Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc (BOW) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to Bowhead Specialties 4Q 24 earnings call. After the prepared remarks, we will hold a question and answer session. (Operator Instructions).

您好，歡迎參加 Bowhead Specialties 4Q 24 收益電話會議。在準備好的發言之後，我們將舉行問答環節。（操作員指令）。

With that, I would like to turn the call over to Shirley Yap, head of investor relations. Shirley, you may begin.

接下來，我想將電話轉給投資者關係主管 Shirley Yap。雪莉，你可以開始了。

Thanks, Danielle. Good morning and welcome to Bowhead's 4th quarter 2024 earnings conference call. I'm Shirley Yap, Bowhead's Chief Accounting Officer and head of investor relations.

謝謝，丹妮爾。早安，歡迎參加 Bowhead 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。我是 Shirley Yap，Bowhead 的首席會計長兼投資者關係主管。

Joining me today are Steven Sills, our Chief Executive Officer, and Brad Mulcahy, our Chief Financial Officer.

今天與我一起出席的還有我們的執行長史蒂文·西爾斯 (Steven Sills) 和財務長布拉德·穆卡希 (Brad Mulcahy)。

Earlier this morning, we released our financial results for the 4th quarter of 2024.

今天早些時候，我們發布了 2024 年第四季的財務業績。

You can find our earnings release in the investor relations section of our website.

您可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到我們的收益報告。

Later in the week, our Form 10k will also be made available on our website.

本週晚些時候，我們的 10k 表格也將在我們的網站上發布。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this call contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1,995.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的前瞻性陳述。

Investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement.

投資者不應過度依賴任何前瞻性陳述。

These statements are made only as of the date of this call, and are based on management's current expectations and beliefs.

這些聲明僅在本次電話會議之日做出，並且基於管理層當前的預期和信念。

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements.

前瞻性陳述受風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與這些陳述預期的結果有重大差異。

You should review the risks and uncertainties fully described in our SEC filings. We expressly disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statement except as required by law.

您應該查看我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中全面描述的風險和不確定性。我們明確表示不承擔更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務，除非法律要求。

Additionally, we will be referencing certain non-gap financial measures on this call. Reconciliations of these non-gap financial measures to their respective most directly comparable GAAP measure can be found in the earnings release we issued this morning and in the investor relations section of our website.

此外，我們將在本次電話會議中參考某些無缺口財務措施。這些非差距財務指標與其各自最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的對帳可以在我們今天早上發布的收益報告和我們網站的投資者關係部分中找到。

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

說完這些，我將把電話轉給史蒂芬。

Thank you, Shirley. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on our first year-end earnings conference call as a public company. We appreciate your time and interest in Bowhead, and we're excited to share our strong results with you today.

謝謝你，雪莉。大家早安，感謝大家參加我們作為上市公司的首次年終收益電話會議。感謝您對 Bowhead 的時間和關注，我們很高興今天與您分享我們的強勁成果。

Before we begin, I wanted to take a moment to extend our sincere appreciation to our colleagues and brokers. Your support, dedication, and hard work played a crucial role in making 2024 such a successful year for Bowhead.

在我們開始之前，我想花點時間向我們的同事和經紀人表達誠摯的感謝。您的支持、奉獻和努力對於 2024 年成為 Bowhead 如此成功的一年發揮了至關重要的作用。

Next, I'd like to take a step back and reflect on the milestone year we've had. 2024 was a transformational year for our company, filled with achievements that have positioned us well for cross-cycle profitability. We'll also provide insight into our expectations for 2025, which, in short, is consistent with our messaging throughout 2024.

接下來，我想回顧一下我們度過的里程碑式的一年。 2024 年是我們公司的轉型之年，取得了許多成就，為我們實現跨週期獲利奠定了良好的基礎。我們也將深入了解我們對 2025 年的期望，簡而言之，這與我們在 2024 年全年的信息一致。

In May 2024, we successfully completed an upsized IPO marking a major milestone in our company's journey. Then on October 25th, we successfully closed on a secondary public offering reflecting the strong demand for our company's stock.

2024年5月，我們成功完成增資IPO，標誌著公司發展歷程中的重要里程碑。隨後在10月25日，我們成功完成二次公開發行，反映出市場對我們公司股票的強勁需求。

During our roadshow, we highlighted strategic priorities for achieving cross-cycle profitability, which included profitability, growing our existing lines of business, opportunistically and strategically expanding into new products and markets, maintaining our underwriting first culture across market cycles, and leveraging expertise, technology. Data and analytics to drive underwriting performance.

在路演期間，我們強調了實現跨週期盈利的戰略重點，包括盈利能力、發展現有業務線、抓住機會、戰略性地拓展新產品和新市場、在市場週期中保持承​​​​保第一文化、以及利用專業知識和技術。數據和分析推動承保績效。

We're pleased to report that we successfully executed on all these priorities in 2024.

我們很高興地報告，我們在 2024 年成功執行了所有這些優先事項。

First, we profitably grew premiums by 37% in 2024, exceeding our annual premium growth target of 20% of the $696 million are premiums we wrote in 2024, 76% was written on an excess in surplus lines or ENS basis.

首先，2024 年我們的保費實現了 37% 的盈利增長，超過了我們 2024 年承保的 6.96 億美元保費中 20% 的年度保費增長目標，其中 76% 是以超額線或 ENS 為基礎承保的。

While we could have written substantially more business in all divisions in line with our underwriting first culture, we were highly selective with the risks that we brought into our portfolio.

雖然我們本可以根據承保優先的文化在所有部門承保更多的業務，但我們對我們納入投資組合的風險進行了嚴格的篩選。

Because we began operations in November of 2020, we were not impacted by legacy reserve issues affecting the broader industry. We also do not write property or natural catastrophe exposed risks, as well as standalone commercial auto or fleet business, areas where the industry has seen adverse developments from pre 2020 accident years. Instead, we utilize our underwriting first culture to drive profitable growth.

由於我們於 2020 年 11 月開始運營，因此並未受到影響整個行業的遺留儲備問題的影響。我們也不承保財產或自然災害風險，以及獨立的商用汽車或車隊業務，這些領域的產業發展與 2020 年之前的事故年份相比並不樂觀。相反，我們利用承保第一文化來推動獲利成長。

In our casualty division, where we're seeing favourable underwriting and pricing conditions in the excess casualty space, we increased premiums by 56% for the year through rate increases, improved terms and conditions, and bringing on new business, all while reducing our average limits.

在我們的傷亡險部門，我們看到超額傷亡險領域的承保和定價條件十分有利，我們透過提高費率、改善條款和條件以及開展新業務，將今年的保費提高了 56%，同時降低了平均限額。

In both our health care liability and professional liability divisions where market conditions are more nuanced and in certain areas challenging, we had double digit growth in the year while prioritizing underwriting profitability and optimizing our portfolio.

在我們的健康醫療責任和專業責任部門，市場條件更加微妙，某些領域充滿挑戰，我們在優先考慮承保盈利能力和優化投資組合的同時，今年實現了兩位數的增長。

In all divisions we remain disciplined and dedicated to our underwriting first approach. We declined or allowed others to renew our accounts when the underlying numbers didn't meet our profitability targets. And during the 4th quarter, as we've seen some carriers aggressively reaching for budget, we maintained our disciplined underwriting approach and focused on profitable growth rather than just expanding on volume.

在所有部門中，我們都嚴守紀律，致力於承保優先的方法。當基礎數字達不到我們的獲利目標時，我們拒絕或允許其他人續訂我們的帳戶。在第四季度，我們看到一些保險公司積極削減預算，我們保持了嚴謹的承保方式，專注於獲利成長，而不僅僅是擴大數量。

In terms of our strategic expansions in 2024, we announced two new offerings. Late in the second quarter, we launched a new division called Baleen Specialty, a streamlined, tech-enabled, low touch flow underwriting operation that focuses on small, hard to place risks written 100% on a non-admitted basis.

就 2024 年的策略擴張而言，我們宣布了兩項新產品。在第二季末，我們成立了一個名為 Baleen Specialty 的新部門，這是一個精簡的、技術支援的、低接觸流程承保業務，專注於 100% 以非承保方式承保的小型、難以承保的風險。

While premiums we wrote in 2024 did not have a material impact on our bottom line in the year, we delivered the technology and offered two products in over 160 eligible classes most frequently requested by our broker partners. We're solving a problem for our broker partners that only a limited number of markets are technologically capable of delivering.

雖然我們在 2024 年簽訂的保費對當年的利潤沒有產生重大影響，但我們提供了技術，並在 160 多個合格類別中提供了兩種產品，這是我們經紀合作夥伴最常要求的。我們正在為我們的經紀合作夥伴解決只有有限數量的市場在技術上能夠實現的問題。

In line with our underwriting first culture, we do not compete on price rather, the commitment we've made to our broker partners is to provide best in class service, coverage transparency, and the continued development of additional products and solutions in the years to come.

按照我們承保第一的文化，我們不進行價格競爭，而是向我們的經紀合作夥伴做出的承諾是提供一流的服務、覆蓋透明度以及在未來幾年繼續開發更多的產品和解決方案。

We've delivered on our commitment to develop a flow underwriting operation. And are excited about the momentum we've generated in the 1st 7 months of Baleen's operations.

我們履行了發展流量承保業務的承諾。我們對 Baleen 營運前 7 個月所取得的進展感到非常興奮。

In Q4 we also released the first of our three environmental liability products diversifying our casualty division product offerings with our disciplined approach to underwriting and our expanding craft and flow platforms, we believe we positioned ourselves well for sustainable and profitable growth across market cycles.

在第四季度，我們也發布了三款環境責任產品中的第一款，透過嚴謹的承保方式和不斷擴展的工藝和流程平台，使我們的傷亡部門產品線更加多樣化，我們相信，我們已做好準備，能夠在市場週期中實現可持續的盈利增長。

In 2024, was a busy but successful year. We achieved the 37% growth in our premiums, invested in the development of new products, and executed on our priorities, all while improving our expense ratio by 0.5 points.

2024年，是忙碌卻又成功的一年。我們實現了保費成長 37%，投資開發新產品，並執行了我們的優先任務，同時將費用率提高了 0.5 個百分點。

We also delivered an adjusted ROE of 15.2%, which included $131 million of net proceeds from our upsized IPO delivering attractive returns on capital to our investors.

我們的調整後股本回報率 (ROE) 也達到了 15.2%，其中包括來自擴大規模 IPO 的 1.31 億美元淨收益，為我們的投資者帶來了頗具吸引力的資本回報。

In 2024 we said what we were going to do and we achieved what we set out to do. We expect 2025 to be no different as we move into 2025, our priorities for achieving cross cycle profitability remain unchanged.

2024 年，我們說出了我們要做的事情，並且實現了我們所設定的目標。我們預計 2025 年的情況也不會有所不同，隨著我們進入 2025 年，實現跨週期盈利的優先事項保持不變。

We expect to profitably grow our business around 20% in 2025. Continue to build upon the momentum we've achieved with Baleen and apply the technology to other areas in our business opportunistically and strategically expand into new products or markets.

我們預計到 2025 年我們的業務利潤將成長 20% 左右。繼續鞏固我們在 Baleen 上取得的進展，並將該技術應用到我們業務的其他領域，抓住機會，策略性地拓展新產品或新市場。

And maintain our underwriting first culture in both our craft and flow underwriting operations. With that, I'll pass the call over to Brad to discuss our financial results. Brad?

並在我們的工藝和流程核保業務中保持承保第一的文化。說完這些，我將把電話轉給布拉德，討論我們的財務結果。布拉德？

Thanks, Stephen. we ended generated adjusted net income of $14.1 million in the fourth quarter, up 143% year over year, or $0.42 per diluted share.

謝謝，史蒂芬。我們第四季的調整後淨收入為 1,410 萬美元，年增 143%，即每股收益 0.42 美元。

Adjusted return on average equity for the quarter was 15.3%, which included $131 million of net proceeds from our upsized IPO in May 2024.

本季調整後的平均股本回報率為 15.3%，其中包括我們在 2024 年 5 月擴大 IPO 規模後的 1.31 億美元淨收益。

Gross written premiums increased 26% to $185 million for the quarter.

本季毛承保保費成長 26%，達到 1.85 億美元。

We had premium growth from each of our divisions with casually driving the increase at 43% year over year to $106 million for the quarter. The growth in casualty came mostly from our excess casualty book, where we continued to see rate increases across our renewal book and new business stemming from the continued collapsing of towers.

我們每個部門的保費均有所成長，本季的保費年增 43%，達到 1.06 億美元。意外險的成長主要來自於我們的超額意外險帳簿，由於大樓不斷倒塌，我們繼續看到續保帳簿和新業務的費率上漲。

In our healthcare liability division, premiums of $32 million increased 9% year over year, driven by renewals with rate increases in certain lines and new business and others.

在我們的醫療責任部門，保費為 3,200 萬美元，比去年同期增長 9%，這得益於某些險種的續保費率上漲以及新業務和其他業務的推動。

In our professional liability division, despite a challenging market, we maintained underwriting discipline while increasing premiums 7% year over year to $46 million which is primarily driven by our cyber liability portfolio.

在我們的專業責任部門，儘管市場充滿挑戰，我們仍然保持承保紀律，同時保費同比增長 7% 至 4600 萬美元，這主要得益於我們的網絡責任組合。

Baleen generated $1.2 million of premium in the fourth quarter, which was a 175% growth from the modest premiums in the previous quarter.

Baleen 在第四季度創造了 120 萬美元的保費收入，較上一季的適度保費收入成長了 175%。

We're pleased with our initial results and expect the momentum to start ramping up in the second half of 2025, 1 year after launching Bailey. Due to the timing of our independent actuarial review in Q4 of each year, we consider our full year loss ratio a more meaningful metric than our Q4 loss ratio.

我們對初步結果感到滿意，並預計在 Bailey 推出一年後，即 2025 年下半年，發展動能將開始增強。由於我們每年第四季進行獨立精算審查的時間，我們認為全年損失率比第四季損失率更有意義。

For the full year, our 2024 loss ratio of 64.4% increased 1.4 points compared to the 63.0% loss ratio in 2023.

就全年而言，我們的 2024 年損失率為 64.4%，較 2023 年的 63.0% 損失率上升了 1.4 個百分點。

The increase is primarily due to mixed changes in the portfolio, where our casualty division has a higher current accident year loss ratio and comprised a larger portion of our portfolio compared to 2023.

成長的主要原因是投資組合的混合變化，與 2023 年相比，我們的傷亡部門當前事故年度的損失率更高，並且占我們投資組合的比重更大。

Remember, since we've only been in operations for 4 years and right long tail lines, our actual loss experience is limited. Because of this, our annual independent actuarial review is primarily based on inputs from industry data.

請記住，由於我們僅運營了 4 年，並且是長尾線，因此我們的實際損失經驗有限。因此，我們每年的獨立精算審查主要基於行業數據的輸入。

Our initial expected loss ratios are derived from a combination of internal pricing data and external benchmarks, while development patterns are mostly based on external benchmark patterns.

我們最初的預期損失率是從內部定價資料和外部基準的組合中得出的，而發展模式主要基於外部基準模式。

We attempt to align all industry benchmarks to the nuances of our portfolio, including our limited commercial auto fleet exposure and lack of large national account exposures and casualty.

我們試圖將所有行業基準與我們的投資組合的細節相結合，包括我們有限的商業汽車車隊風險敞口以及缺乏大型國家帳戶風險敞口和傷亡風險。

Additionally, the development patterns we use take into account our excess position in particular lines, which generally results in different development patterns than primary positions.

此外，我們使用的發展模式考慮到了我們在特定線路上的過剩位置，這通常會導致與主要位置不同的發展模式。

The most recent annual actuarial review in Q4 resulted in various adjustments, but most importantly, we had no prior accident year development in our aggregate net losses for 2024.

第四季的最新年度精算審查導致了各種調整，但最重要的是，我們 2024 年的總淨損失沒有前幾年事故年份的變化。

As you will see in our 10K in statutory reports once filed, we reallocated prior reserves by division to align more closely with the actuarially derived projected loss ratios and development patterns.

正如您在我們提交的 10K 法定報告中所看到的，我們按部門重新分配了前期準備金，以更緊密地符合精算得出的預期損失率和發展模式。

These reallocations were primarily from professional liability in the 21,22 accident years over to casualty in the 22, 23 years, with other divisions in years adjusted to a lesser extent, but the result on an aggregate net basis was no prior year development.

這些重新分配主要是從21、22事故年度的專業責任險轉移到22、23年的災難險，其他部門在年度中的調整幅度較小，但總體淨額結果與前幾年沒有變化。

More specifically, in casually, the $9 million of net unfavourable development was driven by deteriorating loss trends in the industry benchmarks. While in professional lines, the offsetting $9.5 million of net favorable development was driven by actual experience coming in lower than expected.

更具體地說，900萬美元的淨不利發展是由於產業基準的虧損趨勢惡化所致。而在專業領域，950 萬美元的淨有利發展是由於實際經驗低於預期。

Additionally, we adjusted some current accident year initial expected loss picks to align with actuarial estimates, including increasing some lines experiencing continued rate deterioration.

此外，我們調整了一些當前事故年度的初始預期損失選擇，以與精算估計保持一致，包括增加一些經歷持續費率惡化的線路。

In principle, these actions of recognizing potentially bad news quickly when we're made aware, while letting good news season, results in a level of conservatism in our net reserves that should bode well for the future.

原則上，當我們意識到潛在的壞消息時，迅速識別它們，同時讓好消息姍姍來遲，這種做法會導致我們的淨儲備保持一定程度的保守，這對未來來說是一個好兆頭。

In the end, our incurred but not reported reserves comprised 90.7% of our net loss reserves at the end of 2024. As a reminder, since Bowhead does not write any property risks, we did not experience any material direct losses due to the California wildfires.

最終，截至 2024 年底，我們已發生但未報告的準備金佔淨虧損準備金的 90.7%。提醒一下，由於 Bowhead 沒有承保任何財產風險，因此我們沒有因加州野火而遭受任何重大直接損失。

We do not expect to in future quarters. Additionally, we have limited commercial auto fleet exposure, avoid classes such as trucking, sports and leisure, and primary habitational. And avoid writing policies in unfavourable jurisdictions. Similar to the loss ratio, we consider our full year expense ratio a more meaningful metric to monitor the trending of our expense ratio, due to the inherent volatility quarter to quarter.

我們預計未來幾季不會出現這種情況。此外，我們限製商業汽車車隊的接觸，避免卡車運輸、運動休閒和主要居住等類別。並避免在不利的司法管轄區制定政策。與損失率類似，我們認為全年費用率是一個更有意義的指標，可以監控費用率的趨勢，因為費用率在每季之間都存在固有的波動。

For the year, our 2024 expense ratio of 31.4% decreased 0.5 points compared to 31.9% in 2023. The half point reduction was driven by a 0.9% decrease in our operating expense ratio, which is partially offset by a half point increase in our net acquisition ratio.

就年度而言，我們的 2024 年費用率為 31.4%，較 2023 年的 31.9% 下降了 0.5 個百分點。半個百分點的減少是由於我們的營業費用率下降了 0.9%，但淨收購率上升了半個百分點，部分抵消了這一下降。

The 0.9% decrease in our operating expense ratio from 24.0% in 2023 to 23.1% in 2024 was due to the continued scaling of our business, where net earned premiums grew at a higher rate than our expenses, as well as general prudent management of our expenses.

我們的營業費用率從 2023 年的 24.0% 下降 0.9% 至 2024 年的 23.1%，這是由於我們業務規模持續擴大，淨收入保費增長率高於我們的費用，以及我們對費用的整體審慎管理。

The half point increase in our net acquisition ratio from 7.9% in 2023 to 8.4% in 2024 was driven by the increase in broker commissions and the reduction in seating commission rates.

我們的淨收購率從 2023 年的 7.9% 增加到 2024 年的 8.4%，增加了半個百分點，這得益於經紀人佣金的增加和席位佣金率的降低。

The broker commission increase was due to a mix in changes in our portfolio, where casually has higher broker commissions compared to other divisions and comprised a larger proportion of our portfolio compared to 2023.

經紀人佣金的增加是由於我們的投資組合發生了變化，其中與其他部門相比，經紀人佣金隨意更高，並且與 2023 年相比占我們投資組合的更大比例。

Overall, the effect of our loss ratio and expense ratio contributed to a combined ratio of 95.8% for the year.

總體而言，我們的損失率和費用率導致全年綜合成本率為 95.8%。

Turning to our investment portfolio, pre-tax net investment income for the quarter increased 80% to $12 million and more than doubled from $19 million to $40 million in the year, driven by an increase in our investment portfolio and higher investment yields.

談到我們的投資組合，由於投資組合的增加和投資收益率的提高，本季的稅前淨投資收入增長了 80%，達到 1200 萬美元，全年則從 1900 萬美元增長了一倍多，達到 4000 萬美元。

At the end of the year, our investment portfolio had a book yield of 4.6% and a new money rate of 4.9%. The average credit quality and duration of our investment portfolio remained at AA in 2.2 years.

截至年底，我們的投資組合帳面收益率為4.6%，新資金利率為4.9%。2.2年內，我們投資組合的平均信用品質及久期仍維持在AA水準。

Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 25.2%, and for the year was 24.3% in line with our expectations. As a note, our effective tax rate may vary due to state taxes and certain tax adjustments for permanent differences.

我們本季的有效稅率為 25.2%，全年的有效稅率為 24.3%，符合我們的預期。值得注意的是，我們的有效稅率可能會因州稅和某些永久性差異的稅收調整而有所不同。

Total equity was $370 million giving us a diluted book value per share of $11.03 for the year, an increase of 38% from the year in 2023 of $8.

總股本為 3.7 億美元，使我們當年的每股攤薄帳面價值為 11.03 美元，較 2023 年的 8 美元增長 38%。

Turning to expectations for 2025, which, as Stephen mentioned, remained unchanged from what we communicated during the IPO and in 2024.

談到對 2025 年的預期，正如 Stephen 所提到的，與我們在 IPO 期間和 2024 年傳達的預期保持不變。

We continue to expect a premium growth of around 20%, led by momentum in our casualty division, supplemented by growth in our baleen division and profitable growth within our professional liability and healthcare liability divisions.

我們繼續預期保費成長率將達到 20% 左右，這主要得益於意外險部門的成長勢頭，以及鯨鬚險部門的成長以及專業責任險和醫療責任險部門的獲利成長。

From a seated perspective, although our main quota share and excess of loss treaties renew in May later this year, we've renewed our cyber quota share treaty effective January 1st, 2025 at 60%, down from 64% in 2024, and increased our seating commissions.

從席位角度來看，雖然我們的主要配額份額和超額損失條約將在今年 5 月下旬續簽，但我們已將網絡配額份額條約續簽至 2025 年 1 月 1 日起的 60%，低於 2024 年的 64%，並提高了我們的席位佣金。

As a note at each renewal, we consider various factors when determining our reinsurance coverage and may adjust our reinsurance program, including our retention.

請注意，每次續保時，我們都會考慮各種因素來確定我們的再保險範圍，並可能調整我們的再保險計劃，包括我們的保留。

We expect our 2025 loss ratio to remain in the mid-sixties range, but gradually change from 2024 as the book mix changes and earn premiums on older year roll off.

我們預計 2025 年的損失率將保持在 60 年代中期的水平，但隨著帳簿結構的變化和舊年度保費收入的減少，從 2024 年開始損失率將逐漸發生變化。

Prior year reserves may change throughout the year due to audit premiums or allocation of loss adjustment expenses, but will maintain our conservative approach to evaluating reserves each quarter.

由於審計費用或損失調整費用的分配，上一年儲備金可能會在全年發生變化，但我們仍將保持每個季度評估儲備金的保守方法。

Additionally, we expect our expense ratio to remain in the low 30% range for the full year of 2025, due to the continued scaling of our business while we continue to invest in our priorities for achieving cross cycle profitability.

此外，由於我們業務規模不斷擴大，同時我們繼續投資於實現跨週期盈利的優先事項，我們預計 2025 年全年的費用率將保持在 30% 的低點。

We expect our expense ratio in the first half of the year to be slightly higher than the second half, due to payroll taxes associated with bonus payouts in the 1st quarter, and the vesting of certain RSUs in the 2nd quarter.

我們預計上半年的費用率將略高於下半年，原因是第一季的獎金支付相關的工資稅以及第二季度某些 RSU 的歸屬。

Also, the increase in the seating fee to American family takes place in Q2, from 2% to 2.75%, which nets to about 2% of earned premium after expenses.

此外，美國家庭的選座費在第二季也有所增加，從 2% 增加到 2.75%，扣除費用後，淨收入約為保險費收入的 2%。

Therefore, we believe our combined ratio will be in the mid 90s for the full year and return on equity to be in the mid-teens.

因此，我們相信，全年綜合比率將達到 95% 左右，股本回報率將達到 15% 左右。

From a capital perspective, as we've communicated during our roadshows, the net proceeds we receive from our upsized IPO is more than sufficient for 2024. As we've discussed, we have a great growth opportunity ahead of us in 2025, and we'll assess the appropriate source of funding to capture that opportunity.

從資本角度來看，正如我們在路演期間所傳達的那樣，我們從擴大規模 IPO 中獲得的淨收益足以滿足 2024 年的需求。正如我們所討論的，2025 年我們面臨著巨大的成長機會，我們將評估適當的資金來源來抓住這個機會。

With that, we'll turn the call over for questions.

說完這些，我們將轉而回答問題。

Mayer Shields at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods 的 Mayer Shields。

Great, good morning. Thanks so much. I was hoping for a little more colour in terms of comparing the 4th quarter accident or loss ratio to what Bowhead had produced through the 1st 9 months, because we did see a bit of a dip down, and I'm wondering, is that mix, is that a reassessment of loss trends, or is there something else going on?

太好了，早安。非常感謝。我希望能更詳細地比較一下第四季度的事故或損失率與 Bowhead 在前九個月的事故或損失率，因為我們確實看到了一些下降，我想知道，這是混合情況嗎？這是對損失趨勢的重新評估，還是有其他原因？

Yes Mayer, this is Brad. That happens every year, that's why we kind of think of our full year loss ratio to be a better indicator of what we're really tracking. It, it's really a function of our, review that we do in Q4 and just moving things around, so the mix obviously impacts it, but that's mostly the same thing happened in Q4 of 2023 if you look at the comparable.

是的，梅耶爾，我是布萊德。這種情況每年都會發生，這就是為什麼我們認為全年損失率是我們實際追蹤情況的更好指標。這實際上是我們在第四季度進行的審查的功能，只是移動了一些事物，因此組合顯然會對其產生影響，但如果您看一下可比性，這與 2023 年第四季度發生的情況基本相同。

So, full year we're I think that's the better line to look at, but obviously no prior accident year development in that number. So, the only two things that impacted from Q3 to Q4 would have been the current accident year and the mix change.

因此，我認為全年數據是更好的參考線，但顯然這一數字沒有比之前事故年份的增長更快。因此，從第三季到第四季產生影響的唯一兩件事就是當前事故年份和組合變化。

So, the mix we've been kind of saying lately or all year long, casualty just generally has a higher loss pick, so as that increases as a proportion of the whole, the loss ratio will go up. And then also the in Q4, we did adjust our current accident year loss ratio is a little bit casually going down a little bit, PL going up, healthcare going up a little bit, so a little bit of a change in current accident here there as well.

因此，我們最近或全年都在說，意外險的損失通常較高，因此隨著其在整體中所佔比例的增加，損失率也會上升。然後也是在第四季度，我們確實調整了當前事故年度的損失率，使其稍微隨意下降一點，PL 上升一點，醫療保健上升一點，所以當前事故的情況也有一點變化。

Okay, fantastic. And then I know I've asked this in the past, but I was hoping to get an update on available underwriting talent in the marketplace now. I don't know how, a number of competitors struggles with prior period reserves or current profitability. Does that have an impact on the people that you can recruit?

好的，太棒了。我知道我過去曾問過這個問題，但我希望獲得有關現在市場上可用的承保人才的最新資訊。我不知道為什麼，許多競爭對手都在為前期準備金或當期獲利能力而苦苦掙扎。這對你能招募的人才有影響嗎？

Sorry, Mary, you said the question was on talent?

抱歉，瑪麗，你剛才說問題是關於天賦的？

Yes in other words, obviously part of the strategy is to expand into other product lines which presumably requires more underwriting talents. I'm wondering how that compares to expectations, what's available in the market now.

是的，換句話說，顯然該策略的一部分是擴展到其他產品線，這可能需要更多的承保人才。我想知道這與預期相比如何，現在市場上有哪些產品。

Well, the first place that we're looking for talent is in the excess and primary casualty space, but the kind of talent we're looking for is hard to come by. We've hired a few people this past year, we've got, a few more in the budget for this year.

嗯，我們尋找人才的首要地方是在過剩和主要傷亡領域，但我們尋找的那種人才很難找到。去年我們僱用了一些員工，今年的預算中又增加了一些員工。

We've staffed up for the start up of the environmental business. And, we're also staffing up, which we're not having trouble finding in the baleen space, but as the baleen space is more technologically driven and, so that will be a lot more scalable with less people than the craft business, that makes up most of what we're doing right now.

我們已經為啟動環境業務配備了人員。而且，我們也在增加員工，在鯨鬚領域我們並不難找到員工，但由於鯨鬚領域更多地是由技術驅動的，因此與手工藝業務相比，鯨鬚領域用更少的人力就能實現更大的可擴展性，這構成了我們目前所做的大部分工作。

Okay, perfect. Thank you so much.

好的，完美。太感謝了。

Scott Heleniak, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的 Scott Heleniak。

Yes, good morning. First question I had was just on the, healthcare liability, grosser premiums that they had decelerated a little bit. They were up double digits the past couple of quarters.

是的，早安。我的第一個問題是關於醫療保險責任，總保費下降。過去幾個季度，他們的利潤都成長了兩位數。

And I was just wondering if there's anything in there, anything you can kind of point to on that was already, I think you referenced some competition, was that, was there any particular area that you saw some uptick in competition there and you expect to see growth in that line, for 2025?

我只是想知道其中是否有任何東西，您可以指出已經存在的東西，我想您提到了一些競爭，是否有某個特定領域讓您看到競爭有所加劇，並且您預計到 2025 年這方面會出現增長？

We do expect to see growth in that line in 2025. I think, more people have been recognizing the problems of the past. I don't think we've seen the end of sexual abuse and molestation claims that have, not only have they increased, but the settlement values have gone up substantially.

我們確實預計 2025 年該系列將會成長。我認為，越來越多的人已經認識到過去的問題。我認為性侵犯和性騷擾索賠案件尚未結束，不僅數量增加，而且和解金額也大幅上漲。

And I think people are recognizing that and starting to have rates catch up with it. So, we expect, particularly in the hospital space, which is one of the components of our healthcare space, we expect that to grow very nicely in 25.

我認為人們已經認識到了這一點並開始讓利率跟上它。因此，我們預計，特別是在醫院領域（這是我們醫療保健領域的組成部分之一），我們預計在 25 年內將實現非常好的成長。

Okay, that's helpful. And then just on access casualty, that's been a, line that saw significant rate increases, I'm sure across your book and across the entire industry and that the growth has been really significant and I'm just wondering what kind of opportunity you see in 2025.

好的，這很有幫助。然後就意外險而言，這是一條費率大幅上漲的險種，我相信在整個保險業和整個保險業中，成長都非常顯著，我只是想知道您在 2025 年看到了什麼樣的機會。

For that line is do you still expect You meaningfully high growth rates in that area and there's still a lot of dislocation and still a lot of areas where you see opportunity there, or is that something where you've, the growth rate you're seeing lately is not really sustainable, just wondering if you can comment on that access casualty part of casually and, kind of what you're seeing there.

對於那條線，您是否仍預期您在該領域將實現有意義的高增長率，並且仍存在很多混亂，仍有很多領域您看到機會，或者您最近看到的增長率是不是真正可持續的，只是想知道您是否可以隨意評論一下您在那裡看到的那種訪問傷亡部分。

We think it is very sustainable. We think that I don't know how far out you want to go, but I think we've got a few more years of it at least. I think, all the talk about social inflation and nuclear verdicts is not fantasy, it's real, we don't write, as Brad mentioned, we don't write, primary order, we don't write fleets, but of course we write.

我們認為它非常可持續。我們認為我不知道你想要走多遠，但我認為我們至少還有幾年的時間。我認為，所有關於社會通膨和核裁決的討論都不是幻想，而是真實的，我們不寫，正如布拉德提到的，我們不寫，主要命令，我們不寫艦隊，但當然我們會寫。

Contractors and contractors have trucks, but we've seen, on some of the excess business that we write, verdicts that are eye-watering in what they're settling for, and I think the market overall is scrambling to catch up. So ,we think that there's more opportunity in terms of new business, but, a substantial opportunity in terms of increased rates on existing business.

承包商和承包商都有卡車，但我們看到，在我們承接的一些多餘業務中，他們所接受的判決結果令人瞠目結舌，我認為整個市場都在努力追趕。因此，我們認為，就新業務而言，機會更多，但就現有業務的利率提高而言，機會也更大。

Okay, perfect. That's really helpful. Thanks a lot.

好的，完美。這真的很有幫助。多謝。

Pablo Singzon at JPMorgan.

摩根大通的 Pablo Singzon。

Hi, good morning. So first question, Brad, just given the sequential decline in the loss ratio, from 3 to 4, would it be fair to assume that the net impact of the loss exchange you went through was a positive? Just wanted to clarify that.

嗨，早安。所以第一個問題，布拉德，鑑於損失率連續下降，從 3 下降到 4，是否可以公平地假設您所經歷的損失交換的淨影響是積極的？只是想澄清這一點。

Yes, that would be a that would be a good assumption.

是的，這是一個很好的假設。

Okay. And then the follow up just on the loss ratios, I, you, I think you suggested that using the 2024 loss ratio as a starting point, would be a good baseline.

好的。然後是關於損失率的後續問題，我，你，我認為你建議使用 2024 年的損失率作為起點，這將是一個很好的基準。

So the question is, Just given the projected mix change here, right, where casualty will probably grow faster than other lines, how fast do you foresee the loss ratio increasing from the 64.4% baseline?

所以問題是，僅僅考慮到這裡預計的組合變化，傷亡可能會比其他線路增長得更快，您預計損失率將從 64.4％的基線增加多快？

Yes, I think in 2025 it's going to be less of a mix change issue and more of a roll off of those older years. Our older years have a lower loss pick, and so I think as those roll off, it'll just, it'll, impact 2025, unfavourably if you want to call it, directionally, but I think the mix issue will be there, but it'll be more of those older lost years rolling off.

是的，我認為到 2025 年，這將不再是一個混合變化問題，而更多的是舊年份的延續。我們較早年份的虧損較少，所以我認為隨著這些虧損的減少，它將對 2025 年產生影響，如果你想稱之為方向性的不利影響，但我認為混合問題會存在，但更多的是那些較早失去的年份的虧損減少。

Okay, and I'll just try to sneak one more in on the expense ratio, you talked about the fronting fee, having, I think a two point impact on the combined, right? So, don't have full visibility on what's going to happen in the seeding commissions, but it sounds like the acquisition rate should go up. Do you expect most of that increase to be offset by, just, expense leverage on the GNA side?

好的，我只是想再偷偷地談一下費用率，你談到了前置費用，我認為它對綜合費用有兩個百分點的影響，對嗎？因此，雖然無法完全了解種子佣金會發生什麼，但聽起來收購率應該會上升。您是否預期大部分增幅將被 GNA 方面的費用槓桿所抵銷？

Yes, I would expect that. I think the, just to be clear, the fronting fee going up to the 2% change, we've got about a 1.5% number currently. So the actual incremental change is a half a point, and I think we can manage that through just the way the business is scaling and the projections that we that we see.

是的，我希望如此。我認為，需要明確的是，前置費用將上漲 2%，目前我們得到的數字約為 1.5%。因此實際的增量變化是半個點，我認為我們可以透過業務擴展的方式和我們看到的預測來實現這一點。

Got it I understood Thank you.

明白了，我了解了，謝謝。

Matt Carletti at JMP Securities

JMP證券公司的Matt Carletti

Thank you.

謝謝。

Hi thanks. Good morning. Yes, you talked a bit about, casualty and how, excess casualty is really driving nice growth there. Could you talk a little bit about professional liability and healthcare, a little bit slower growth in the quarter, just kind of your outlook there, and Stephen, I know you mentioned some companies may be trying to hit budget late in the year. I don't know if those were the segments you were talking about, but a little more colour would be great. Thank you.

嗨，謝謝。早安.是的，您談到了傷亡，以及超額傷亡如何真正推動那裡的良好增長。您能否談談專業責任和醫療保健，本季的成長略有放緩，您對此有何看法？史蒂芬，我知道您提到一些公司可能試圖在年底達到預算。我不知道這些是不是您所談論的片段，但如果顏色再多一點就更好了。謝謝。

Sure. The professional business is made up of, public DNO, private DNO, the, ENO business, as well as cyber. Cyber, we're seeing really nice growth, it's been a very successful line for us to enter. The large publicly traded, risks is that which is under the most pressure.

當然。專業業務包括公共 DNO、私人 DNO、ENO 業務以及網路。網路領域，我們看到了非常好的成長，這對我們來說是一個非常成功的領域。大型上市公司，風險是壓力最大的。

There are people that buy, hundreds of millions of dollars of limits, as we've talked about in the past, towers have collapsed in terms of People not writing $25 million, they write, tranches of 5s and 10s. We've found, MGAs going out there and just getting really aggressive and doing things that we think are very imprudent and, it has less of an impact for the buyer.

有些人購買了數億美元的限額，正如我們過去談到的，塔樓已經倒塌，因為人們沒有寫 2500 萬美元，而是寫了 5 年和 10 年的部分。我們發現，MGAs 的行為非常激進，而且採取一些我們認為非常不謹慎的行動，但對買家的影響較小。

Higher the further up the tower you go. We've said for a long time that, when you're writing excess of $300 million it's somewhat fungible capacity that somebody wants to write it at $5000 a million dollars and somebody else wants to write it at $4,000 a million, it probably doesn't make much of a difference if you're going to have a claim up at that level where it's a lot more stable, we believe is down below the companies that write the primary and 1st and 2nd excess policies.

塔越高，爬得越高。我們長期以來一直表示，當您承保的超額金額超過 3 億美元時，這種承保能力是可以互換的，有人願意以每百萬美元 5000 美元的價格承保，而其他人則願意以每百萬美元 4000 美元的價格承保，如果您要以更穩定的水平提出索賠，那麼這可能不會有太大區別，我們認為，超額的主要保單和第二個公司。

We're not as because we were relatively late, starting up at the end of 2020, we don't have a lot of that. Down low business, so, when you go further up the tower, a lot of the places where we built our business is plugging in where people created gaps in years past, but, we just think that, a lot of the business that we have, which has been higher up, it just gotten too competitive and is just not worth the effort.

我們沒有，因為我們起步比較晚，2020 年底才開始，所以我們沒有太多這樣的機會。低端業務，所以，當你進一步向上發展時，我們建立業務的很多地方都填補了人們過去幾年創造的空白，但是，我們只是認為，我們擁有的很多業務，已經處於較高水平，競爭太激烈了，不值得付出努力。

We go out there, we get enough submissions to work on, but it's just not worth it to put in a low price per million, in the hope that nothing's going to be in, a giant tower loss. And, as we've said before, hope is not a strategy. So we've let a lot of that business go and, so the large public stuff has been flat.

我們去那裡，收到了足夠的提案，但是，以低廉的百萬美元價格投入，希望不會發生任何重大的塔樓損失，這是不值得的。而且，正如我們之前所說，希望不是一種策略。因此，我們放棄了許多業務，大型公共事務也因此變得平淡。

We think we can grow in the private business. We think we can grow in the very small publicly traded business and certainly believe we can grow in the, cyber business.

我們認為我們可以在私人企業中實現發展。我們認為，我們可以在非常小的上市公司中成長，並且堅信我們能夠在網路業務中成長。

The cyber business, of course, we've been mostly on the larger accounts, but, using our technology, you're going to be seeing us more in the, smaller risks where, we think we can generate some good profitable growth.

當然，在網路業務方面，我們主要針對較大的客戶，但是，利用我們的技術，你會看到我們更多地涉足較小的風險，我們認為我們可以在這些方面實現良好的盈利增長。

In the health care space, as I said before, I think the hospital business will show nice growth. Miscellaneous is very competitive at the present miscellaneous medical at the present time we're seeing, people do a lot of things that we're uncertain about. Senior care, we think there's some opportunities. Also managed care, we think there's some good growth opportunities and also healthcare management liability. We see some growth opportunities.

在醫療保健領域，正如我之前所說，我認為醫院業務將呈現良好的成長。目前雜項醫療領域的競爭非常激烈，我們看到人們做了很多我們不確定的事情。在老年護理方面，我們認為存在一些機會。此外，我們認為，在管理式醫療方面，存在一些良好的成長機會，同時也存在醫療管理責任。我們看到了一些成長機會。

Great, very helpful. Appreciate it.

非常好，非常有幫助。非常感謝。

Thank you, there are no further questions, and so that concludes the question and answer portion of today's call. I would now like to hand the call back over to Stephen Sills, CEO for closing remarks.

謝謝，沒有其他問題了，今天電話會議的問答部分到此結束。現在，我想將電話轉回給執行長史蒂芬‧西爾斯 (Stephen Sills)，請他作最後發言。

Thank you, operator. To wrap up, Bowhead had delivered another strong quarter to and an exciting year.

謝謝您，接線生。總而言之，Bowhead 又度過了一個強勁的季度和令人興奮的一年。

Before we go, I wanted to say thank you again to our colleagues and brokers for making 2024 such a successful year. This is just the beginning for Bowhead, and I couldn't be more excited for what I expect to be a company that is capable of cross-cycle profitability. Thanks for the support and we look forward to speaking to you along the way.

在我們離開之前，我想再次向我們的同事和經紀人表示感謝，讓 2024 年成為如此成功的一年。對於 Bowhead 來說，這只是一個開始，我對這家能夠實現跨週期盈利的公司感到無比興奮。感謝您的支持，我們期待與您繼續交流。