엑시스 캐피털(AXS) 2026년 3분기 실적 콘퍼런스 콜: 보험료 11% 증가, 자사주 매입 가속화

핵심 요약

• 엑시스 캐피탈(AXIS Capital)의 2026년 3분기 원수보험료는 보험 부문 13%, 재보험 부문 4% 성장에 힘입어 전년 동기 대비 11% 증가한 24억 달러를 기록했다.
• 보통주 주주 귀속 순이익은 2억 200만 달러(희석 주당 2.75달러), 영업이익은 2억 2,900만 달러(희석 주당 3.12달러)를 기록했다.
• 그룹 합산비율은 재해 및 전쟁 관련 손실 7,500만 달러와 전년도 준비금 환입 1,500만 달러가 반영되면서 전년 동기 89.4%에서 94.0%로 상승했다.
• 보험 부문은 1억 400만 달러의 인수이익과 92.0%의 합산비율을 기록했다. 재해를 제외한 당해 연도 발생 기준 합산비율은 87.2%였다.
• 순투자소득은 운용자산 규모 확대, 수익률 개선, 사모펀드 평가이익에 힘입어 전년 동기 대비 14% 증가한 2억 1,100만 달러를 기록했다.
• 엑시스는 해당 분기 동안 1억 900만 달러 규모의 자사주를 매입했다. 주식 수는 2023년 4분기 이후 약 16.6% 감소했다.

핵심 재무 데이터

사업 및 영업 실적

보험

보험 부문 원수보험료는 신규 보험료 6억 3,000만 달러를 포함해 13% 증가한 19억 달러를 기록했다. AXIS 캐파시티 솔루션(ACS)이 성장의 7%포인트를 기여했고, 확장 종목이 5%포인트를 더했으며, 나머지 성장은 핵심 보험 포트폴리오가 이끌었다. 북미 리테일 종목은 16% 성장했고, 해당 지역의 인수 신청(submission)은 15% 증가했다.

재산보험 보험료는 11% 성장했으나 요율은 10% 하락했고, 초과 및 잉여 보험(E&S) 부문은 15% 감소했다. 경영진은 가격 책정이 더 이상 합리적이지 않은 영역에서 선별적 인수를 강화하고 있다고 밝혔다. 해당 포트폴리오의 평균 보유 한도는 백만 달러대 초반 수준을 유지하고 있으며, 재해 초과손실 보상(Catastrophe excess-of-loss)은 사고당 1억 달러부터 적용된다.

배상책임보험 요율은 손해율 추세에 전반적으로 부합하는 8% 상승했다. 미국 초과 배상책임 요율은 10% 올랐으나, 엑시스는 이 종목에서 신규 보험료를 늘리지 않았다. 전담 중하위 시장 초과 배상책임 부문은 23% 성장했으며, 원상 배상책임(primary casualty) 요율도 10% 상승했다.

전문인 배상책임보험(Professional lines)은 요율이 3% 인상된 가운데 16% 성장했다. 전문직 배상책임(E&O), 의료연관(Allied Health), 환경 관련 사업 및 RAC Re 파트너십이 성장을 견인했다. 사이버 보험 요율은 4% 하락했으나, 엄선된 대형 계정을 중심으로 보험료가 700만 달러 증가했다.

보험 부문 경상 손해율은 사업 포트폴리오 구성 및 손해보험 시장의 경쟁 심화를 반영하여 1.9%포인트 상승한 54.2%를 기록했다. 약 1억 달러의 해상 전쟁 경과보험료가 손해율을 약 0.5%포인트 개선했다.

재보험

재보험 부문 원수보험료는 4% 증가한 4억 5,000만 달러에 육박했다. 특수 숏테일(Short-tail) 종목이 전체 보험료의 57%를 차지했다. 해당 부문은 7,000만 달러 이상의 신규 계약을 수의했으며(이 중 60%가 숏테일 종목), 92.4%의 합산비율을 기록했다.

경영진은 AXIS Re를 부티크 전문 재보험사로 재정립하는 작업을 계속하고 있으며, 배상책임보험 및 전문인 배상책임 종목에서 선별적 접근을 유지하고 있다. 해당 부문은 11분기 연속 흑자를 기록했다.

비용, 수수료 수익 및 기술

수수료 수익은 일반관리비를 상계하는 1,800만 달러와 기타 보험 관련 수익으로 기록된 500만 달러를 포함해 총 2,300만 달러를 기록했다. 신계약 취득비용 증가에는 반려동물, 보증, ACS 및 해상 전쟁 사업의 성장이 반영되었으나, 손실 감소, 내부 비용 감소 또는 수수료 수익으로 일부 상쇄되었다.

엑시스는 차세대 인수 플랫폼을 통해 중하위 시장 사업의 견적 소요 시간을 최대 70%까지 단축했다고 밝혔다. 또한 재산보험 보상청구 부문에서 에이전틱(agentic) 기반의 초동 사고 접수(FNOL) 기능을 활용하고 있다.

경영진 가이던스

• 경영진은 연간 재보험 보험료가 10%대 초반의 감소율을 보일 것이라는 기존 전망을 유지했다.
• 연초 대비 연결 일반관리비율은 10.7%로, 회사의 연간 목표치인 11%보다 소폭 양호한 수준이다.
• 경영진은 지속적인 해상 전쟁 사업을 반영할 때 4분기 신계약 취득비율 추정치로 약 22%가 적절하다고 밝혔다.
• 엑시스는 확장 종목의 성장 기여도(약 5%~6%)가 연말까지 유지될 것으로 예상하고 있다.
• 경영진은 사모펀드 실적의 변동성이 존재할 수 있음을 지적하면서도, 4분기 순투자소득 추정치로 약 2억 달러가 합리적이라고 전했다.
• 회사는 2027년 보험료 성장 가이던스를 제시하지 않았다. 경영진은 4분기에도 적극적인 자사주 매입을 이어갈 것으로 예상한다고 밝혔다.

리스크 및 주요 점검 사항

여러 보험 시장에서 가격 하락 압력이 커지고 있다. 재산보험 요율은 10% 하락했으며, 경영진은 대부분의 종목에서 경쟁이 심화되고 있다고 전했다. 보험 부문 경상 손해율은 이미 상승세를 보이고 있으며, 경영진은 이러한 시장 압박이 이어질 것으로 전망했다.

엑시스는 가격 인상이 손해율 추세를 간신히 따라잡고 있는 상황을 고려해 배상책임보험 부문에서 신중한 태도를 유지하고 있다. 또한 AI, 랜섬웨어 및 기타 위협 요인으로 인해 리스크 환경이 악화됨에 따라 사이버 보험 부문에서도 엄격하게 선별적인 전략을 유지하고 있다.

해상 전쟁 사업은 보험료 성장과 인수 실적에 기여했으나, 향후 영업 활동은 이란 분쟁의 전개 양상에 달려 있다. 해당 사업은 엑시스가 계약 인수(placement)를 주도하는지 여부에 따라 약 30%~40%의 취득비율이 발생한다.

애널리스트 Q&A 주요 내용

경영진은 자체 성장에 따른 재투자(organic growth)와 자사주 매입이 상충되는 우선순위가 아니며, 엑시스는 두 가지 모두를 지원할 수 있는 충분한 재무적 여력을 갖추고 있다고 설명했다. 회사는 현재 주가 수준이 매력적이라고 판단하며 적극적인 자사주 매입 기조를 유지할 것으로 기대하고 있다.

AXIS 캐파시티 솔루션(ACS)에 대해 경영진은 2년 차에 엑시스의 인수 기준에 따라 포트폴리오가 조정되더라도 RAC Re 실적 규모는 약 4억 달러 이상을 유지하고 있다고 밝혔다. 규모가 축소되더라도 인수 KPI에는 실질적인 영향을 미치지 않을 것으로 예상된다. 수수료 수익 덕분에 ACS는 보고된 신계약 취득비율이 높아졌음에도 불구하고 전체 사업비율에 미치는 영향이 전반적으로 중립적이다.

경영진은 2027년 보험 부문의 두 자릿수 성장을 확약하지 않았다. 위험조정수익률이 내부 기준에 미달하는 익스포저는 줄이는 한편, 복잡한 거래 사업 및 시장 왜곡 기회에 대한 선별적 성장을 강조했다.

사이버 보험의 경우, 엑시스는 보유 한도가 400만 달러 미만이며 주로 대형 계정에 집중되어 있다고 밝혔다. 이 포트폴리오는 상당한 규모의 비례재보험 프로그램과 초과손실 꼬리위험 보호의 지원을 받고 있다.

실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

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.

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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.