Assurant Inc (AIZ) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

(audio in progress) -- (Operator Instructions)

（音訊正在進行中）--（操作員說明）

It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Sean Moshier, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.

現在我很高興將發言權交給投資人關係副總裁 Sean Moshier。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. We look forward to discussing our second quarter 2024 results with you today. Joining me for Assurant's conference call are Keith Demmings, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Keith Meier, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。我們期待今天與您討論 2024 年第二季的業績。與我一起參加 Assurant 電話會議的是我們的總裁兼執行長 Keith Demmings；和我們的財務長 Keith Meier。

Yesterday after the market closed, we issued a news release announcing our results for the second quarter 2024. The release and corresponding financial supplement are available on assurant.com. Also on our website is a slide presentation for our webcast participants.

昨天收盤後，我們發布了一份新聞稿，宣布 2024 年第二季的業績。我們的網站上也為網路廣播參與者提供了幻燈片演示。

Some of the statements made today are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are based upon our historical performance and current expectations and subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by those statements. Additional information regarding these factors can be found in the earnings release, presentation, and financial supplement on our website as well as in our SEC reports.

今天發表的一些聲明具有前瞻性。前瞻性陳述是基於我們的歷史績效和當前預期，並受到風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，這些因素可能導致實際結果與這些陳述預期的結果有重大差異。有關這些因素的更多資​​訊可以在我們網站上的收益發布、演示和財務補充以及我們的 SEC 報告中找到。

During today's call, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe are important in evaluating the company's performance. For more details on these measures, the most comparable GAAP measures and a reconciliation of the two, please refer to the news release and supporting materials.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標對於評估公司績效非常重要。有關這些措施、最具可比性的公認會計準則措施以及兩者的調節的更多詳細信息，請參閱新聞稿和支援資料。

We'll start today's call with remarks before moving into Q&A. I will now turn the call over to Keith Demmings.

在進入問答環節之前，我們將首先發表演說。我現在將把電話轉給基斯·戴明斯。

Thanks, Sean, and good morning, everyone. Our strong first half 2024 results demonstrate continued outperformance from Global Housing and underlying momentum in Connected Living, positioning us to increase our full year 2024 growth expectations for Assurant overall.

謝謝肖恩，大家早安。我們 2024 年上半年的強勁業績表明，全球住房市場的持續表現出色，以及互聯生活的潛在勢頭，使我們能夠提高對安信龍 2024 年全年整體增長的預期。

Excluding reportable catastrophes, adjusted EBITDA increased 20% year-to-date and adjusted EPS grew 29%. These results reflect the power of our combined housing and lifestyle business model.

排除可報告的災難，調整後的 EBITDA 年初至今成長了 20%，調整後的每股盈餘成長了 29%。這些結果反映了我們將住房和生活方式相結合的商業模式的力量。

Starting with our first half business highlights. In Global Lifestyle, first half 2024 adjusted EBITDA was $397 million, consistent with the first half of 2023. Our year-to-date performance has been driven by continued growth and momentum within our Connected Living business, particularly in the US.

從我們上半年的業務亮點開始。在全球生活方式領域，2024 年上半年調整後 EBITDA 為 3.97 億美元，與 2023 年上半年一致。

In Connected Living, adjusted EBITDA increased 6% or 8% on a constant currency basis. As we previously discussed, 2024 includes incremental spending related to the implementation of new partnerships and programs that we expect will support long-term growth for Assurant. Excluding first half investments of approximately $13 million, year-to-date growth for Connected Living was 14% on a constant currency basis.

在互聯生活領域，以固定匯率計算，調整後的 EBITDA 成長了 6% 或 8%。正如我們之前討論的，2024 年包括與實施新合作夥伴關係和計劃相關的增量支出，我們預計這些支出將支持 Assurant 的長期成長。剔除上半年約 1,300 萬美元的投資，以固定匯率計算，互聯生活今年迄今的成長率為 14%。

One example of our innovative new offerings included the rollout of two programs with Spectrum Mobile: anytime upgrade, and the repair and replace plan. Additionally, we onboarded the pre and postpaid device protection subscribers of Telstra, our new partner in Australia. Combined, these new programs added 1.6 million mobile subscribers, driving strong sequential growth.

我們創新的新產品的一個例子包括透過 Spectrum Mobile 推出兩項計劃：隨時升級以及維修和更換計劃。此外，我們也為我們在澳洲的新合作夥伴 Telstra 的預付費和後付費設備保護訂戶提供服務。這些新計劃合計增加了 160 萬行動用戶，推動了強勁的環比成長。

This year, we've also completed long-term contract extensions with all of our major US mobile device protection clients, including T-Mobile and two US cable operators, continuing to strengthen our position in the market. In total, these renewals represent three of the top five largest US carriers by subscribers.

今年，我們還與所有主要的美國行動裝置保護客戶（包括 T-Mobile 和兩家美國有線電視營運商）完成了長期合約延期，繼續鞏固了我們在市場上的地位。總的來說，這些續訂代表了美國訂戶數最大的五家業者中的三家。

With T-Mobile, this included a multi-year contract extension to continue supporting their postpaid and prepaid consumers beyond 2030. The renewal of T-Mobile allows us to continue to invest in this critical partnership and drive innovation for the future.

對於T-Mobile，這包括一項多年期合約延期，以在2030 年後繼續支持其後付費和預付費消費者。並推動未來的創新。

In financial services, we expanded our longstanding relationship with Chase by partnering with Chase card services within our growing card benefits business. We executed a multi-year contract to provide coverage to millions of Chase cardholders. This program will provide end-to-end delivery for approximately 15 travel and purchase protection benefits, including underwriting, claim processing, and benefit servicing.

在金融服務領域，我們透過在不斷發展的卡片福利業務中與大通銀行卡服務部門合作，擴大了與大通銀行的​​長期合作關係。我們簽署了一份多年期合同，為數百萬大通持卡人提供保險。該計劃將為大約 15 項旅行和購買保障福利提供端到端交付，包括承保、索賠處理和福利服務。

We expect continued investments over the second half of this year as we move toward program launch at the end of 2024. This represents a marquee win for our card benefits business, which has gained strong momentum over the last several years. Our relationship with Chase now spans across our Lifestyle and Housing businesses, reinforcing the depth of client partnerships that we drive across the Assurant enterprise.

隨著我們計劃在 2024 年底啟動，我們預計今年下半年將繼續投資。我們與大通銀行的​​關係現在涵蓋我們的生活方式和住房業務，加強了我們在整個 Assurant 企業中推動的客戶合作夥伴關係的深度。

Moving to Global Automotive. Our first half earnings have continued to be pressured by ongoing inflation impacts on motor vehicle repair costs. We expect that the effects of inflation will continue to impact our auto results throughout the second half of 2024 in our vehicle service contract business. In addition, we expect continued elevated loss experience within our ancillary guaranteed asset protection or GAP product.

轉向全球汽車。我們上半年的獲利持續受到持續通膨對機動車輛維修成本影響的壓力。我們預期通膨的影響將持續影響我們整個 2024 年下半年汽車服務合約業務的業績。此外，我們預計我們的輔助擔保資產保護或 GAP 產品的損失經驗將持續增加。

Our longer-term outlook, however, is bright, as we've begun to see moderation of claims inflation on our vehicle service contract business given the rate actions taken over the past 24 months.

然而，我們的長期前景是光明的，因為考慮到過去 24 個月採取的利率行動，我們已經開始看到我們的車輛服務合約業務的索賠通膨有所放緩。

Within our GAP product, we're experiencing elevated losses driven by the combination of continued declines in used car prices from pandemic highs, higher interest rates, and the increase in the number of vehicles declared total losses by the primary insurance carrier. We expect this impact to be shorter-term in nature relative to vehicle service contracts, as the majority of GAP claims are made within the first 24 months after vehicle purchase.

在我們的 GAP 產品中，由於二手車價格從疫情高點持續下跌、利率上升以及主要保險公司宣布總損失的車輛數量增加，導致我們的損失不斷增加。我們預計，相對於車輛服務合約而言，這種影響本質上是短期的，因為大多數 GAP 索賠是在車輛購買後的前 24 個月內提出的。

In addition, over the past year, we've been proactively partnering with several clients to transition the risk on the GAP business, which will reduce a substantial amount of our claims exposure over time. Lastly, we believe the auto business will continue to benefit from our position as a market leader with scale and strong partnerships across multiple distribution channels.

此外，在過去的一年裡，我們一直積極與多家客戶合作，轉移 GAP 業務的風險，隨著時間的推移，這將大量減少我們的索賠風險。最後，我們相信汽車業務將繼續受益於我們作為市場領導者的地位，以及跨多個分銷管道的規模和強大的合作夥伴關係。

Now, let's turn to Global Housing. For the first half of the year, Global Housing's earnings increased nearly 45%, excluding reportable catastrophes. Housing's year-to-date results have demonstrated both the importance of the business to our overall portfolio and the power of our unique and differentiated business model, which has largely outperformed the broader P&C market.

現在，讓我們轉向全球住房。今年上半年，全球住房公司的收入成長了近 45%，不包括可報告的災難。房屋今年迄今的表現既證明了該業務對我們整體投資組合的重要性，也證明了我們獨特且差異化的業務模式的力量，該模式在很大程度上優於更廣泛的財產和意外險市場。

Our lender-placed insurance business safeguards homes that need insurance regardless of geography, while supporting the US mortgage industry by removing the risk of uninsured loss for lenders, investors, and homeowners. We review rates with each state on a regular basis to ensure that they are appropriate and that homeowners are protected. This process allows us to work together to balance risk and reward with fair and adequate rates, while creating product safeguards to address macroeconomic factors such as inflation.

我們的貸方保險業務為需要保險的房屋提供保障，無論其地理位置如何，同時透過消除貸方、投資者和房主未投保損失的風險來支持美國抵押貸款行業。我們定期與每個州審查費率，以確保其適當且房主受到保護。這個過程使我們能夠共同努力，以公平和充足的利率平衡風險和回報，同時制定產品保障措施以應對通貨膨脹等宏觀經濟因素。

In addition, we benefit from our strong track record, continued investments in customer experience, and our compliance expertise, our most critical competitive advantages. These efforts have allowed us to renew existing partnerships and win new clients, including Bank of America. This in turn has contributed to increased scale, which combined with technology investments, has led to significant operational efficiencies.

此外，我們還受益於我們良好的業績記錄、對客戶體驗的持續投資以及我們的合規專業知識，這是我們最關鍵的競爭優勢。這些努力使我們能夠更新現有的合作夥伴關係並贏得新客戶，包括美國銀行。這反過來又促進了規模的擴大，再加上技術投資，顯著提高了營運效率。

Ultimately, this creates meaningful expense leverage, which we'll continue to benefit from going forward. Our specialized product and client base provide Assurant with differentiated advantages compared to many traditional homeowners insurance carriers. Overall, these combined advantages have led to the recovery and growth of this business within a relatively short time frame.

最終，這創造了有意義的費用槓桿，我們將繼續從中受益。與許多傳統的房屋保險公司相比，我們的專業產品和客戶群為 Assurant 提供了差異化優勢。總體而言，這些綜合優勢導致該業務在相對較短的時間內恢復和成長。

We believe we are well-positioned and we continue to believe there's an opportunity for the market to better value our specialized lender-placed business.

我們相信我們處於有利地位，我們仍然相信市場有機會更好地評估我們的專業貸方業務。

In renters, we benefit from an attractive financial profile that is more capital efficient compared to traditional P&C businesses. We are focused on expanding our presence as a market leader within the Property Management Company or PMC channel while providing our partners with innovative new offerings. In the first half of the year, we increased gross written premiums in our PMC channel by over 20%, reflecting strong client demand for our Cover360solution.

在租戶方面，我們受益於有吸引力的財務狀況，與傳統財產和意外傷害業務相比，其資本效率更高。我們致力於擴大我們在物業管理公司或 PMC 管道中作為市場領導者的影響力，同時為我們的合作夥伴提供創新的新產品。上半年，我們的 PMC 通路毛保費成長了 20% 以上，反映出客戶對我們的 Cover360 解決方案的強勁需求。

This marks eight straight quarters of double-digit growth of gross written premium in the PMC channel. Following the initial launch of our Assurant Tech Pro resident troubleshooting service, we recently signed a partnership with the largest PMC in the US to be the first to provide this service to the industry. We expect to begin rollout in the second half of this year.

這標誌著 PMC 通路的總保費連續八個季度實現兩位數成長。繼首次推出 Assurant Tech Pro 常駐故障排除服務後，我們最近與美國最大的 PMC 簽署了合作夥伴關係，成為業界第一家提供此服務的公司。我們預計將於今年下半年開始推出。

Turning to our enterprise outlook. Given the strength of our first half results, we now expect full-year adjusted EBITDA to grow high-single-digits and adjusted earnings per share to increase low-double-digits, both excluding catastrophes. This represents an increase from our initial expectation for both metrics. We anticipate strong growth within Global Housing, which is expected to lead our enterprise growth for 2024.

轉向我們的企業前景。鑑於我們上半年業績的強勁表現，我們現在預計全年調整後 EBITDA 將實現高個位數成長，調整後每股收益將實現低兩位數成長（均不包括災難因素）。這表明我們對這兩個指標的最初預期都有所提高。我們預計全球住房業務將出現強勁成長，預計將引領我們 2024 年的企業成長。

In Global Lifestyle, we expect modest growth in 2024. Connected Living is expected to deliver another year of growth as we remain focused on driving long-term momentum through new partnerships and programs. Overall, we believe our first half performance and our increased 2024 outlook demonstrate the power of our differentiated business model with unique advantages which make Assurant attractively valued.

在全球生活方式方面，我們預計 2024 年將出現溫和成長。總體而言，我們相信我們的上半年業績和 2024 年展望的提高證明了我們差異化業務模式的力量以及獨特的優勢，使安信龍的估值具有吸引力。

Over time, we've enhanced Assurant’s risk profile by focusing on our capital efficient businesses within Lifestyle and Housing, which are highly cash generative. We've established a track record of winning and delivering for B2B2C clients throughout both Lifestyle and Housing, many of whom are industry leaders and market disruptors across the globe.

隨著時間的推移，我們透過專注於生活方式和住房領域的資本效率高的業務，提高了 Assurant 的風險狀況，這些業務具有很高的現金產生能力。我們在生活方式和住房領域為 B2B2C 客戶贏得並提供服務，取得了良好的業績記錄，其中許多客戶是全球的行業領導者和市場顛覆者。

We've created leadership positions in amplified competitive advantages through our protection solutions across devices, automobiles, and homes. Together with our clients, we've seen these deliver mutual benefit from scale and deep integration, supporting innovative and flexible solutions to differentiate the customer experience.

透過我們跨裝置、汽車和家庭的保護解決方案，我們在擴大競爭優勢方面建立了領先地位。我們與我們的客戶一起看到這些透過規模和深度整合實現了互惠互利，支援創新和靈活的解決方案來提供差異化的客戶體驗。

We focus on specialized, attractive markets with growth opportunities and long-term secular tailwinds. These factors contributed to long-term outperformance versus the broader P&C market, particularly the S&P Composite 1500 P&C index. We believe this comparison better reflects our current mix of businesses and offerings as we provide insurance solutions and fee-based services to our partners and their end consumers.

我們專注於具有成長機會和長期長期有利因素的專業化、有吸引力的市場。這些因素導致長期表現優於更廣泛的財產和意外傷害市場，特別是標準普爾綜合 1500 財產和意外傷害指數。我們相信，這種比較更好地反映了我們目前的業務和產品組合，因為我們向合作夥伴及其最終消費者提供保險解決方案和收費服務。

In June, our sub industry index classification under the Global Industry Classification Standard, or GICS, transitioned from multiline insurance to P&C insurance. A product of our multi-year transformation that included exiting pre-need, health and life insurance related businesses.

6月份，我們在全球行業分類標準（GICS）下的子行業指數分類從多險種保險過渡到財產險。這是我們多年轉型的產物，其中包括退出預需保險、健康保險和人壽保險相關業務。

Before handing it over to Keith Meier, I wanted to highlight our recently published 2024 Sustainability Report, which demonstrates our progress in advancing our sustainability strategy and initiatives. We've introduced our new sustainability vision focused on advancing a connected, respected, and protected world. We've established long-term ambitions to support a thriving society, a circular economy, and a stable climate.

在將其交給 Keith Meier 之前，我想強調一下我們最近發布的 2024 年永續發展報告，該報告展示了我們在推進永續發展策略和舉措方面取得的進展。我們推出了新的永續發展願景，重點是推動一個互聯、受尊重和受保護的世界。我們制定了支持繁榮社會、循環經濟和穩定氣候的長期目標。

We believe there's an important connection between our vision and ambitions and how we deliver value for our business and for our stakeholders. These priorities strengthen Assurant for the future, including how we attract, empower, and reward a diverse workforce to drive innovation, contribute to the development and adoption of sustainable products, and reduce the climate impact of Assurant operations and supply chain.

我們相信，我們的願景和抱負與我們如何為我們的業務和利害關係人創造價值之間存在著重要的連結。這些優先事項增強了 Assurant 的未來，包括我們如何吸引、授權和獎勵多元化的員工隊伍來推動創新，為永續產品的開發和採用做出貢獻，並減少 Assurant 營運和供應鏈對氣候的影響。

Overall, we're excited about the progress we've made so far this year, continuing to drive attractive financial results and outperformance for the overall enterprise. As we look ahead, we believe we are well-positioned to continue to drive business momentum in the second half and beyond.

總體而言，我們對今年迄今所取得的進展感到興奮，並繼續為整個企業帶來有吸引力的財務表現和優異的業績。展望未來，我們相信我們處於有利地位，可以在下半年及以後繼續推動業務發展勢頭。

I'll now turn it over to Keith Meier to review our second quarter results and business trends impacting our 2024 outlook.

我現在將把它交給 Keith Meier，回顧我們第二季度的業績和影響我們 2024 年前景的業務趨勢。

Thanks, Keith, and good morning, everyone. We're proud of our second quarter performance as we continue to invest in value-added solutions for our clients and end consumers. We believe we are well-positioned to build upon our historical track record of growth, strong capital generation, and long-term shareholder value creation.

謝謝基思，大家早安。我們對第二季的業績感到自豪，因為我們繼續投資於為客戶和最終消費者提供增值解決方案。我們相信，我們有能力在歷史成長記錄、強大的資本生成和長期股東價值創造的基礎上再接再厲。

Let's review the specifics of our strong second quarter results, which build upon the momentum from the first quarter. In the second quarter, adjusted EBITDA grew 10% to $369 million and adjusted earnings per share increased by 17% to $4.77, both excluding reportable catastrophes. From a capital perspective, we generated $142 million of segment dividends in the second quarter, ending the quarter with $735 million of holding company liquidity, up from $622 million at the end of the first quarter.

讓我們回顧一下我們第二季度強勁業績的具體情況，這些業績是建立在第一季勢頭的基礎上的。第二季度，調整後 EBITDA 成長 10%，達到 3.69 億美元，調整後每股盈餘成長 17%，達到 4.77 美元，兩者均不包括可報告的災難。從資本角度來看，我們第二季產生了 1.42 億美元的分部股息，本季末控股公司流動資金為 7.35 億美元，高於第一季末的 6.22 億美元。

Our strong capital position has provided flexibility to invest in future growth, while returning $80 million to shareholders in the quarter, including $40 million of share repurchases. In addition, we repurchased $20 million of shares between July 1 and August 2 and have now completed $100 million in repurchases so far this year.

我們強大的資本狀況為投資未來成長提供了靈活性，同時在本季向股東返還 8,000 萬美元，其中包括 4,000 萬美元的股票回購。此外，我們在7月1日至8月2日期間回購了2,000萬美元的股票，今年迄今已完成1億美元的回購。

Turning to our business segments. Let's begin with Global Lifestyle. For the quarter adjusted EBITDA decreased 4% to $190 million, or 2% on a constant currency basis, driven by Global Automotive, which declined by 8% or $6 million. Results were impacted by higher claims costs due to inflation and elevated losses from ancillary GAP products.

轉向我們的業務部門。讓我們從全球生活方式開始。本季調整後 EBITDA 下降 4%，至 1.9 億美元，以固定匯率計算下降 2%，全球汽車業務下降 ​​8%，即 600 萬美元。結果受到通膨導致索賠成本上升以及輔助 GAP 產品損失增加的影響。

In Connected Living, earnings increased modestly on a constant currency basis, primarily driven by global mobile protection programs, including subscriber growth from US cable operators and new Asia-Pacific clients, as well as improved US financial services results.

在互聯生活領域，以固定匯率計算，獲利小幅成長，主要受到全球行動保護計畫的推動，包括美國有線電視營運商和新亞太客戶的用戶成長，以及美國金融服務績效的改善。

International results remain stable on a constant currency basis and have started to show signs of modest growth. Growth was partially muted by investments in new capabilities and client partnerships, which are expected to support long-term growth.

以固定匯率計算，國際業績保持穩定，並開始顯示出溫和成長的跡象。對新能力和客戶合作夥伴關係的投資在一定程度上抑制了成長，預計這些投資將支持長期成長。

Trade-in results were down from a decline in carrier volumes and business mix, including from lower promotional activity. Unfavorable foreign exchange remains a headwind and impacted Lifestyle's adjusted EBITDA growth by 2 percentage points in the quarter. Turning to net earned premiums fees and other income, Lifestyle grew by $75 million, or 4%, and Connected Living increased 6%, benefiting from contributions from new Trade-in and mobile protection programs, including the US and Asia-Pacific.

以舊換新業績下降是由於承運商數量和業務組合的下降，包括促銷活動的減少。不利的外匯匯率仍然是阻力，影響了 Lifestyle 本季調整後 EBITDA 成長 2 個百分點。至於淨賺保費和其他收入，Lifestyle 增加了 7,500 萬美元，即 4%，Connected Living 成長了 6%，這得益於新的以舊換新和行動保護計畫（包括美國和亞太地區）的貢獻。

For full year 2024, we now expect Global Lifestyle's adjusted EBITDA to grow modestly, reflecting continued strong performance from Connected Living and ongoing elevated claims in Global Auto. We expect growth in Connected Living to be led by the continued expansion of our US business. We expect investments related to new clients and programs, mainly in Connected Living to temper Lifestyle growth by approximately 3% in 2024, but will be a critical driver for business growth over the long-term.

對於 2024 年全年，我們現在預計 Global Lifestyle 的調整後 EBITDA 將小幅增長，反映出 Connected Living 的持續強勁業績以及 Global Auto 的索賠持續增加。我們預計互聯生活的成長將由我們美國業務的持續擴張帶動。我們預計，與新客戶和專案（主要是互聯生活）相關的投資將在 2024 年將生活方式成長抑制約 3%，但從長遠來看，這將是業務成長的關鍵驅動力。

In Global Auto, we now expect adjusted EBITDA to be flat to modestly down due to continued loss pressures from inflation and elevated losses within ancillary GAP products. We continue to monitor foreign exchange impacts, inflation, and interest rates, which have and may continue to impact the pace and timing of growth.

在全球汽車領域，由於通膨帶來的持續損失壓力以及輔助 GAP 產品的損失增加，我們目前預計調整後的 EBITDA 將持平或小幅下降。我們持續監測外匯影響、通貨膨脹和利率，這些因素已經並且可能繼續影響成長的速度和時機。

I'd like to take a moment to discuss our auto business and how we have addressed inflation headwinds. As we've discussed, we expect auto claims inflation to impact our performance over the remainder of this year.

我想花點時間討論一下我們的汽車業務以及我們如何應對通膨不利因素。正如我們所討論的，我們預計汽車索賠通膨將影響我們今年剩餘時間的業績。

Toward the end of 2022, the industry began to see large spikes in motor vehicle repair costs, even as overall CPI trends began to stabilize. Exiting 2023, the auto industry began to see signs of inflation levels declining. However, in the beginning of 2024, motor vehicle repair costs increased once again, impacting performance in the first half of 2024.

到2022年底，儘管整體CPI趨勢開始穩定，但該行業開始看到機動車維修成本大幅上漲。 2023年結束後，汽車業開始出現通膨水準下降的跡象。然而，2024年初，機動車維修成本再次上漲，影響了2024年上半年的業績。

Our underwriting risk in auto is limited to just a few clients, as many of our clients choose to reinsure or share in the economics of the business, given auto's profitable returns over the long-term. There are a total of five vehicle service contract clients where we retain a portion of the claims risk that will improve over time, which is a small subset of our overall client base.

我們的汽車承保風險僅限於少數客戶，因為考慮到汽車的長期獲利回報，我們的許多客戶選擇再保險或分享業務的經濟效益。我們總共有五個車輛服務合約客戶保留了部分索賠風險，這些風險將隨著時間的推移而改善，這只是我們整個客戶群的一小部分。

Since 2022, we have implemented a total of 14 rate increases for these impacted clients, with additional increases planned over the coming quarters. In addition to rate increases, we have made changes to enhance our claims adjudication process, adjusting the product, and modifying deal structures with clients to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes. Even with these vehicle service contract clients, where we do retain some risk, we are profitable as we also earn investment income and receive fees for our administrative program support.

自 2022 年以來，我們已為這些受影響的客戶總共實施了 14 次費率上調，並計劃在未來幾季進一步上調。除了提高費率外，我們還做出了一些改變，以加強我們的索賠裁決流程、調整產品並修改與客戶的交易結構，以確保互利的結果。即使對於這些車輛服務合約客戶，我們確實保留了一些風險，我們也能獲利，因為我們還賺取投資收入並收取管理計劃支援費用。

Moving to Global Housing. Second quarter adjusted EBITDA, including cats was $161 million. During a quarter that included over 25 ISO events that impacted much of the P&C industry, we fared reasonably well with $46 million of reportable catastrophes across five events and no single event incurring more than $15 million in losses.

轉向全球住房。第二季調整後 EBITDA（包括貓）為 1.61 億美元。在一個季度內，發生了超過25 起對財產保險行業產生重大影響的ISO 事件，我們的表現相當不錯，其中5 起事件造成了4,600 萬美元的可報告災難，沒有任何一個事件造成的損失超過1,500萬美元。

Excluding reportable cats, adjusted EBITDA increased by 23%, or $38 million to $206 million. The increase was driven by continued top-line growth in homeowners, primarily from an increase in the number of in-force policies from the onboarding of the newly added Bank of America portfolio and the net impact of ongoing client and portfolio transitions.

不包括應報告的貓，調整後的 EBITDA 成長了 23%，即 3,800 萬美元至 2.06 億美元。這一增長是由房主收入持續增長推動的，主要是由於新增加的美國銀行投資組合的加入導致有效保單數量的增加以及持續的客戶和投資組合轉型的淨影響。

Additionally, lender-placed policies increased due to impacts from hardening traditional insurance markets in certain states. Lender-placed continued to see average premium growth related to higher average insured values and increases in filed rates.

此外，由於某些州傳統保險市場硬化的影響，貸款人投保的保單增加。貸款人的平均保費持續成長，這與平均保險價值的提高和備案費率的增加有關。

Despite higher expenses from client portfolio onboarding and offboarding activity in the quarter, expense leverage from scale, technology investments, and operational efficiencies remains a key driver of performance as reflected in the continued improvement in housings expense ratio, which was 37% in the quarter.

儘管本季客戶組合的入職和離職活動費用較高，但規模、技術投資和營運效率帶來的費用槓桿仍然是業績的關鍵驅動因素，住房費用比率的持續改善反映了這一點，本季為37 %。

Underlying EBITDA growth was partially offset by the unfavorable year-over-year net impact of $11 million related to prior period reserve development. Second quarter 2024 had $17 million of favorable reserve development compared to $28 million in the second quarter of 2023. We continue to expect Global Housing's full year 2024 adjusted EBITDA, excluding cats, to be the growth driver of our overall enterprise performance.

基本 EBITDA 成長被上期儲備金開發相關的 1,100 萬美元不利的年淨影響部分抵銷。 2024 年第二季的有利儲備開發為1,700 萬美元，而2023 年第二季為2,800 萬美元。動力。

We anticipate growth will be driven by continued top-line momentum in homeowners, expense leverage, and lower catastrophe reinsurance costs. Placement rate and policies in-force, both key drivers of earnings, are expected to be impacted by ongoing client portfolio transitions in the second half of the year. However, both are expected to have healthy growth overall for 2024.

我們預計成長將受到房主持續的營收成長動力、費用槓桿和較低的巨災再保險成本的推動。安置率和現行政策是獲利的關鍵驅動因素，預計將受到下半年持續的客戶投資組合轉變的影響。然而，預計到 2024 年兩者都會實現健康成長。

Lastly, we expect Hurricane Beryl to be a reportable catastrophe in the third quarter. While claims are still developing, our early indication is that estimated losses will be between $30 million to $50 million. We will provide an update prior to our third quarter earnings call as we finalize impacts.

最後，我們預計颶風貝裡爾將在第三季成為一場可通報的災難。雖然索賠仍在進展中，但我們的初步跡象表明，預計損失將在 3,000 萬至 5,000 萬美元之間。我們將在第三季財報電話會議之前確定影響後提供最新資訊。

Moving to corporate. Second quarter adjusted EBITDA loss was $27 million, which improved mainly due to higher net investment income from higher asset levels and yields. We continue to expect the 2024 corporate adjusted EBITDA loss to approximate $110 million, consistent with 2023.

轉向企業。第二季調整後 EBITDA 損失為 2,700 萬美元，這一損失主要是由於資產水準和收益率提高帶來的淨投資收入增加。我們仍預期 2024 年公司調整後 EBITDA 損失約 1.1 億美元，與 2023 年一致。

Turning to capital management. We generated significant deployable capital in the first half of the year, upstreaming $395 million in segment dividends. For 2024, we expect our businesses to continue to generate meaningful cash flow. Cash conversion to the holding company is expected to approximate two-thirds of segment adjusted EBITDA, including reportable catastrophes.

轉向資本管理。上半年，我們產生了大量可部署資本，分部股利增加了 3.95 億美元。 2024 年，我們預期我們的業務將繼續產生有意義的現金流。預計向控股公司的現金轉換約為部門調整後 EBITDA 的三分之二，包括可報告的災難。

Cash flow expectations assume a continuation of the current macroeconomic environment and are subject to the growth of the businesses, investment portfolio performance, and rating agency and regulatory requirements.

現金流量預期假設當前宏觀經濟環境持續存在，並受到業務成長、投資組合績效以及評級機構和監管要求的影響。

As we look forward to the remainder of the year, we continue to be focused on maintaining flexibility to support new business growth and to return capital to shareholders. Given our strong capital position and robust reinsurance program, we expect to be on the high end of our $200 million to $300 million share repurchases range for the year. Our ultimate level of repurchases will depend on M&A opportunities, market conditions, and cat activity.

展望今年剩餘時間，我們將繼續致力於保持靈活性，以支持新業務成長並向股東返還資本。鑑於我們強大的資本狀況和穩健的再保險計劃，我們預計今年的股票回購規模將達到 2 億至 3 億美元的上限。我們的最終回購水準將取決於併購機會、市場狀況和巨災活動。

Overall, we've had a very strong first half of 2024, and we believe we are well-positioned to achieve our increased full year financial outlook while also supporting business growth and shareholder value creation over the long-term.

總體而言，我們在 2024 年上半年表現非常強勁，我們相信我們處於有利位置，可以實現全年財務前景的改善，同時支持長期業務成長和股東價值創造。

And with that, operator, please open the call for questions.

那麼，接線員，請打開電話提問。

(Operator Instructions) Mark Hughes, Truist Securities.

（操作員指示）Mark Hughes，Truist Securities。

Thank you. Good morning. On the Global Auto the sustained impact of inflation, when do we kind of turn the corner on that? When does it become less negative? Understanding that it will continue to be a drag trends for the foreseeable future, when does it become less of a drag?

謝謝。早安.對全球汽車產業來說，通貨膨脹的持續影響，我們什麼時候才能扭轉局面？什麼時候負面情緒會減少？了解在可預見的未來它將繼續成為一種拖累趨勢，那麼什麼時候它的拖累會減少呢？

Yes, Mark. So I think the first half this year was kind of the tale of two different stories for the first quarter and the second quarter. The first quarter was really driven by the inflation from our vehicle service contracts. And so -- but in the second quarter, what we've seen is more on the GAP side, that was really what was driven by the used car values declining, higher interest rates and more total losses declared by traditional insurers.

是的，馬克。所以我認為今年上半年是第一季和第二季兩個不同故事的故事。第一季的真正推動因素是我們的車輛服務合約的通貨膨脹。所以，但在第二季度，我們看到更多的是 GAP 方面，這實際上是由二手車價值下降、利率上升和傳統保險公司宣布的總損失增加所推動的。

So the vehicle service contract side was really moderated a bit in the second quarter -- in the first -- sorry, in the second quarter, the GAP was really the driver of the challenges in the second quarter. So as we look at the back half of the year, we actually expect the rates that we've been putting into place with our clients to stabilize and improve modestly as we go through the back half of the year.

因此，車輛服務合約方面在第二季度（第一季）確實有所緩和，抱歉，在第二季度，GAP 確實是第二季度挑戰的驅動因素。因此，當我們展望今年下半年時，我們實際上預計我們與客戶制定的費率將在今年下半年穩定並適度改善。

And I think one other key point about the second quarter as it relates to the GAP product, we've been working on this over the past year or so to reduce and transition some of that risk with our clients. So we don't see that as something that's going to sustain over a long-term. And GAP actually improves faster than the vehicle service contracts that really should improve in less than in the next couple of years, so less than two years.

我認為第二季的另一個關鍵點與 GAP 產品有關，我們在過去一年左右的時間內一直在努力減少和轉移客戶的部分風險。因此，我們認為這種情況不會長期持續。事實上，GAP 的改善速度比車輛服務合約的改善速度要快，而車輛服務合約的改善速度應該在未來幾年內完成，也就是說不到兩年。

So overall, if we're going to have a challenge in auto, this is probably a good time to have the challenge when we're raising our outlook, and I think this is really just creating a little bit more of a tailwind for us in our auto business over the next few years.

因此，總的來說，如果我們要在汽車領域面臨挑戰，那麼當我們提高前景時，這可能是迎接挑戰的好時機，我認為這實際上只是為我們創造了更多的順風未來幾年我們的汽車業務。

So overall, we're going to have a challenge in auto. This is probably a good time to have the challenge when we're raising our outlooks. And I think this is really just creating a little bit more of a tailwind for us in our auto business over the next few years.

總的來說，我們將在汽車領域面臨挑戰。當我們提高前景時，這可能是迎接挑戰的好時機。我認為這實際上只是為我們未來幾年的汽車業務創造了更多的順風。

Yes. And I would just add, as we think about getting off a lot of that GAP risk over time. That process started back when our GAP was actually performing well. We know it's a volatile product line. Our goal was to strategically try to reduce volatility and make that strategic decision. And obviously, that's something that we'll continue to work on as we go forward. And as Keith said, not something that we expect to be a long-term pain point for the business.

是的。我想補充一點，因為我們正在考慮隨著時間的推移消除許多差距風險。當我們的 GAP 實際上表現良好時，這個過程就開始了。我們知道這是一條不穩定的產品線。我們的目標是從策略上嘗試減少波動性並做出策略決策。顯然，這是我們未來將繼續努力的事情。正如基思所說，我們預計這不會成為業務的長期痛點。

Yes. So fair to think of campaign this year is already factored into your guidance would be less negative, i.e., a positive year over year comparisons in this dimension?

是的。公平地說，今年的競選活動已經被納入您的指導中，負面影響會減少，也就是說，在這個維度上的同比比較是正面的？

Yeah. It's definitely factored into our 2024 outlook. And then as we go through the year, we'll provide an update on 2025, but we certainly see an improvement going into the back half of the year.

是的。這肯定已納入我們 2024 年的展望中。然後，當我們度過這一年時，我們將提供 2025 年的最新情況，但我們肯定會看到下半年的情況有所改善。

Yes. And then in the card benefit business, could you talk a little bit more about the opportunity there? It sounds like an interesting agreement with Chase, how important is that within the Lifestyle? And is that a new opportunity that could be a marginal contributor to growth?

是的。那麼在信用卡福利業務方面，您能多談談那裡的機會嗎？這聽起來像是與大通銀行達成的一項有趣的協議，這在生活方式中有多重要？這是一個可以對成長做出邊際貢獻的新機會嗎？

Yes, definitely, and I would say a couple of things. So we've been growing successfully our card benefits business the last several years, in particular, in the US And a couple of things specifically on Chase, number one, it's a phenomenal opportunity to expand our relationship. We obviously have a long-standing relationship around the lender-placed business with Chase that spans many, many years, and this is a chance to expand across product lines in between segments within Lifestyle, which is great.

是的，當然，我想說幾件事。因此，過去幾年我們的信用卡福利業務一直在成功發展，特別是在美國。顯然，我們與大通在貸方安置業務方面有著長期的合作關係，這種關係已經持續了很多年，這是一個在生活方式領域之間跨產品線擴展的機會，這非常棒。

We definitely are investing in this launch. It's part of the investments that we've talked about relative to Q2 that will ramp as the year progresses. We're actually converting all active Chase customer cardholders in the fourth quarter of the year. So there's a lot of work to stand that up. And then it will certainly be EBITDA positive as we enter 2025 because it will be at a full natural run rate entering next year.

我們肯定會投資這次發布。這是我們討論過的與第二季相關的投資的一部分，這些投資將隨著今年的進展而增加。實際上，我們將在今年第四季轉換所有活躍的大通客戶持卡人。因此，要實現這一點還有很多工作要做。然後，當我們進入 2025 年時，它的 EBITDA 肯定會是正數，因為進入明年它將處於完全自然運行率。

And yes, we're very excited. And certainly, it will be one of several drivers of growth for the Connected Living business. And part of what we've been signaling to the market is specific discrete investments in long-term growth that are directly connected to new programs, new products, and what I think are clear strategic growth levers for the business.

是的，我們非常興奮。當然，這將成為互聯生活業務成長的幾個驅動力之一。我們向市場發出的信號之一是對長期成長的具體離散投資，這些投資與新計劃、新產品以及我認為明確的業務策略成長槓桿直接相關。

Appreciate it. Thank you.

欣賞它。謝謝。

You bet. Thanks, Mark.

你打賭。謝謝，馬克。

Dan Lukpanov, Dowling & Partners.

丹·盧克帕諾夫，Dowling & Partners。

Hey guys, good morning. Going back to the auto, just curious, so we've been seeing the traditional insurers -- car insurers reporting a moderation in physical damage severity and just knowing your product, you don't have the liability side. You have little mostly physical damage in all the same drivers of materials side. Just curious, I get that the GAP was sort of the negative in the quarter. But on the vehicle service contract side, did you guys see any acceleration on the improvement. I did the loss cost trend year-to-date change your view on how fast you can recover the business.

嘿夥計們，早安。回到汽車，只是好奇，所以我們一直看到傳統的保險公司 - 汽車保險公司報告物理損壞嚴重程度有所緩和，並且僅了解您的產品，您就沒有責任方面。在所有相同的材料方面的驅動程式中，幾乎沒有任何物理損壞。只是好奇，我發現本季的差距有點為負。但在車輛服務合約方面，你們是否看到了任何加速的改進？我今年迄今為止的損失成本趨勢改變了您對恢復業務的速度的看法。

Yes. So I think through the first couple of quarters, we saw the loss cost trends moderate. The CPI index for auto repairs went down modestly, and so it's about 9 million -- or 9% year-over-year. So we're seeing it moderate a bit, Dan. And I think we're in a good position to have those rates start coming through and improve sequentially for us as we go-forward.

是的。因此，我認為在前幾個季度，我們看到損失成本趨勢溫和。汽車維修CPI指數小幅下降，約900萬，較去年同期下降9%。所以我們看到它有點溫和，丹。我認為我們處於有利位置，可以讓這些利率開始實現並隨著我們的前進而逐步改善。

Yes. And I think just to amplify; I mean we talked about 14 rate increases over five clients over the last couple of years. So a meaningful amount of rate increases have been put in place. And obviously, we're starting to slowly see that earn through, combined with moderation on the inflationary side. So that momentum builds over time. It doesn't solve itself nearly as quickly as what we saw in the Housing business, but certainly excited to see progress in Q2, and we'll monitor that as we think forward through the rest of the year.

是的。我想只是為了放大；我的意思是，在過去的幾年裡，我們討論了 5 位客戶的 14 次升息。因此，大幅加息已經到位。顯然，我們開始慢慢看到這種獲利，再加上通膨方面的溫和。因此，這種勢頭會隨著時間的推移而增強。它的解決速度並不像我們在住房業務中看到的那麼快，但我們肯定很高興看到第二季度的進展，我們將在展望今年剩餘時間時對此進行監控。

Okay. And do you see used to new car mix normalizing, I think during the inflation of cycle, you saw more used cars in the production, do you see that normalizing at all?

好的。你是否看到習慣了新車組合正常化，我認為在周期膨脹期間，你看到更多的二手車在生產，你看到這種正常化了嗎？

Yeah, I think it's still in the range of 50-50 in terms of used and new. It's definitely moderated. There's certainly more new car volume going back into the system. But it's a pretty -- we have a pretty nice balance within the business. And to your point, it did tilt more used car during the pandemic, and I'd say it's normalized at this point.

是的，我認為就二手和新而言，它仍然在 50-50 之間。這絕對是經過審核的。肯定會有更多新車回歸系統。但這是一個很好的——我們在業務內部有一個非常好的平衡。就你的觀點而言，在大流行期間，它確實傾斜了更多的二手車，我想說，目前這已經正常化了。

If I may squeeze in one more. The -- in the financial services, I think you called out a profitability improvement in the US business. What was that? Can you provide any more color on that?

如果我可以再擠一張的話。在金融服務領域，我認為您提到了美國業務盈利能力的改善。那是什麼？你能提供更多的顏色嗎？

Yeah. I think that's just a continuation of the leading programs that we have in our financial services business. So we've been growing that business over the last few years. So I think that's just a continuation of that. And I think the Chase win is just another highlight of the really good momentum that we're having in our financial services business.

是的。我認為這只是我們金融服務業務中領先計畫的延續。因此，過去幾年我們一直在發展這項業務。所以我認為這只是這一點的延續。我認為大通的勝利只是我們金融服務業務真正良好勢頭的另一個亮點。

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the answers.

謝謝，夥計們。我很欣賞這些答案。

Jeff Schmitt, William Blair.

傑夫·施密特，威廉·布萊爾。

Good morning. So how much of the auto revenue mix is the GAP business? And how much is sort of a handful of accounts where you share writing profits? Any details you could give on the actual like what inflation is kind of currently running at for those see their plans would be helpful.

早安.那麼 GAP 業務在汽車收入組合中佔多少比例呢？您分享寫作利潤的少數帳戶有多少？對於那些看到他們的計劃的人來說，您可以提供的任何有關實際情況的詳細資訊（例如目前的通膨情況）都會有所幫助。

Yes. So for GAP, yes, it's actually a very small part of our business, Jeff, and it's actually continuing to be even less and less as we mentioned earlier, we've been working on over the last year, transitioning some of that risk. So it's becoming a smaller and smaller part. Some of the things that you're seeing now are programs that have already been transitioned for going forward contracts.

是的。所以對於GAP 來說，是的，這實際上只是我們業務的一小部分，傑夫，而且正如我們之前提到的，它實際上還在變得越來越少，我們去年一直在努力轉移一些風險。所以它變得越來越小。您現在看到的一些項目已經轉變為未來合約。

So we're just working through some of the existing contracts today. So overall, not a big driver of our auto business. And that's why there's a little bit of volatility within there, and that's why we've been reducing that part of that business.

所以我們今天只是處理一些現有的合約。總的來說，這不是我們汽車業務的主要推動力。這就是為什麼其中存在一點波動，這就是為什麼我們一直在減少這部分業務。

And just in terms of the percentage of mix of the handful of accounts that you share profits with how much is that?

就您分享利潤的少數帳戶組合的百分比而言，這是多少？

Yeah, it's only five clients. And it's actually with our rate increases that's becoming a better performing piece of our business over time, Jeff. We don't split that out necessarily of those clients. But overall, it's -- most of the business, the vast majority, we do reduce the risk and share risk with our clients. So this is really the smaller part of the business, not the main part.

是的，只有五個客戶。事實上，隨著時間的推移，我們的利率上升正在成為我們業務中表現更好的部分，傑夫。我們不一定將其與這些客戶分開。但總的來說，對於大部分業務，絕大多數，我們確實降低了風險並與客戶分擔風險。所以這實際上是業務的較小部分，而不是主要部分。

Okay. And then just a question on the renters business, I mean, I think a few years ago, you'd expect the growth to be kind of in the high-single-digits, continues to run much weaker. I'm just curious what the weakness there? And are you getting rate in that business as well? What rate are you getting?

好的。然後是關於租房業務的問題，我的意思是，我認為幾年前，你預計增長會達到高個位數，但增長會繼續疲軟。我只是好奇那裡有什麼弱點？您在該行業也獲得了回報嗎？您得到的利率是多少？

Yeah. I think our rate is probably at a very good level right now generally. What I would say on the revenue side is, and we've talked about this a little bit in the past. Definitely, if you look at it year-to-date, it's relatively flat. I think we're up 2% on revenue. Policies are up 4%. What's probably a little bit more exciting is our year-to-date gross written premium, think of that as a leading indicator of future revenue. It's actually up 8%.

是的。我認為目前我們的利率總體上可能處於非常好的水平。我想說的是收入方面，我們過去已經討論過這個問題。當然，如果你看看今年迄今為止的情況，你會發現它相對持平。我認為我們的收入成長了 2%。政策上漲4%。可能更令人興奮的是我們今年迄今的毛保費，將其視為未來收入的領先指標。實際上上漲了8%。

And it's really two pieces. So our property management company part of the renters' portfolio is up 20% year-to-date, which is obviously pretty significant growth. And then the affinity business is relatively stable. We expect that affinity business to slowly improve over time. We expect the momentum in the PMC side of our business to continue. We've shown double-digit growth for the last eight quarters straight.

而且它確實是兩塊。因此，我們的物業管理公司（屬於租戶投資組合的一部分）今年迄今成長了 20%，這顯然是相當顯著的成長。然後親和力業務比較穩定。我們預計親和力業務將隨著時間的推移慢慢改善。我們預計 PMC 業務的勢頭將持續下去。我們在過去的八個季度中連續實現了兩位數的成長。

We really like the business. I think we're incredibly positioned. We've been investing not just in our products, but in our platforms. And I think we're certainly set up as the market continues to find ways to drive growth, we'll be participating in that over time.

我們真的很喜歡這個行業。我認為我們處於令人難以置信的位置。我們不僅投資於我們的產品，還投資於我們的平台。我認為，隨著市場繼續尋找推動成長的方法，我們肯定已經做好了準備，隨著時間的推移，我們將參與其中。

Thank you.

謝謝。

John Barnidge, Piper Sandler.

約翰·巴尼奇，派珀·桑德勒。

Good morning. Thanks for the opportunity. Appreciate it. My first question is on the Global Housing combined ratio. How do you view the long-term combined ratio guide? There's been consistent profitability achieved in that business, not just from underwriting improvements, but it appears to be expense leverage has been achieved over the last five quarters. I'd love to get your take on how you view the long-term combined ratio you targeted. Thank you.

早安.感謝您提供的機會。欣賞它。我的第一個問題是關於全球住房綜合比率。您如何看待長期綜合比率指南？該業務實現了持續的盈利能力，這不僅是由於承保的改進，而且在過去五個季度中似乎已經實現了費用槓桿。我很想了解您如何看待您的目標長期綜合比率。謝謝。

You bet. I think mid-80s combined is the right way to think about the business, we think about a non-cat loss ratio of around 40%. We had about 7 points for cat losses and then expenses in the high-30s. There's no doubt we've demonstrated a tremendous amount of discipline around expense management, driving efficiency through the use of technology and a lot of other things, and it's certainly showing up. And it's a scale business. So as we've grown the business, you're seeing the benefits of that flow through on the expense line. But I would say, mid-80s combined is the way to think about that business generally longer-term, and we feel incredibly proud of the growth of that business. I mean our policies are up 9% year-over-year. AIVs are up 11% and then expense leverage of more than 200 basis points if you look back. So it's performing incredibly well and very fortunate that we've got -- the team that we've got.

你打賭。我認為 80 年代中期綜合起來是考慮業務的正確方式，我們認為非貓損失率約為 40%。我們的貓損失大約有 7 個點，然後費用在 30 左右。毫無疑問，我們在費用管理、透過使用技術和許多其他事物來提高效率方面表現出了大量的紀律，而且它確實正在顯現。這是一個規模化的業務。因此，隨著我們業務的發展，您會看到費用線所帶來的好處。但我想說，80 年代中期綜合起來是對該業務總體上更長遠的思考方式，我們對該業務的成長感到無比自豪。我的意思是我們的保單年增了 9%。如果回顧過去，AIV 上漲了 11%，費用槓桿則超過 200 個基點。所以它的表現非常好，我們擁有一支非常幸運的團隊。

Yes. And I would just add, the expense ratio story really is a great one, and it's really sustainable as well. And it's really driven by the combination of scale the digital enhancements that we're making, the AI investments we're making, and then also our integration platforms. When you take all of that we've been doing over the last few years, it's really been an amazing journey.

是的。我想補充一點，費用比率的故事確實是一個很棒的故事，而且它也確實是可持續的。它實際上是由我們正在進行的數位增強規模、我們正在進行的人工智慧投資以及我們的整合平台共同推動的。當你回顧我們過去幾年所做的所有事情時，你會發現這確實是一次奇妙的旅程。

And I think that's really delivered an incredible customer experience through technology and it's also enabling us to differentiate versus others in the industry. And I think that's why you're seeing us win some important new clients with those investments we made that are really paying off for us.

我認為這確實透過科技提供了令人難以置信的客戶體驗，也使我們能夠在業界脫穎而出。我認為這就是為什麼我們的投資贏得了一些重要的新客戶，這些投資確實為我們帶來了回報。

Thank you for that. My follow-up question is on the Global Lifestyle business. Telstra, Spectrum really seemed to have delivered nice unit growth, $1.6 million, I think you called out there. But generally, ahead of a program launching, there's a period of investor. Are you able to quantify the level of investment for Telstra and Spectrum that impacted EBITDA in the quarter for Connected Living? Thank you.

謝謝你。我的後續問題是關於全球生活方式業務。 Telstra、Spectrum 似乎確實實現了不錯的單位增長，達到 160 萬美元，我想你也曾說過。但一般來說，在專案啟動之前，會有一段投資人期。您能否量化 Telstra 和 Spectrum 的投資水準對互聯生活季度 EBITDA 的影響？謝謝。

You bet. I think what we've tried to quantify is the overall level of investment. So we talked about $13 million of incremental investment year-to-date, $5 million in the first quarter, about $8 million in the second quarter and think about that trend line kind of being maintained as we think about the second half of the year.

你打賭。我認為我們試圖量化的是整體投資水準。因此，我們討論了今年迄今的增量投資 1300 萬美元，第一季 500 萬美元，第二季約 800 萬美元，並認為在我們考慮下半年時，這條趨勢線會得到維持。

So that's probably the easiest way to think about it, not necessarily at the client level. And there's no doubt we're excited about both of those opportunities to grow in the market. And there's certainly a step up in the second quarter with subscriber counts. We took over the in-force business at Telstra, which is terrific. So we start from a pretty robust place in terms of subs.

所以這可能是最簡單的思考方式，不一定是在客戶端層面。毫無疑問，我們對這兩個市場成長機會感到興奮。第二季訂閱者數量肯定會增加。我們接手了 Telstra 的有效業務，這非常棒。因此，我們從潛艇方面非常強大的地方開始。

And then, with Spectrum, as well because part of the program is embedded in the top-tier rate plan that actually gave us a step up to existing subscribers in the second quarter and now we're in a more normalized period of growth.

然後，對於Spectrum，也是因為該計劃的一部分嵌入了頂級費率計劃中，這實際上使我們在第二季度的現有訂戶數量上有了一個提升，現在我們正處於一個更加正常化的增長時期。

What I think you'll notice, if you unpack the subscriber counts is we actually generated net growth even separating the $1.6 million incremental that we talked about, and that's following several quarters of declines in that metric. So we're really pleased not just with the growth from these two clients but with the underlying performance around subscribers and certainly expect that growth to continue, not at that level, but to continue as we go-forward.

我想您會注意到，如果您了解訂閱者數量，我們實際上實現了淨增長，甚至將我們談到的 160 萬美元的增量分開，而且這是在該指標連續幾個季度下降之後。因此，我們不僅對這兩個客戶的成長感到非常滿意，而且對訂閱者的基本表現感到滿意，並且當然希望這種增長能夠繼續下去，不是在那個水平上，而是隨著我們的前進而繼續下去。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Tommy McJoynt, KBW.

（操作員說明）Tommy McJoynt，KBW。

Hey, good morning, guys. Good morning. How much is higher investment income offsetting, I guess, the otherwise, what I'll call core weakness in the auto segment. I guess, just basically do you know what percentage of autos bottom line EBITDA is investment income. And I'm not sure what the duration of those investments are. But is there any risk that if short-term rates come down meaningfully over the next year and that potentially fits auto's bottom line before all the work you're doing on rate increases gets a chance to earn in. Is that a risk that we should be thinking about?

嘿，早上好，夥計們。早安.我猜想，較高的投資收入抵消了多少，否則我稱之為汽車領域的核心弱點。我想，您基本上知道投資收入佔汽車利潤 EBITDA 的百分比是多少嗎？我不確定這些投資的期限有多長。但是，如果短期利率在明年大幅下降，並且在您為加息所做的所有工作有機會獲利之前，這可能符合汽車公司的底線，那麼是否存在任何風險？正在思考？

Yeah, I think we're in a good position in terms of investment income, Tommy. Our duration is about five years on our investment portfolio. We've got a very high-quality portfolio. Our book yield is up 12 basis points over the last quarter up to $5.16. New money yields are still a little bit higher than that. So overall, we feel good about where we stand for the remainder of the year and our outlook in terms of investment income.

是的，我認為我們在投資收入方面處於有利地位，湯米。我們的投資組合的期限約為五年。我們擁有非常高品質的產品組合。我們的帳面收益率比上季上升 12 個基點，達到 5.16 美元。新資金收益率仍略高於此。因此，總體而言，我們對今年剩餘時間的狀況以及投資收益的前景感到滿意。

And then also with certain clients, we share some investment income. So to the extent that interest rates go down a little bit, then it actually -- there's a natural offset there for us with some of the clients. So overall, not as big of an impact in the short-term.

然後我們也與某些客戶分享一些投資收入。因此，如果利率略有下降，那麼實際上，我們與一些客戶之間存在自然的抵消。所以整體來說，短期內影響不大。

Okay. Got it. Thank you.

好的。知道了。謝謝。

Grace Carter, Bank of America.

格蕾絲·卡特，美國銀行。

Okay. Perfect. Hi. So I was wondering on the auto risk question. I think historically, you all have said that you retain about a third of the risk across the Lifestyle book. I was just curious if that continues to be kind of the best way to think about the segment overall, just given the work that you've done in the auto book over the past several quarters.

好的。完美的。你好。所以我想知道汽車風險問題。我認為從歷史上看，你們都說過，在《生活方式》一書中，你們保留了大約三分之一的風險。我只是好奇，考慮到您在過去幾季在汽車書籍中所做的工作，這是否仍然是考慮整個細分市場的最佳方式。

Yeah. I think it's generally the right way to think about it at the Lifestyle level, maybe a little bit -- we may retain a little bit less of it on the auto side. A lot of the deals are reinsured within the dealer business and with various clients. So -- but I do think, overall, that's a good way to think about it.

是的。我認為這通常是在生活方式層面上思考它的正確方式，也許還有一點點——我們可能會在汽車方面保留一點點。許多交易在經銷商業務內和不同的客戶進行再保險。所以——但我確實認為，總的來說，這是一個很好的思考方式。

And the nice thing with auto, as we think about the pressure on the VSC side, it's a handful of clients, so it's somewhat manageable. We're trying to work with only five partners to make the right adjustments. And as you've seen, 14 rate increases with five clients over the last couple of years is a meaningful amount of activity and traction to try to right the ship. So I do feel like that allows it to be much more manageable because it's quite concentrated.

汽車產業的好處是，當我們考慮到 VSC 方面的壓力時，它的客戶數量很少，所以在某種程度上是可以管理的。我們正在嘗試僅與五個合作夥伴合作來做出正確的調整。正如您所看到的，在過去幾年中，5 個客戶的費率上漲了 14 次，這是一項有意義的活動，也是試圖扭轉局面的動力。所以我確實覺得這讓它更容易管理，因為它非常集中。

Thank you. And I guess you mentioned -- expecting higher repurchases for the remainder of the year, but also gave us some, um, some guidance for how hurricane barrel losses might be shaping up, just given the the forecast for an active hurricane season. And can you talk about what gives you the confidence to increase the outlook for repurchases for the remainder of the year?

謝謝。我猜你有提到過——預計今年剩餘時間會有更高的回購量，但考慮到颶風季節活躍的預測，也給了我們一些，嗯，一些有關颶風桶損失可能如何形成的指導。您能否談談是什麼讓您有信心提高今年剩餘時間的回購前​​景？

And it just given that the seasonality of hurricane season, if we should expect those to be more weighted towards 4Q rather than 3Q?

鑑於颶風季節的季節性，我們是否應該預期這些颶風季節的權重會更偏向第四季而不是第三季？

Yeah. So I think, first of all, we get the confidence from our strong capital position and we've really just continued to strengthen our reinsurance program. So we feel really good about how we are positioned going into the back half of the year. I think you also highlight, Grace, the strong cash flow generation of our portfolio of businesses. And we have a very strong track record of deploying that capital back to shareholders. And we've already completed $100 million of the buybacks. And I think we're going to be on pace to deliver that higher end of the $200 million to $300 million range.

是的。因此，我認為，首先，我們從強大的資本狀況中獲得了信心，並且我們確實繼續加強了我們的再保險計劃。因此，我們對今年下半年的定位感到非常滿意。格蕾絲，我認為您也強調了我們業務組合強勁的現金流生成能力。我們在將資本返還給股東方面有著非常良好的記錄。我們已經完成了 1 億美元的回購。我認為我們將穩步實現 2 億至 3 億美元範圍內的高端目標。

And I don't think we see any reason why that wouldn't be the case, and that's why we raised our guidance there. So overall, I think being in this type of capital position is exactly where we want to be and it allows us to operate from a position of strength.

我認為我們沒有任何理由認為情況並非如此，這就是我們提高指導意見的原因。因此，總的來說，我認為這種資本狀況正是我們想要的，它使我們能夠憑藉實力進行運作。

Perfect. Thank you.

完美的。謝謝。

Mark Hughes, Truist Securities.

馬克休斯，Truist 證券公司。

Yes. Thanks for taking the follow-up. In the Global Housing, your fee income was quite strong this quarter. Anything unusual there? Is this kind of elevated fees? Is that going to continue? I think we said $53 million, if I'm looking at it properly, a big jump year-over-year. Could you talk about that?

是的。感謝您的關注。在全球住房方面，本季度您的費用收入相當強勁。那裡有什麼不尋常的地方嗎？這樣的收費算高額嗎？這種情況還會持續嗎？我想我們說的是 5300 萬美元，如果我正確地看待的話，這是同比的大幅增長。你能談談這個嗎？

Yeah. So in the fee income, there was a business change that was made. And all it really was, Mark, was a reclassification between fee income and our expense lines. So no bottom line P&L impact, just movement between expenses and the fee income line.

是的。因此，在費用收入方面，發生了業務變化。馬克，這其實只是費用收入和我們的支出項目之間的重新分類。因此，沒有底線損益影響，只是費用和費用收入線之間的變動。

Yeah. Okay. And then you talked about a client transition in Housing that could impact the second half. I'm not sure whether you said anything more about that, but what was the import of that statement?

是的。好的。然後您談到了可能影響下半年的住房客戶轉型。我不確定你是否還說了更多關於這一點的事情，但這句話的重要性是什麼？

Yeah. So we've got -- there's a lot of ongoing activity within the lender-placed business. And at times, certain portfolios roll off, certain portfolios roll on as clients are making different acquisitions in the market, buying books of loans, et cetera. And what we've said is we'll see some movement on that over the course of the back half of the year. But overall, I would say our expectation for policy counts is relatively stable as we think about the second half of the year. So any losses relative to that transition will be offset by pickups with respect to other portfolios.

是的。因此，貸方放置的業務中有很多正在進行的活動。有時，某些投資組合會滾動，某些投資組合會隨著客戶在市場上進行不同的收購、購買貸款帳簿等而滾動。我們已經說過，我們將在今年下半年看到這方面的一些進展。但總體而言，我想說，考慮到下半年，我們對政策數量的預期相對穩定。因此，與此轉變相關的任何損失都將被其他投資組合的回升所抵消。

Okay. Very good. Thank you.

好的。非常好。謝謝。

Excellent. Thank you. And if we have no other questions, then maybe just one final comment for me and then we can wrap it up. And I think we try to put some emphasis in the materials, but we do have a very strong track record of driving performance across a variety of different economic cycles.

出色的。謝謝。如果我們沒有其他問題，那麼也許只需給我一個最後的評論，然後我們就可以結束它。我認為我們試圖把重點放在材料上，但我們確實在各種不同經濟週期的推動績效方面擁有非常出色的記錄。

We're certainly proud of what we've delivered so far this year, excited about the raised guidance. And as we highlighted in the materials, with the current guidance, we're actually poised to deliver 10% EBITDA growth on average since 2019, so over the last five years. And we're going to more than double the absolute earnings per share with a 16% CAGR over that same five-year period.

我們當然對今年迄今所交付的成果感到自豪，並對提出的指導感到興奮。正如我們在材料中所強調的那樣，根據當前的指導，我們實際上準備自 2019 年以來（即過去五年）實現平均 10% 的 EBITDA 成長。我們將在同一五年內將每股絕對收益增加一倍以上，複合年增長率為 16%。

So again, we're incredibly proud of the track record that sits behind us. We've got a lot of momentum in the business. We're showing that with a number of new client launches, new wins. We're working on a number of other things that we'll talk about in future quarters. But again, just excited to be driving growth and creating shareholder value. So we'll look forward to the next call. We'll get back together in November after our Q3 and really appreciate the time. Thanks very much.

再說一次，我們對背後的記錄感到無比自豪。我們的業務發展勢頭強勁。我們透過一系列新客戶的推出和新的勝利來證明這一點。我們正在研究其他一些事情，我們將在未來幾季討論這些事情。但同樣，我很高興能夠推動成長並創造股東價值。所以我們期待下次通話。我們將在 11 月第三季之後重聚，非常感謝這段時光。非常感謝。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. Please disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。請此時斷開線路，祝您有美好的一天。