines represent 56% of our premiums, and we generated a combined ratio of 94%.

AXIS is well positioned in the current market. Our ability to identify shifts in the risk landscape and respond early, act decisively, and shape our portfolio ahead of the market is what differentiates AXIS. This enables us to take advantage of dislocations, protect underwriting margins and deliver attractive returns throughout the cycle. As you've heard me share in past calls, we operate with an ethos of saying what we mean and doing what we say. We commented ahead of the market on the need for vigilance in liability and cyber and in 2026 have reduced premiums by 8% and 14%, respectively. This was driven predominantly by actions in our reinsurance segment.

Just last quarter, we spoke to deteriorating conditions in property and certain casualty lines within our insurance segment, and we were early to voice those concerns as now we have seen other market participants have since followed. That discipline works in both directions. Where conditions deteriorate, we act early to protect underwriting margins. Where dislocations create attractive returns, we move decisively to capture opportunities.

For example, in marine war and terrorism, AXIS continues to help customers navigate the Iran conflict. We are drawing from a deep expertise and long-standing reputation in the market. Additionally, we continue to see opportunity across our expanded classes where we are capturing share in markets where AXIS has historically been underrepresented and where margins remain attractive.

Finally, through our AXIS Capacity Solutions capability, also known as ACS, we are matching our specialty underwriting knowledge with third-party capital. This is enabling us to serve clients with greater capacity while generating fee income for AXIS. Over the past 3 years, we have deliberately repositioned AXIS Re as a boutique specialist, and we have done this while posting profits in the segment for 11 consecutive quarters. We feel great about the direction that AXIS Re is headed in.

As respect to capital management, we continue to deliver shareholder value through our stock repurchase program. Since the fourth quarter of 2023, we have reduced our share count by approximately 16.6%. We expect to remain opportunistic in repurchasing shares where we believe doing so creates long-term value. Over the past 3 years, our How We Work program has fundamentally improved the way AXIS operates. We have established a strengthened operating infrastructure, embedded agile ways of working across the organization and are increasingly leveraging technology and AI to improve our speed, processes and drive business outcomes.

By example, earlier this year, I spoke with you about our new end-to-end next-generation underwriting platform rollout. It was deployed in our lower middle market business. The platform is showing its ability to reduce quote cycle time by up to 70%. In claims, our agentic first notice of loss capability launched initially within our property business is accelerating processing while giving us insights, including during catastrophe events.

These illustrate a broader shift in how AXIS operates. We are using technology and AI not to simply automate tasks, but to increase underwriting capacity, improve decision-making, compress cycle times and enable the organization to scale more efficiently. Our overall progress is underpinned by the reputation we earn from our brokers and customers. I'm pleased to note in our most recent broker survey, AXIS was once again recognized with top quartile Net Promoter Scores and leadership as a specialty insurer. Moreover, we were ranked ahead of the market for our underwriting knowledge, alignment with our customers' strategy and brand recognition.

Let's now move to our segment results, and we'll begin with insurance. We're pleased with the growth and profitability of our insurance business. Highlights during the quarter include $1.9 billion in premiums, a 13% increase year-over-year, $630 million of new premiums written, underwriting income of $104 million and a 92% combined ratio and current accident year ex cat combined of 87.2%. Our global distribution platform has enabled us to drive differentiated profitable growth across our portfolio.

I'll unpack the 13% growth in more detail. ACS led the way, contributing 7%. Our expanded classes contributed 5%, and our core insurance book generated the remaining balance. Notably, we again observed increasing contributions from our retail classes in North America, which delivered 16% growth year-over-year. We are also continuing to see healthy submission flow, including a 15% year-over-year increase in North America. Our London market business performed very well in the quarter. A top 10 syndicate at Lloyd's, we are leveraging our scale and relevance and leaning into our lead position across multiple lines, including marine, A&H and credit and political risk to name several.

Let's now unpack market conditions within insurance. As I've discussed previously, we operate across a series of micro markets, each with their own set of risk characteristics, but with an overarching theme of increasing competition across most lines. Against this backdrop, we remain an underwriting-led and bottom line-focused company with premium adequacy, portfolio construction and specialty expertise as guiding principles in our decision-making. We are balancing active cycle management with the selective pursuit of dislocations where our specialty expertise gives us an advantage.

I'll provide observations across several lines of businesses. In property, growth continued to moderate and was 11% in the quarter. Rates declined 10%, and we were down 15% in E&S, specifically. We're beginning -- we are being increasingly selective in property, particularly in segments where pricing is no longer rational. Notwithstanding the softer conditions, we have stayed true to the fundamentals that guide our approach. We maintain a well-constructed property book with an average net limits that remain in the low single-digit millions, a balanced mix of perils and geographies and a cat XOL protection that attaches at $100 million per event.

In liability, where rates increased 8% in the quarter, broadly keeping pace with loss trend, we deliberately reduced exposures where pricing did not meet our expectations. In U.S. excess casualty, even with rate increases of 10%, we are maintaining a disciplined stance. Retention on our renewal business was steady, but we did not grow new premiums within the line. In our dedicated U.S. excess casualty lower middle market unit, we grew 23% as business remained premium adequate. In primary casualty, rates rose 10%. Similar to U.S. excess casualty, we maintained a cautious position on new premiums while our renewal business was stable.

In professional, growth was 16%, consistent with last quarter with a rate increase of 3%. E&O remained a key driver with meaningful contributions from expanded classes, including Allied Health and environmental. Our growth in professional was also supported by our RAC Re partnership. Within cyber, we maintained a highly selective approach. Rates were down 4%, while premiums were up $7 million with growth concentrated in targeted large account business. As previously reported, our underwriting strategy in cyber is selective and being executed with great discipline amidst a risk landscape that has been escalated by AI.

Let's now turn to reinsurance, where the repositioning of the portfolio continues to produce tangible results. In the third quarter, premiums increased 4% to nearly $450 million, with specialty short-tail lines representing 57%. We delivered more than $70 million in new business, of which 60% was short tail. And we generated a 92.4% combined ratio. We continue to lean into our specialty lines while maintaining a highly selective stance in liability and professional.

In closing, AXIS has the right strategy, capabilities and talent to succeed in a changing market. We have a resilient and diversified portfolio, robust global distribution platform and deep customer relationships grounded in trust. We will act decisively and have the expertise to identify market dislocations that create new profitable growth opportunities, the discipline to reduce exposures when returns do not meet our standards and the financial strength to invest in our business while returning capital to our shareholders.

With that, I'll now pass the floor to Matt for his comments.

Matthew Kirk

Thank you, Vince, and good morning, everyone. AXIS delivered a strong quarter with disciplined underwriting, double-digit growth in insurance, solid investment income and continued active capital management. Net income available to common shareholders was $202 million or $2.75 per diluted common share, resulting in an annualized net income ROE of 13.8%. Operating income was $229 million or $3.12 per diluted common share, which produced an annualized operating ROE of 15.7%.

Starting with our group underwriting highlights. Gross written premiums were $2.4 billion, up 11% over the prior year quarter. Insurance gross written premiums increased by 13%. The growth was broad-based with contributions from ACS, marine, property, professional lines and A&H. In reinsurance, gross premiums increased 4%. Growth in shorter tail lines was partially offset by our continued reduction in longer-tail business. Note, for the full year, we still expect reinsurance premiums down low double digits.

The combined ratio was 94.0% compared with 89.4% in the prior year quarter. Catastrophe and war-related losses were $75 million or 4.6 points, including $44 million of war losses and $31 million of catastrophe and weather-related losses. This compares with $44 million or 3.0 points of cats in the prior year quarter.

During the quarter, we recognized $15 million of favorable prior year reserve development or 0.9 points. As in recent quarters, the releases were concentrated in shorter tail lines. Our current accident year loss ratio, excluding catastrophe and war-related losses, was 57% compared with 56.3% in the prior year quarter. The insurance attritional loss ratio was 54.2%, up 1.9 points, reflecting the business mix and market pressures we discussed last quarter, including a more competitive property and casualty environment. We expect these pressures to continue. The uptick in marine war premium had some benefit to the attritional, but overall, our stance on loss picks has remained prudently conservative.

The reinsurance attritional loss ratio was 68.3%, up 0.4 points. Our reinsurance business continues to produce steady and strong results. Our acquisition expense ratio was 22.5% compared with 19.7% in the prior year quarter. As we discussed on our second quarter call, we have been emphasizing growth in shorter tail lines such as pet, surety and ACS, which carry higher commission costs. Importantly, we manage these businesses for total underwriting economics. While the mix can result in higher acquisition costs, those costs can be offset by lower losses, lower internal expenses or in the case of ACS, additional fee income. In addition, this quarter included more marine war premium, a specialized class of business that carries higher commission rates.

Our consolidated G&A ratio, including corporate expenses, was 10.8% compared with 11.7% in the prior year quarter. Dollar spending was nearly flat year-over-year, while the ratio benefited from strong earned premium growth. Year-to-date, the consolidated G&A ratio was 10.7%, modestly better than our full year target of 11%. Fee income in the quarter was $23 million, including $18 million, which served as an offset to G&A expense, and $5 million reported as other insurance-related income. This compares to $19 million of fee income in the prior year quarter. Note that the G&A offset derives from ILS vehicles and ACS-related fee income.

Turning to investments and capital. Net investment income was $211 million, up 14% from $185 million in the prior year quarter. We're seeing the benefits of strong operating cash flow and improving yields. We are also pleased with the quarter's performance of alternatives where quarter-to-quarter volatility is typical. Overall, the outlook for net investment income has improved as we incorporate higher-yield securities in the core fixed income portfolio.

We remain in a strong financial position, which allows us to support profitable organic growth while returning excess capital to shareholders. During the quarter, we repurchased $109 million of common shares, up from $89 million in 2Q and $60 million in Q1. We view our share valuation as highly attractive today, and we expect to continue to be buyers of our stock.

Overall, our results demonstrate AXIS' ability to navigate changing markets to build long-term shareholder value as measured by the 14% growth in diluted book value per share, excluding AOCI over the past 12 months. As specialty underwriting experts, we don't need to swing at every pitch, but have the expertise and discipline to lean into attractive opportunities while pulling back where returns don't meet our standards. This approach is delivering strong underwriting income while our focus on operating excellence and financial discipline further enhance those returns.

With that, we'd be happy to answer your questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Yaron Kinar of Mizuho.

Fragen und Antworten

Christopher Golden

This is Chris on for Yaron. My first question is, why prioritize growth associated with compressing margins and diminishing returns over buybacks considering where the share price is currently trading?

Matthew Kirk

Chris, it's Matt Kirk. Thanks for the question. I don't know if it's about prioritization. We're happy to support our growth at these return levels, which are very value accretive. At the same time, we're also very happy to return capital to our shareholders. We saw an increase in that quarter-over-quarter, and we're glad to support both initiatives. So I don't think it's choosing between 2. We have a strong balance sheet and the capital to support both initiatives.

Vincent Tizzio

Chris, this is Vince. I would just add -- but the trade that we placed in 3Q reflects the balance that we've been talking about throughout the journey. We delivered a strong ROE, strong growth, and we posted an 87.2% ex-cat combined ratio in our insurance business. We like the bet that we're placing. And as Matt indicated in his opening remarks, we've increased our share repurchase program. And at these levels, we would align that there's still potential value creation through doing so additionally.

Christopher Golden

Awesome. And my second question is, how high can the insurance segment acquisition ratio move on mix shift? And would you -- do you expect loss ratio improvement for mix to fully offset that?

Matthew Kirk

Yes. So we do, and we explained in greater detail the mix over the last handful of quarters. We have been guiding and we guided to a commission ratio of 21%. I think the new factor is the war premium, which also comes with a higher commission ratio. That's a business we really like. We've been doing it for decades, and we believe that will be beneficial over the long term. As for how high it can get, I don't want to give particular numbers. I would say for Q4, we still are writing war business. So if you wanted a proxy, I think 22% is a good proxy for the fourth quarter.

Operator

The next question comes from Charlie Lederer of BMO Capital Markets.

Charles Lederer

Just thinking about the growth and the mix shift in insurance in the quarter, I'm assuming the marine and war growth is included in the core book and not the new and expanded classes. Is that fair? And I guess as you think about the growth trajectory and the makeup of that growth going forward, is this quarter representative of how the core book and the new and expanded classes should trend, I guess, with the war going on?

Vincent Tizzio

Chris, this is Vince. To the first part of your question, it is not included in new and expanded. As respect new and expanded, we're really pleased with the results in the quarter and cumulatively. You may recall when we first put forward in Q2 '25, the outset comments around what we would embark upon, we talked about the development of a set of new propositions responding to our distribution channel needs, more particularly in the United States. We're quite pleased with well over $1 billion of premium adequate business that has been written since that period of time.

The run rate that you've seen in the second and third quarter, approximating 5%, 6%, we think will continue. Obviously, we're not going to speak about 2027 today, but certainly for the year-end. And I would advise that, obviously, as a specialist that responds to dislocations, we will create new propositions as the market dislocates in certain pockets. And we'll have more to say about that in subsequent calls.

Charles Lederer

And maybe on ACS, you had mentioned, I think, last quarter, the possibility of turning down some of that business or walking away from pieces of it. Can you just give us your updated thoughts on the growth trajectory there? I think there's supposed to be a leg up in year 2.

Vincent Tizzio

Sorry about that. We're very pleased with ACS in total. You may recall why we created the capability to begin with. We did so really an observation of market trends that were going on in the London market and in the U.S. wholesale space. We're quite pleased with the execution of what we've transacted. Now when it gets into the more specific part of your question, I think you're putting yourself to the RAC Re transaction, which has been emblematic of what people have associated ACS as being within AXIS.

We are taking advantage of our contractual rights to curate the portfolio for year 2. We're pleased with the contribution of written premium from the first year, the premium adequacy associated, but we will obviously, as specialists, tweak the portfolio going forward, and we will reveal that in year 2 as the premiums unfold.

Operator

The next question comes from Andrew Kligerman of TD Cowen.

Andrew Kligerman

My first question is around insurance. And terrific 13% -- roughly 13% gross and net written growth. So my question is, going forward, and Vince, you sounded very cautious just about both casualty and property more so than you've been in the past. So as we look to next year, a, can we expect this double-digit growth? And b, where might that come from? Will it be from ACS?

Vincent Tizzio

I apologize. There's a delay on our side even between the exchange of questions. So I'm going to ask our team to look at the phone here. So I apologize for cutting you off. Look, we're not dour, we're not pessimistic. We are specialists. We are seeking risk-adjusted returns in everything that we do. We're cycle managing our portfolio. We still have a favorable view generally in our insurance business, but we have humility. The market is softening. And we took very early notice of that in the second quarter. We've seen the subsequent market movements by those against whom we compete having expressed similar views.

But in respect direct to property and casualty, these are huge segments, right? And so we continue to see our transactional business in favorable terms. We continue to see some of the most complicated business and risk profiles that we service through wholesale in favorable ways on a risk-adjusted basis. Nonetheless, growth at double digit. We're not prepared to give any commentary or guidance about that for the '27 year. Our heads are down focused on closing 2026 as capably as we can, delivering the kind of predictability and sustainability of consistent strong results that we have been tying together now for, well, many quarters, Andrew, many quarters.

Andrew Kligerman

Okay. So then, Vince, my follow-up will be around the insurance accident year combined ratio, which came in at a really strong 92.9% for the first 9 months, it's 90.6%. Given your commentary on in many instances, pricing not keeping up with loss cost in casualty, pricing coming down in property. Should we expect a little bit of erosion on that 3Q number going forward? Or do you think you can kind of hold in there in the low 90s over time?

Vincent Tizzio

Yes. Matt gave explicit guidance in the second quarter call in respect to our insurance loss ratio. I thought he was quite clear about our collective view at AXIS in the performance of our loss ratio. We think as we traverse through the fourth quarter, our composite view of what works for the 27 year will become increasingly clear. But what you and all of our analysts and most importantly, our investors can rely upon is the transparency, the clarity of what we're doing, why we're doing it and always grounding ourselves to the financial measurables that we've held out as defining success for the company.

And that's growing book value, delivering strong risk-adjusted returns and ensuring that our underwriting platform has the flexibility of capital, the product positioning and geographic positioning to take advantage of the dislocations that a specialist is designed to solve problems for. And that you can take to the bank, Andrew.

Andrew Kligerman

Okay. So I'm going to assume given those returns that you feel like you can kind of stay somewhere similar in terms of returns on capital going forward. Is that -- that's the objective, right?

Vincent Tizzio

Plus or minus. Plus or minus for sure, plus or minus.

Operator

The next question comes from Hristian Getsov with Wells Fargo.

Hristian Getsov

I was wondering if you could give us a sense as to the underlying margin impact on insurance from ACS at RAC Re, essentially, if you downsize that going forward, just having stricter underwriting standards, like what effect would that have on the starting point relative to the 54% underlying that's expected for this year in insurance?

Matthew Kirk

Listen, I don't think -- if you think about ACS, that starts with underwriting returns that meet our standards. And we were able to get larger lines because of the RAC Re deal, and we were able to generate fee income while doing it. If that was downsized, I would not think there'd be a significant difference in our underwriting KPIs.

Vincent Tizzio

Yes. This is Vince. I would just add, in short, not materially. And I apologize, I didn't catch your first name. Realize we're not relying on one trick or one initiative to produce the underwriting profits of our company. Prior questions pointed to new and expanded. Prior comments in the past have pointed to the breadth of our core portfolio. We have a diversified portfolio. We're leaning into selective markets as quickly as we can to meet those dislocations and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns.

Hristian Getsov

Got it. And then for my follow-up, is there any way you could quantify the marine war premiums that were in the quarter that had a beneficial impact on the insurance accident year loss ratio? And should we expect those premiums to be a similar magnitude in the Q4?

Matthew Kirk

So we had about $100 million of earned premium from war in the quarter. On the attritional ratio, it was a modest impact. If we had to put a number, it's around 0.5 point. And then if you think about Q4, it's really, really difficult to say. I'd say we're in the market. We're writing business. We're going to continue to support our clients so long as it meets our underwriting returns. To the extent of what we write will be highly dependent on how this conflict continues, but we will see some more activity in Q4. We just can't size that for you right now.

Operator

The next question comes from Andrew Andersen of Jefferies.

Andrew Andersen

It sounds like the cyber rate declines had moderated a little bit. Has risk-adjusted pricing reached a floor there? Or is the growth and the rate change difference more account mix and exposure rather than an improved market?

Vincent Tizzio

Andrew, look, I think the decrease has dissipated in its order of run rate decrease to be sure. Nonetheless, importantly, I think the risk landscape is heightened within cyber. You have seen from AXIS a deliberate set of underwriting actions. And despite the modicum of increase in written premium discrete in the quarter in our insurance business, which is internationally focused on large accounts, something we've spoken about. We remain hyper vigilant. There are any number of threat actors being prosecuted in different forms of ransomware losses. And so we'll remain vigilant, and I would not expect a material change coming from AXIS in its underwriting strategy.

Andrew Andersen

And if we go back a bit and recognizing you have been buying back stock, but have the ADCs you signed in past years or some normal business mix shift generated any capital release this year? Would you expect that to come in the coming years? Just is there more capital efficiency opportunity?

Matthew Kirk

Yes. I think we recognized the capital relief from the LPT when we undertook the transaction last year. And that also allowed us ultimately to be larger in share returns last year. I would just say we have appropriate capital to continue our share repurchase program. I mentioned it in my prepared comments, but I really believe where we are trading, it's an excellent way to build value for our shareholders, and we'll be continuing to be active in the fourth quarter.

Operator

The next question comes from Rowland Mayor of RBC Capital Markets.

Rowland Mayor

The sequential step-up in fixed maturity net investment income was fairly significant. Was there anything onetime in that step-up? Or is $182 million a good run rate going forward?

Matthew Kirk

Yes, good question. I think it is 2 things happening simultaneously that we're frankly quite pleased with. The primary driver was continued growth in our invested asset base. We entered the quarter with a bit more than 5% higher investable assets at the beginning of the quarter. So our averages across the quarter were heavily weighted to the front end, and we're seeing higher yields as everyone else is. So we're pleased to see that step up.

I think it's around that figure. I'd also call your attention that our overall net investment income was very good at $211 million. We had additional positive marks on our private equity. Those can be lumpy. And so you may not see that outperformance on a quarter-to-quarter basis. All in, if you wanted to pick a number, broad pick, about $200 million for Q4 would not be a bad place to put yourself.

Rowland Mayor

And then going back to Vince's comments on AI and cyber, can you remind us where you play in the cyber market, how you set limits and how you reinsure that portfolio?

Vincent Tizzio

Yes, this is Vince. We have a very strong portfolio construction as it relates limit profile on a net basis, under $4 million. We have a target customer that is in the large account segment. We have previously discussed reshaping and nonrenewing in a substantial part, our delegated business. We address the middle market through a joint partnership with Elpha Secure. It's a tiny portfolio for us, has very strong vulnerability scan and patching assessment capabilities that support our broader underwriting strategy. And our outbound reinsurance strategy is a substantial quota share with a lot of tail cover on an XOL basis that we feel very comfortable with.

Rowland Mayor

And if I could sneak in one more. You gave Christian $100 million of war premium. What's a good CAC ratio to associate with that marine war business?

Vincent Tizzio

I didn't hear what ratio?

Rowland Mayor

Acquisition costs.

Vincent Tizzio

I would suggest to you, depending upon lead versus follow, somewhere between 30% and 40% there.

Operator

The next question comes from Josh Shanker of Bank of America.

Joshua Shanker

Is there any way you can scale the amount of business being written in AXIS Capacity Solutions right now or the amount of the growth that was generated in the quarter in the insurance segment? And likewise, can we talk about the acquisition cost of that business versus the business that you are using your own underwriters to generate?

Vincent Tizzio

Josh, I'll take the first part, and Matt and I will ham and egg the second part. Good to hear from you. So we do think there's an opportunity to continue to scale AXIS capacity capabilities within the insurance portfolio, both in the U.S. and in our international portfolio. There's a lot of governance around the structure of these transactions. You know from prior calls that this really reaches the highest part of our organization and sign-off. Our Chief Underwriting Officer is definitely involved and supported by great teammates that are doing human work.

So the direct answer with some color and context is, yes, we think we can scale it. I won't comment on its order, but I will tell you, it is highly dependent on meeting a number of different thresholds that also cascade the investment strategy of these entities and our CFO, of course, our Chief Investment Officer are deeply involved. So I'm very pleased with the governance that the company is bringing to these transactions.

As it relates to the acquisition expense associated with ACS transactions, the short answer is, while there is an increase in the acquisition expense, there's an offset from the fee income. That offset goes against our G&A ratio. It is not reflected, Josh, in our acquisition expense. I think that's the short answer to the second part of your question.

Joshua Shanker

Okay. Yes. Can we say is ACS 10% of the book? Is it 20% of the book or at least can you -- is there some frame we can put on that?

Matthew Kirk

Yes. Josh, is your question still on acquisition? Or I just want to make sure I understand where you're headed.

Joshua Shanker

No. The amount of the insurance book being written by third-party underwriters as opposed to AXIS deployed underwriters.

Vincent Tizzio

That's a misnomer, right? So this is the RAC Re transaction with Ryan Specialty within their MGUs. We have approximated the volume of that $400-plus-odd million previously. That's not materially changing. There will be changes for year 2. And that, again, is through a curated effort with AXIS' underwriting strategies in partnership with Ryan Specialty.

Joshua Shanker

And I guess, your MGA programs that you -- in the AXIS Capacity Solutions?

Vincent Tizzio

Yes. In the U.S., the delegated business actually shrunk a percentage point in the quarter to 14-odd percent.

Joshua Shanker

Okay. All right. And then -- and the frame, can you walk a little bit through that fee income offset? If you -- if we were to add the acquisition cost increase associated with that business that comes through the acquisition cost ratio, but reduce the fee that we don't see that run through it, is it a net-net neutral to the acquisition cost? Or is it still more expensive?

Matthew Kirk

It's broadly a net neutral that you're going to find in the expense ratio.

Operator

This ends our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the call over to Vince Tizzio for any closing remarks.

Vincent Tizzio

Thank you again for your time and your questions this morning. We feel very good about where AXIS stands today and in the future and supported by our clear strategy, a strong portfolio and an exceptional team. We look forward to keeping you updated on our progress, and good day.

Operator

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation, and you may now disconnect.