In This Article:
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Net Income: $14.3 million or $0.75 per diluted share.
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Operating Net Income: $11.1 million or $0.58 per diluted share.
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Gross Written Premiums: $74.9 million, up from $70.8 million in Q3 2023.
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Expense Ratio: 31.7%, compared to 33.6% in the prior year.
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Favorable Prior Year Development: $8.5 million or 12.6% loss ratio points.
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Net Investment Income: Decreased 7.6% to $7.5 million.
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Book Value Per Share: $16.50.
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Operating Return on Average Equity: 14.2%.
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Statutory Surplus: $294.1 million at quarter end.
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Shares Repurchased: 22,000 shares at an average price of $46.79.
Release Date: October 24, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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AMERISAFE Inc (NASDAQ:AMSF) reported a significant increase in premium growth, with an 8.8% rise over the previous year's third quarter.
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The company declared a special dividend of $3 per share, reflecting its commitment to shareholder returns.
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AMERISAFE Inc (NASDAQ:AMSF) maintained a strong renewal retention rate of 93.6%, contributing to higher in-force policy count and gross written premium growth of 5.8%.
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The company experienced favorable development on prior accident years, with $80.5 million stemming from favorable case development.
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AMERISAFE Inc (NASDAQ:AMSF) reported a decrease in total underwriting and other expenses, resulting in an improved expense ratio of 31.7% compared to 33.6% in the prior year.
Negative Points
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The contribution of audit premiums to overall premiums is moderating compared to the same period last year.
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Net investment income decreased by 7.6% due to a reduced portfolio size, despite increased reinvestment rates.
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The company faces ongoing competitive pressures in the workers' compensation market, driven by declining rates.
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Medical inflation and the viability of current fee schedules pose potential threats to loss trends in the industry.
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Despite efforts to engage agents and improve underwriting efficiency, the competitive market environment remains challenging.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you provide an update on the progress of your agency-level efforts and what stage you are in? A: Gerry Frost, President and CEO, explained that AMERISAFE has been focusing on agent engagement and internal efficiencies to better respond to the workers' comp environment. The company is seeing success from these employee-led initiatives, which are reflected in their top-line growth. They are maintaining underwriting discipline while improving efficiency and effectiveness without changing their appetite.