寰宇保險控股 (UVE) 2026 年第三季財報電話會議：綜合成本率降至 91%

重點摘要

• 調整後普通股稀釋每股盈餘增加至 1.93 美元，高於去年同期的 1.36 美元，主要反映承保收益與淨投資收益增加。
• 核心營收年增 11.1% 至 4.443 億美元，而淨已賺保費成長 12.1% 至 4.032 億美元。
• 淨綜合率改善 5.4 個百分點至 91.0%，主要受到淨損失率下降 5.6 個百分點至 64.6% 的帶動。
• 有效保單數量成長 8%。佛羅里達州以外地區的直接簽單保費成長 18.5%，但部分被佛羅里達州下降 3.3% 所抵銷。
• Universal 創造了 32.7% 的年化普通股股東權益報酬率。管理層表示，根據迄今為止的理賠活動，伊賽亞斯颶風（Hurricane Isaias）的影響似乎在可控範圍內。
• 該公司在本季度以 740 萬美元回購了約 17.4 萬股，目前授權額度下尚餘約 110 萬股。

關鍵財務數據

業務與營運表現

保費成長繼續轉向 Universal 的跨州營運業務。佛羅里達州以外地區的直接簽單保費成長 18.5%，而佛羅里達州則下降 3.3%。管理層將整體成長主要歸因於全公司業務範圍內的有效保單數量增加。

淨已賺保費成長 12.1%，反映出直接已賺保費增加以及再保轉出保費率下降。同一因素也推動了淨損失率的改善。

淨費用率微幅上升至 26.4%。Universal 將此增加歸因於與佛羅里達州以外地區成長相關的保單取得成本上升以及營運成本增加，但部分被較低的再保轉出保費率所抵銷。

管理層表示，佛羅里達州的立法變更利好市場，且公司的代理商關係持續支持新業務發展。在佛羅里達州以外地區，Universal 專注於定價充足的區域，而非盲目追求成長。

風險與關注焦點

季末過後，伊賽亞斯颶風（Hurricane Isaias）以 2 級颶風姿態在佛羅里達州狹長地帶西部的德斯廷（Destin）附近登陸。Universal 部署了外勤理賠勘查人員並主動聯繫保戶，以加快勘查與理賠撥款速度。管理層根據迄今為止的理賠活動，將該事件評估為在可控範圍內，但此評估仍取決於後續理賠發展情況。

佛羅里達州直接簽單保費年減 3.3%，而該州以外地區的擴展則導致了更高的取得成本與營運成本。

分析師問答亮點

在被問及競爭與成長時，管理層表示 Universal 對其在現有各州的有機成長模式保持信心。公司強調了佛羅里達州以外地區的定價紀律，並表示僅會在費率充足性具吸引力的地區承接業務。

在資本配置方面，財務長 Frank Wilcox 表示保戶保障與保險實體的資本充足性仍是首要任務。公司亦預期將繼續透過股利回饋價值，並計劃與董事會討論剩餘的庫藏股回購授權。

法說會完整逐字稿

完整財報電話會議逐字稿

管理層陳述

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Universal's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Arash Soleimani, Chief Strategy Officer.

Arash Soleimani

Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. Welcome to our quarterly earnings call. On the call with me today are Steve Donaghy, Chief Executive Officer; and Frank Wilcox, Chief Financial Officer.

Before we begin, please note today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures. Forward-looking statements involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. For more information, please see the press release on Universal's SEC filings, all of which are available on the Investor section of our website at universalinsuranceholdings.com and on the SEC's website. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP measures is included in the quarterly press release and can also be found on Universal's website at universalinsuranceholdings.com.

With that, I'll turn the call over to Steve.

Stephen Donaghy

Thanks, Arash. Good morning, everyone. In the quarter, we delivered a very strong 32.7% annualized return on common equity, driven by solid underwriting and revenue performance. Our net loss ratio continues to improve, and new business trends are solid, including 8% growth in policies in-force. Subsequent to quarter end, Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin in the western Florida Panhandle as a Category 2 hurricane and quickly weakened as it moved inland.

Our claims team was deployed immediately with field adjusters on the ground in the affected areas. And we have been in direct contact with policyholders to expedite inspections and payments. Our focus is on helping our customers recover as quickly as possible, and we view the storm as manageable based on claims activity to date.

I'll turn it over to Frank to walk through our financial results. Frank.

Frank Wilcox

Thanks, Steve, and good morning. Adjusted diluted earnings per common share was $1.93 compared to an adjusted diluted earnings per common share of $1.36 in the prior year quarter. The higher adjusted diluted earnings per common share mostly stems from higher underwriting and net investment income.

Core revenue of $444.3 million was up 11.1% year-over-year, with growth primarily stemming from higher net premiums earned and net investment income. Direct premiums written were $608.9 million, up 2.7% from the prior year quarter. The increase stems from 18.5% growth in other states, partially offset by a 3.3% decrease in Florida. Overall growth mostly reflects higher policies in-force across our multi-state footprint.

Direct premiums earned were $556.7 million, up 4.2% from the prior year quarter, reflecting the direct written premiums growth over the last 12 months. Net premiums earned were $403.2 million, up 12.1% from the prior year quarter. The increase is primarily attributable to higher direct premiums earned and a lower ceded premium ratio.

The net combined ratio was 91%, down 5.4 points compared to the prior year quarter. The decrease reflects a lower net loss ratio, partially offset by a higher net expense ratio. The 64.6% net loss ratio was down 5.6 points compared to the prior year quarter, with the decrease reflecting a lower ceded premium ratio. The net expense ratio was 26.4%, up 0.2 points compared to the prior year quarter, with the increase driven by higher policy acquisition costs associated with growth outside of Florida and higher other operating costs and expenses, partly offset by a lower ceded premium ratio.

During the third quarter, the company repurchased approximately 174,000 shares at an aggregate cost of $7.4 million. The company's current share repurchase authorization program has approximately 1.1 million remaining. On July 8th, 2026, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per share of common stock payable on August 7, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 31, 2026.

With that, I'd like to ask the operator to open up the line for questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Paul Newsome with Piper Sandler.

分析師問答

Jon Paul Newsome

Congratulations on the quarter. Maybe some thoughts on the competitive environment, both in Florida and outside of Florida, and how you see the prospects for Universal's growth in the various markets here.

Stephen Donaghy

Good morning, Paul, and thank you. We continue to write business at a very good clip, as you saw in our release, and we feel very confident about our organic growth model across all the states that we currently serve. The legislation in Florida has proven to be a benefit to the entire market, and our relationships with our agency force continues to serve us extremely well. So we continue to write business at a very good clip. Outside of Florida, we find various niches of rate adequacy and we feel really good about the business we're bringing on due to the rate adequacy. So we don't chase the business. We want to write the business where we feel good about it and it continues to serve us well.

Jon Paul Newsome

Given the very high ROEs this year, any updated thoughts on capital management, where you want to allocate the capital you're accumulating?

Frank Wilcox

Well, I think that we're going to continue on the path that we have in terms of returning value to shareholders through dividends. As you know, that repurchase plan has only got 1.1 million. We'll go to the board and have a discussion around that and the appetite for it. Number one priority has always been and will continue to be to ensure that the insurance entities are adequately capitalized for the protection of the policyholders in addition to their ability to continue to generate the premium that offers opportunities for the entire organization.

Operator

This concludes the question and answer session. I would now like to turn it back to Steve Donaghy, Chief Executive Officer, for closing remarks.

Stephen Donaghy

I'd like to thank all of our associates, consumers, agents, and our stakeholders for their continued support of Universal. Have a nice day.

Operator

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.