International General Insurance Holdings Ltd (IGIC) 2021 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the International General Insurance Holdings Limited Second Quarter and Half Year 2021 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎來到國際財險控股有限公司 2021 年第二季度和半年度財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，正在記錄此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Robin Sidders, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係主管 Robin Sidders。請繼續。

Thank you, Andrew, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to today's conference call. Today, we'll be discussing our second quarter and half year 2021 results. You will have seen our results press release, which we issued after the market close yesterday. If you'd like a copy of the press release, it is available on the Investors section of our website at www.iginsure.com. We have also posted a supplementary investor presentation, which can also be found on our website on the Presentations page in the Investors section.

謝謝安德魯，大家早上好。歡迎來到今天的電話會議。今天，我們將討論 2021 年第二季度和半年的業績。您會看到我們在昨天收市後發布的業績新聞稿。如果您想要新聞稿的副本，請訪問我們網站 www.iginsure.com 的投資者部分。我們還發布了一份補充投資者介紹，也可以在我們網站上的投資者部分的介紹頁面上找到。

On today's call are Wasef Jabsheh, Chairman and CEO; Waleed Jabsheh, President; and Pervez Rizvi, Chief Financial Officer. Wasef will begin the call with some high-level comments before handing over to Waleed to talk through the results for the second quarter and half year 2021, also giving some insight into current market conditions and opportunities that we are seeing. At that point, we'll open up the call for question and answers.

出席今天電話會議的有董事長兼首席執行官 Wasef Jabsheh； Waleed Jabsheh，總裁；和 Pervez Rizvi，首席財務官。 Wasef 將在電話會議開始時發表一些高層評論，然後交給 Waleed 討論 2021 年第二季度和半年的業績，並對當前的市場狀況和我們所看到的機會提供一些見解。屆時，我們將打開問題和答案的電話。

And just before we start, I'll begin with some safe harbor language. Our speakers' remarks may contain forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the forward-looking -- use of forward-looking words. We caution you that such forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by us that future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will, in fact, be achieved.

在我們開始之前，我將從一些安全港語言開始。我們發言人的言論可能包含前瞻性陳述。一些前瞻性陳述可以通過使用前瞻性詞語來識別。我們提醒您，此類前瞻性陳述不應被視為我們對未來計劃、估計或我們設想的預期實際上會實現的陳述。

Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual events and results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including the risk factors that we had set out -- set forth in the company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, the company's reports on Form 6-K and other filings with the SEC, as well as our earnings press release issued yesterday evening. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date which they are made.

前瞻性陳述涉及風險、不確定性和假設。由於各種因素，包括我們在公司 20-F 表格年度報告中列出的風險因素，實際事件和結果可能與前瞻性陳述中的預測存在重大差異。 2020 年 12 月 31 日，公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的 6-K 表格和其他文件的報告，以及我們昨天晚上發布的收益新聞稿。我們不承擔公開更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務，這些陳述僅代表發表之日的情況。

In addition, we'll be using some non-IFRS financial measures in this conference call, and you can find a reconciliation of those non-IFRS financial measures to the nearest IFRS measures in our earnings release, which has been filed with the SEC and, again, is available on our website.

此外，我們將在本次電話會議中使用一些非 IFRS 財務指標，您可以在我們已向 SEC 和，再次，可在我們的網站上找到。

So with that, I'll turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Wasef Jabsheh.

因此，我將把電話轉給我們的董事長兼首席執行官 Wasef Jabsheh。

Thank you, Robin, and good day to everyone. Thank you for joining us on today's call. Our results for the first half of 2021 continue to demonstrate that IGI is capable of achieving or speak not just to the numbers that you are seeing from us today, but also the thoughtfulness with which we have approached the business for many years to maintain our track record of generating shareholders' value for the long term.

謝謝你，羅賓，祝大家有美好的一天。感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我們 2021 年上半年的業績繼續表明，IGI 不僅能夠實現或說明您今天從我們這裡看到的數字，而且能夠實現或說明我們多年來處理業務以保持我們的軌道的深思熟慮為股東創造長期價值的記錄。

On the back of our solid 2020 results, we recorded strong core operating results for the first half of '21, supported by excellent premium growth of over 13%, i.e., 21% in the second quarter of '21. Focused underwriting reflected an 88.5% combined ratio and steady investment income during the first half of '21.

在我們穩健的 2020 年業績的支持下，我們在 21 年上半年取得了強勁的核心運營業績，這得益於保費增長超過 13%，即 21 年第二季度的 21%。 21 年上半年，集中承銷反映了 88.5% 的綜合比率和穩定的投資收益。

Market conditions are holding up well and rate increases across our portfolio are close to 13%, with much variation by line of business and geography. I'm very pleased with the steady focus our underwriting teams have shown in maximizing the opportunities across our portfolio. Specifically, while we have grown our total book, we have, at the same time, maximized our diversification, which apparently speaks to our risk profile and our ability to continue creating value for our shareholders.

市場狀況保持良好，我們投資組合的利率增長接近 13%，但因業務線和地理位置而異。我對我們的承銷團隊在最大化我們投資組合中的機會方面表現出的穩定關注感到非常高興。具體來說，雖然我們的總賬面有所增加，但同時我們也最大限度地實現了多元化，這顯然說明了我們的風險狀況和我們繼續為股東創造價值的能力。

We have entered into new lines of business. We recently announced the opening of our European operation in Malta with the purpose of growing our footprint across Europe. And we have grown our long-tail casualty business outside of the United States. I want to focus on the long-tail business for a moment.

我們已經進入了新的業務領域。我們最近宣佈在馬耳他開設歐洲業務，目的是擴大我們在歐洲的足跡。我們已經在美國以外發展了我們的長尾傷亡業務。我想暫時關注長尾業務。

We started to write this business in 2015 and have grown it gradually over the past 5 years. Adding long-tail business to our existing short-tail portfolio offered the opportunity for better diversification to our overall risk profile. More recently, as market conditions have improved, rate increase has more than doubled and terms and conditions improved. We have expanded the long-tail book, growing existing lines of business and adding D&O non-U.S., which has seen significant improvement and rate momentum. We've done this carefully and methodically, and we believe that this book will continue to generate solid returns in future years.

我們於 2015 年開始編寫此業務，並在過去 5 年中逐漸發展壯大。將長尾業務添加到我們現有的短尾投資組合中，為更好地分散我們的整體風險狀況提供了機會。最近，隨著市場狀況的改善，利率增加了一倍多，條款和條件也有所改善。我們擴大了長尾賬簿，增加了現有業務線並增加了 D&O 非美國業務，這已經看到了顯著的改善和利率勢頭。我們仔細而有條不紊地完成了這項工作，我們相信這本書將在未來幾年繼續產生可觀的回報。

We all know that the past 18 months have not been easy for anyone. We have all had to cope with finding new ways of managing our business through the pandemic. At IGI, we did this while also adapting to become a public company, which is a significant achievement in itself. We have shown our resolve, and we have built on our successes. I'm proud of the company that IGI is, and I'm very proud of all our people.

我們都知道過去 18 個月對任何人來說都不容易。我們所有人都不得不尋找新的方式來應對大流行病來管理我們的業務。在 IGI，我們做到了這一點，同時也在適應成為一家上市公司，這本身就是一項重大成就。我們已經表明了我們的決心，我們已經取得了成功。我為 IGI 這家公司感到自豪，我為我們所有的員工感到非常自豪。

We have always been a trusted and reliable partner to all our stakeholders. And our focus is on ensuring that we remain so for the future. Again, there is still much work to be done, and we are focused on that. Waleed will expand more on what we are doing to better serve our shareholders.

我們一直是所有利益相關者值得信賴和可靠的合作夥伴。我們的重點是確保我們在未來仍然如此。同樣，還有很多工作要做，我們正專注於此。 Waleed 將進一步擴大我們正在做的事情，以更好地為我們的股東服務。

So for now, I will hand the call over to Waleed, and thank you all very much.

所以現在，我會把電話交給瓦利德，非常感謝大家。

Thank you, Wasef. Thank you all for joining us today. As Wasef said, we had a strong first half of 2021 with solid core underwriting results, and we continue to build a high-quality diversified book of business that will support our earnings profile in line with what we have achieved in our 20-year track record. We're very well positioned to continue to take advantage of what are still some of the strongest market conditions we've seen.

謝謝你，瓦瑟夫。感謝大家今天加入我們。正如 Wasef 所說，我們在 2021 年上半年表現強勁，核心承保業績穩健，我們將繼續打造高質量的多元化業務簿，這將支持我們的盈利狀況與我們在 20 年的軌道上取得的成就相符記錄。我們完全有能力繼續利用我們所見過的一些最強勁的市場條件。

I'll start with a high-level recap of the numbers, as you have the press release, and the story is fairly straightforward. Premium growth in the second quarter was solid at 21% when compared to the second quarter of 2020, which itself saw excellent production. While growth in the first quarter was more muted, we expect the remainder of the year to remain more or less in line with what we achieved in terms of premium growth in the second quarter of this half of 2020.

我將從高層次的數字回顧開始，因為你有新聞稿，故事相當簡單。與 2020 年第二季度相比，第二季度的保費增長穩健，為 21%，而 2020 年第二季度本身就表現出色。雖然第一季度的增長較為緩慢，但我們預計今年剩餘時間將或多或少與我們在 2020 年下半年第二季度保費增長方面取得的成就保持一致。

For the first 6 months of 2021, the most significant growth was in the long-tail segment, which accounted for approximately 38% of our portfolio and which recorded an increase in gross written premium of 16.3% for the period. Growth was primarily driven by professional indemnity and D&O business, where rates remain up on average over 30%. As we've mentioned previously, capacity and market appetite in these lines has reduced, as many players have either exited the business, significantly reduced their line size or have limited writing new business.

2021 年前 6 個月，增長最顯著的是長尾部分，約占我們投資組合的 38%，同期總承保保費增長 16.3%。增長主要是由專業賠償和 D&O 業務推動的，這些業務的費率平均保持在 30% 以上。正如我們之前提到的，這些產品線的容量和市場需求已經下降，因為許多參與者要么退出了該業務，要么大幅縮減了產品線規模，要么限制了新業務的開展。

A large portion of our business in these lines is written on an excess basis and also on a claims-made basis. It's also worth reiterating that we do not write this business in the U.S. It's primarily made up of the U.K. and, to a lesser extent, Europe and the Middle East region.

我們在這些領域的大部分業務都是在超額基礎上和索賠基礎上承保的。同樣值得重申的是，我們不在美國開展這項業務。它主要由英國組成，其次是歐洲和中東地區。

In the short-tail segment, which accounted for approximately 57% of our total portfolio, growth for the first half of 2021 was primarily in the engineering and construction and energy lines. Here, we saw rate increases on average of 7.8%. We noted in our results commentary for the first quarter of 2021 that we are seeing some slowing in the pace of rate acceleration in the segment, and this was evident again in the second quarter.

在占我們總投資組合約 57% 的短尾部分，2021 年上半年的增長主要集中在工程和建築以及能源領域。在這裡，我們看到平均增長率為 7.8%。我們在 2021 年第一季度的業績評論中指出，我們看到該領域的加速步伐有所放緩，這一點在第二季度再次明顯。

In our treaty reinsurance book, we wrote gross premiums of $5.6 million and $14.6 million in the second quarter and first half of 2021, respectively. This represents increases of 24.4% and 27% for these periods. The treaty reinsurance business accounted for approximately 5% of total gross written premiums in 2020.

在我們的條約再保險賬簿中，我們在 2021 年第二季度和上半年的毛保費分別為 560 萬美元和 1460 萬美元。這代表這些時期分別增加了 24.4% 和 27%。條約再保險業務約佔 2020 年總承保保費的 5%。

Net underwriting income was $20.9 million for the second quarter and $48.6 million for the first half of 2021. This compares with underwriting income of $22.9 million for the second quarter of 2020 and $46.1 million for the first half of 2020. Overall, the combined ratio was 92.3% for the second quarter of '21 and 88.5% for the first half of '21.

第二季度的承保淨收入為 2090 萬美元，2021 年上半年為 4860 萬美元。相比之下，2020 年第二季度的承保收入為 2290 萬美元，2020 年上半年的承保收入為 4610 萬美元。總體而言，合併比率為21 年第二季度為 92.3%，21 年上半年為 88.5%。

As you saw from our press release, the claims and claims expense ratios were up in the second quarter and first half of 2021, again, primarily recorded in the short-tail segment and related to an engineering loss. This is also reflected in the 1.2 points of unfavorable prior-year development on loss reserves, reflecting deterioration in the prior-year energy loss in the second quarter of 2021.

正如您從我們的新聞稿中看到的那樣，索賠和索賠費用率在 2021 年第二季度和上半年再次上升，主要記錄在短尾部分並且與工程損失有關。這也反映在損失準備金的上年不利發展 1.2 個百分點上，反映出 2021 年第二季度上年能源損失的惡化。

I would note here that this deterioration primarily related to a late notice on our 2020 loss in our energy portfolio, which is obviously short-tail in duration. This is a one-off event and certainly not indicative of any trend. For the first half of 2021, we saw 2 points of favorable development on prior-year loss reserves, as a result of a favorable development in the first quarter of '21, which more than offset the unfavorable development in the second quarter of '21.

我要指出的是，這種惡化主要與我們 2020 年能源投資組合損失的延遲通知有關，這顯然是持續時間短的。這是一次性事件，當然不代表任何趨勢。 2021 年上半年，由於 21 年第一季度的有利發展，我們看到去年虧損準備金有 2 個點的有利發展，這抵消了 21 年第二季度的不利發展.

Policy acquisition costs increased in both the second quarter and first half of 2021 when compared to the same periods of 2020 due to the increase in premiums written and earned in both periods. Consequently, the positive acquisition expense ratio increased by 0.5 point in the second quarter of 2021 when compared to the second quarter of 2020, but was lower by 1.5 points in the first half of 2021 on a higher earned premium when compared to the same period in 2020.

與 2020 年同期相比，2021 年第二季度和上半年的保單獲取成本均有所增加，原因是這兩個時期承保和賺取的保費均有所增加。因此，與 2020 年第二季度相比，2021 年第二季度的正收購費用比率增加了 0.5 個百分點，但與 2021 年同期相比，由於更高的已賺溢價，2021 年上半年下降了 1.5 個百分點2020.

General and administrative expenses were slightly higher during the second quarter and first half of 2021, primarily due to increased professional fees and expenses and salary costs related to new hires.

2021 年第二季度和上半年的一般和行政費用略有增加，這主要是由於專業費用和開支以及與新員工相關的工資成本增加。

Before I move on to the investment portfolio, I want to address the impact of foreign currency on our results for the second quarter and first half of 2021 when compared to the same periods in 2020, which benefited significantly from foreign currency. During 2020, IGI's foreign currency exposure was subject to extreme volatility due to market turbulence, primarily related to the COVID-19 pandemic. So it's important to take this into consideration when comparing numbers for '21 with '20.

在我繼續討論投資組合之前，我想談談外幣對我們 2021 年第二季度和上半年業績的影響，與 2020 年同期相比，外幣顯著受益。 2020 年期間，IGI 的外匯敞口因市場動盪而極度波動，主要與 COVID-19 大流行有關。因此，在比較 21 年和 20 年的數字時，務必要考慮到這一點。

In the first half of 2020, the claims and claims expense ratio benefited significantly from ForEx movements, resulting in an overall benefit of 6.6 points to the combined ratio for the first half of 2020. By contrast, there was little to no ForEx impact on the claims and claims expense ratio for the first half of '21. So on a like-for-like basis, you see the strength of the technical results achieved in the first half of 2021.

2020 年上半年，理賠和理賠費用率顯著受益於外匯變動，導致 2020 年上半年的綜合比率整體受益 6.6 個百分點。相比之下，外匯對21 年上半年的索賠和索賠費用比率。因此，在類似的基礎上，您可以看到 2021 年上半年取得的技術成果的實力。

Now I'll turn over -- I'll turn to our investment portfolio. Despite lower interest yields available on our core interest-bearing portfolio, total investment income net increased in both the second quarter and first half of 2021 when compared to the same periods in 2020, due to a higher volume of funds deployed, particularly in the fixed maturity bond portfolio. Growth in the investment portfolio for the first half was supported by an increase in net cash flow from operations.

現在我將轉過來 - 我將轉向我們的投資組合。儘管我們的核心生息投資組合的利息收益率較低，但與 2020 年同期相比，2021 年第二季度和上半年的總投資收入淨額均有所增加，這是由於部署的資金量增加，特別是在固定資產中到期債券組合。上半年投資組合的增長得益於運營產生的淨現金流量的增加。

Total investment income net increased by 50% to $3.9 million in the second quarter of '21 compared to $2.6 million in the same period in 2020. For the first 6 months of '21, total investment income net increased by 51.9% to $7.9 million as compared to $5.2 million for the first half of 2020. Including realized and unrealized mark-to-market movement, total investment income was $4.5 million and $4.7 million for second quarters of '21 and '20, respectively, and $9.7 million and $2.6 million for the first half of 2021 and 2020, respectively.

與 2020 年同期的 260 萬美元相比，21 年第二季度的總投資收益淨額增長了 50% 至 390 萬美元。21 年前 6 個月，總投資收益淨額增長了 51.9% 至 790 萬美元，因為與 2020 年上半年的 520 萬美元相比。包括已實現和未實現的按市值計價變動，21 年和 20 年第二季度的總投資收益分別為 450 萬美元和 470 萬美元，2020 年第二季度的總投資收益分別為 970 萬美元和 260 萬美元分別為 2021 年和 2020 年上半年。

Income from the core interest-bearing portfolio was up by 40.5% in the second quarter of '21 and 43% for the first half of 2021 when compared with the corresponding periods in 2020. Despite the decline in yields on both the fixed maturity and term deposit portfolio as a result of the continued low interest rate environment, interest income increased as a result of the higher volume of funds deployed, particularly the fixed maturity bond portfolio.

與 2020 年同期相比，核心有息投資組合的收入在 2021 年第二季度和 2021 年上半年分別增長了 40.5% 和 43%。儘管固定期限和期限的收益率均有所下降存款組合由於持續低利率環境，利息收入因部署的資金量增加而增加，尤其是固定期限債券組合。

The yield for the fixed maturity bond portfolio was 2.8% for the second quarter of '21 and 2.9% for the first half of '21 compared with 2.6% and 2.6% for the second quarter and first half of 2020. The yield for the bank term deposits was 2.1% and 2.2% for the second quarter and first half of '21 compared with 2.4% and 2.9% for the second quarter and first half of 2020. Overall, yields on bank term deposits dropped by 0.7% in the first half of '21 compared to the same period of last year as the yields on term deposits were better in the first half of 2020 until the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic started to emerge from the end of March 2020, causing a negative impact on the interest rate environment globally.

21 年第二季度固定期限債券投資組合的收益率為 2.8%，21 年上半年為 2.9%，而 2020 年第二季度和上半年分別為 2.6% 和 2.6%。銀行的收益率2020 年第二季度和上半年的定期存款利率分別為 2.1% 和 2.2%，而 2020 年第二季度和上半年的利率分別為 2.4% 和 2.9%。總體而言，銀行定期存款的收益率在上半年下降了 0.7% 21 年與去年同期相比，2020 年上半年定期存款收益率較好，直到 2020 年 3 月底 COVID-19 大流行的經濟影響開始顯現，對經濟造成負面影響全球利率環境。

Our investment portfolio remains defensively positioned. The combination of the high quality and diversified nature of the bond and term deposit portfolio, along with a modest allocation to equities, yielded a positive mark-to-market adjustment of $3.3 million in IGI's investment portfolio in the second quarter of '21, although we recorded a negative mark-to-market adjustment of $1.7 million in the first half of '21, reflecting an improvement in the latter part of the first half of 2021 when we saw increasingly positive signs of economic recovery from the deterioration that started to emerge at the end of the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the global pandemic.

我們的投資組合保持防禦性。債券和定期存款投資組合的高質量和多元化性質的結合，以及對股票的適度配置，在 2021 年第二季度對 IGI 的投資組合產生了 330 萬美元的正市值調整，儘管我們在 2021 年上半年錄得 170 萬美元的負市值調整，反映了 2021 年上半年下半年的改善，當時我們看到經濟從開始出現的惡化中復甦的積極跡象越來越多由於全球大流行，2020 年第一季度末。

In our total fixed income portfolio, 62% is A rated and above. In our total term deposit portfolio, 52% is dealt with A rated and above banks. The average duration of the fixed maturity securities is 4.5 years at June 30, 2021, up from 3.4 years at December 31, 2020, as we purchased new better-yielding, longer-duration bonds during the second quarter of 2021.

在我們的總固定收益投資組合中，62% 的評級為 A 級及以上。在我們的總定期存款組合中，52% 由 A 級及以上銀行處理。截至 2021 年 6 月 30 日，固定期限證券的平均期限為 4.5 年，高於 2020 年 12 月 31 日的 3.4 年，因為我們在 2021 年第二季度購買了收益率更高、期限更長的新債券。

Core operating income was $9 million for the second quarter of 2021 compared to core operating income of $10.3 million for the second quarter of 2020. Core operating income was $23.8 million and $23.7 million for the first half of '21 and '20, respectively. Core operating return on average equity annualized was 9% for the second quarter of '21 and 11.9% for the first half of '21.

2021 年第二季度的核心營業收入為 900 萬美元，而 2020 年第二季度的核心營業收入為 1030 萬美元。2021 年上半年和 20 年上半年的核心營業收入分別為 2380 萬美元和 2370 萬美元。 21 年第二季度的核心年化平均股本運營回報率為 9%，21 年上半年為 11.9%。

Shareholders' equity was $403.1 million. Book value per share was $8.86 at June 30, 2021, representing a 1.9% increase from December 31, 2020, and a 17% increase from March 31, 2020, which is the first relevant data point for book value per share subsequent to our business combination with Tiberius Acquisition Corp.

股東權益為 4.031 億美元。 2021 年 6 月 30 日每股賬面價值為 8.86 美元，較 2020 年 12 月 31 日增長 1.9%，較 2020 年 3 月 31 日增長 17%，這是我們業務後每股賬面價值的第一個相關數據點與 Tiberius Acquisition Corp. 合併。

As you saw from our announcement yesterday, our Board of Directors has declared an ordinary common share dividend of $0.16 per share, representing 40% of the company's net after-tax profit for the first half of 2021, in line with the half yearly dividend that IGI has paid for many years.

正如您從我們昨天的公告中看到的那樣，我們的董事會已宣布派發每股 0.16 美元的普通股股息，占公司 2021 年上半年稅後淨利潤的 40%，與半年股息一致IGI已經付出了很多年。

Now I'll spend some time discussing market positions, our position in the market and our outlook for the remainder of 2021. We are now well into the third quarter, and indications remain positive for the remainder of the year. While the majority of our portfolio renews during the first half of the year, we are taking advantage of new opportunities across our portfolio that have materialized in the third quarter.

現在，我將花一些時間討論市場狀況、我們在市場中的地位以及我們對 2021 年剩餘時間的展望。我們現在已經進入第三季度，並且今年剩餘時間的跡象仍然是積極的。雖然我們的大部分投資組合在今年上半年進行了更新，但我們正在利用第三季度在我們的投資組合中實現的新機會。

You'll recall we recently launched the contingency line writing business from our U.K. subsidiary in London. And so far, we're seeing significant opportunities in event cancelation, particularly in the U.S. Also, as Wasef said, we received approval in mid-July from the Maltese regulators to begin writing business across Europe from our new Malta-based European subsidiary, IGI Europe.

你會記得我們最近在倫敦的英國子公司推出了應急線路編寫業務。到目前為止，我們看到了取消活動的重大機會，特別是在美國。此外，正如 Wasef 所說，我們在 7 月中旬獲得馬耳他監管機構的批准，開始從我們位於馬耳他的新歐洲子公司在歐洲開展業務， IGI歐洲。

You will have seen our press release issued earlier this morning that IGI Europe has been assigned the same financial strength ratings as the IGI Group, that is, A- by S&P and A (Excellent) by AM Best, both with a stable outlook. This obviously is an important step forward for our European expansion. Both rating agencies noted not only the strategic relationship to and support from the IGI parent as key factors in these decisions, but also IGI's balance sheet strength and its track record of strong operating performance.

您會看到我們今天上午早些時候發布的新聞稿，IGI Europe 獲得了與 IGI Group 相同的財務實力評級，即標準普爾的 A- 和 AM Best 的 A（優秀）評級，均具有穩定的前景。這顯然是我們歐洲擴張的重要一步。兩家評級機構都指出，不僅與 IGI 母公司的戰略關係和支持是這些決策的關鍵因素，而且 IGI 的資產負債表實力和強勁的運營業績記錄也是如此。

Europe represents an attractive growth opportunity for IGI, and we've already seen strong interest, [balancedness] and expanded relationships. We expect to see opportunities in most lines of business, but initially more in the long-tail lines of professional indemnity, D&O and financial institutions. For now, we are in the buildup phase in 2021, similar to the contingency line. 2022 will be a better measure of what we can achieve in Europe. But to give you an indication, you should expect to see gross premium production of around $25 million in the first full calendar year of IGI Europe being up and running.

歐洲對 IGI 來說是一個有吸引力的增長機會，我們已經看到了濃厚的興趣、[平衡] 和擴大的關係。我們希望在大多數業務領域看到機會，但最初更多是在專業賠償、D&O 和金融機構的長尾業務中。目前，我們處於 2021 年的積累階段，類似於應急線。 2022 年將更好地衡量我們在歐洲可以取得的成就。但是給你一個跡象，你應該期望在 IGI Europe 啟動和運行的第一個完整日曆年中看到大約 2500 萬美元的毛保費生產。

We're steadily growing our U.S. business with $13.8 million in premium in the first 6 months, and we expect that to grow to around $30 million by year-end. In other short-tail lines, the pace of rate acceleration is clearly showing, but we continue to see rate increases across most lines of business within this segment, although this varies widely depending on the line of business.

我們的美國業務在前 6 個月以 1380 萬美元的保費穩步增長，我們預計到年底將增長到 3000 萬美元左右。在其他短尾線中，費率加速的步伐明顯顯現，但我們繼續看到該細分市場中大多數業務線的費率都在增長，儘管這因業務線而異。

In the long-tail lines, rate improvement continues to be significant, particularly in the professional lines, specifically, D&O where rates are up more than 58% and professional indemnity where rates are up more than 34%. Again, I'd note that the majority of our long-tail portfolio is written on a claims-made basis, and we don't write any long-tail business from the U.S.

在長尾險種中，費率繼續顯著提高，尤其是在專業險種中，具體而言，D&O 險種的費率上漲超過 58%，而專業賠償險的費率上漲超過 34%。再一次，我要指出的是，我們的大部分長尾投資組合都是在索賠的基礎上編寫的，我們不寫任何來自美國的長尾業務。

Our reinsurance portfolio, which is well spread geographically, continues to see moderate rate improvement of over 8%. There's a wide variation in rate improvement by geography. We previously talked about its location in the MENA markets, where a number of players have shut down their offices in the region, and IGI is a natural beneficiary of this business given our long-standing relationships across the region.

我們的再保險組合在地域上分佈廣泛，繼續看到超過 8% 的適度利率改善。不同地區的利率改善存在很大差異。我們之前談到了它在中東和北非市場的位置，許多參與者已經關閉了他們在該地區的辦事處，鑑於我們在該地區的長期關係，IGI 是這項業務的自然受益者。

To expand upon Wasef's comments at the beginning of the call, I will talk more broadly for a moment about our total book of business. As Wasef said, we've grown and increased the diversification of our portfolio by line of business and geography significantly over the past 5 or so years. Our entry into the long-tail casualty lines was measured and [thoughtful] with the expressed intent of building a quality book that would generate solid returns in the long term.

為了進一步闡述 Wasef 在電話會議開始時的評論，我將暫時更廣泛地談談我們的全部業務。正如 Wasef 所說，在過去 5 年左右的時間裡，我們根據業務線和地域顯著擴大和增加了我們投資組合的多元化。我們進入長尾傷亡線是經過衡量和 [深思熟慮] 的，其明確的意圖是建立一本能在長期內產生可觀回報的高質量書籍。

Given that our book is made up of non-U.S. business and has a shorter tail than U.S. casualty business, typically around 4 to 7 years, this provides us with a solid footing for future years, and I'm optimistic about it. Like all of our business, we have taken a cautious view, and this is reflected in our prudent reserve position on this book. We've built a quality and experienced team who know and understand the dynamics of this business well. So we will continue to build our long-tail business while, just as importantly, we continue to expand our short-tail book, being opportunistic where we can but maintaining balance between short- and long-tail business in the overall portfolio.

鑑於我們的賬簿由非美國業務組成，並且尾部比美國傷亡業務短，通常約為 4 至 7 年，這為我們未來幾年奠定了堅實的基礎，我對此持樂觀態度。與我們所有的業務一樣，我們持謹慎態度，這反映在我們對本書的謹慎保留立場上。我們建立了一支高素質且經驗豐富的團隊，他們非常了解並理解這項業務的動態。因此，我們將繼續建立我們的長尾業務，同時，同樣重要的是，我們將繼續擴大我們的短尾業務，盡可能地投機取巧，但在整體投資組合中保持短尾業務和長尾業務之間的平衡。

Lastly, on the capital management front. We have not utilized our repurchase authorization that was approved by our Board in 2020. It was in mid-March of this year that we emerged from a post-transaction period where significant and staggered lockups imposed on our shareholders have been lifted. And I want to assure you that we are focused on unlocking the value of IGIC and being strong stewards of our shareholders' capital.

最後，在資本管理方面。我們沒有動用董事會在 2020 年批准的回購授權。今年 3 月中旬，我們走出了對股東施加的重大和交錯禁售期解除的後交易期。我想向您保證，我們專注於釋放 IGIC 的價值，並成為我們股東資本的有力管家。

So I'm going to pause there, and we'll turn it over for questions. Operator, we're ready to take the first question, please.

所以我要停在那裡，我們會把它轉過來提問。接線員，我們準備好回答第一個問題了。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Mark Dwelle of RBC.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 RBC 的 Mark Dwelle。

Just a couple of questions. I wanted to start with the small reserve addition on the short-tail lines. If you could just maybe spend a minute kind of talking through that in a little bit more detail, kind of what trends you are observing and the lines that were involved?

只是幾個問題。我想從短尾線的小儲備開始。如果你能花一分鐘時間更詳細地討論一下，你正在觀察什麼樣的趨勢以及涉及的線條？

Yes. Thanks, Mark. The reserve addition from prior years on the shorter-tail business is effectively down to one loss that we incurred at the -- or that happened at the beginning of last year of 2020. It was an onshore energy or power line where it was just one of those things that we knew about the loss. We attach at a certain level, all expectations were that the loss would end up below our attachment point and more recently due to whatever circumstances with the loss adjusting, the loss deteriorated. And so it ended up impacting us.

是的。謝謝，馬克。前幾年短尾業務的儲備增加實際上減少到我們在 - 或者發生在 2020 年年初發生的一次損失。這是一條陸上能源或電力線，只有一條我們所知道的關於損失的那些事情。我們在一定水平上附加，所有的期望都是損失最終會低於我們的附加點，最近由於損失調整的任何情況，損失惡化。所以它最終影響了我們。

But as I said in my commentary, I mean this is a complete one-off, not a trend. It happens in our business. And we're prepared for the effects of movements and reflected within the overall reserving of the company.

但正如我在評論中所說，我的意思是這完全是一次性的，而不是趨勢。它發生在我們的業務中。我們為變動的影響做好了準備，並反映在公司的整體儲備中。

Got it. That's helpful. Second question, kind of staying with, I guess, margins and things. I mean it looked like there was a fair amount of additional -- the growth rate, I guess, in the long-tail business was much higher than the short-tail business. Is that really one of the primary drivers as to why the core, the accident year margin was a little bit higher -- loss ratio was a little bit higher in the quarter relative to something that we've seen recently?

知道了。這很有幫助。第二個問題，我猜，有點像利潤率和其他東西。我的意思是看起來有相當多的額外——我猜，長尾業務的增長率遠高於短尾業務。這真的是導致核心、事故年利潤率略高的主要驅動因素之一——與我們最近看到的情況相比，本季度的損失率略高一些嗎？

Yes. In part, Mark, that's an accurate statement. I mean the growth in the long-tail business is more pronounced simply because of the underlying market conditions. We've seen more recently in the last couple of quarters, as we've mentioned before, easing on the short-tail side, but we haven't really seen that on the long-tail side. So the opportunity in the market is still very much there on the long-tail book.

是的。在某種程度上，馬克，這是一個準確的陳述。我的意思是，由於潛在的市場條件，長尾業務的增長更為明顯。正如我們之前提到的，我們最近在過去幾個季度看到了短尾方面的寬鬆政策，但我們還沒有真正看到長尾方面的情況。因此，市場上的機會仍然存在於長尾書中。

I've personally never been more confident or comfortable with our long-tail book than I am today. The underlying fundamentals are extremely strong. So -- but again, we said all along, we reserve very cautiously, we reserve very prudently. In the long term, we'll see the benefit of that. There was, however, additional claims activity on the engineering side in the first half and second quarter of this year that contributed to the higher accident year loss ratio.

我個人從來沒有像今天這樣對我們的長尾書更有信心或更自在。潛在的基本面非常強勁。所以——但是，我們一直說，我們非常謹慎地保留，我們非常謹慎地保留。從長遠來看，我們會看到這樣做的好處。然而，今年上半年和第二季度工程方面的額外索賠活動導致了更高的事故年損失率。

Again, it's not an area of concern for us. It's not a trend. It's a normal part of the business that we're involved in, the composition of our portfolio. And as we've always said, we've got to take a longer-term view of the company, of the performance. That's always been our story, which we're following through on, and prospects for the future look very bright.

同樣，這不是我們關心的領域。這不是趨勢。這是我們所涉業務的正常組成部分，也是我們投資組合的組成部分。正如我們一直說的那樣，我們必須從長遠角度看待公司和業績。這一直是我們的故事，我們一直在堅持下去，未來的前景看起來非常光明。

That's good color. And it's actually very consistent with what we've heard other people say about the long-tail lines of business. It's some of the most attractive pricing in terms -- in probably 15 or 20 years. So I appreciate the color.

這個顏色好這實際上與我們聽到的其他人對長尾業務的說法非常一致。這是一些最具吸引力的定價——可能在 15 或 20 年內。所以我很欣賞這種顏色。

One last question just related to the Malta branch with sales office. Are you actually -- I know that it just got approved several weeks ago. Are you actually writing business at this point? Or is it -- you're still in the kind of hiring and ramp-up mode?

最後一個問題與設有銷售辦事處的馬耳他分公司有關。你真的是——我知道幾週前它剛剛獲得批准。你現在真的在寫生意嗎？還是——您仍處於那種招聘和升級模式？

No, no, no. We started writing business on the day that we got our license. Our team was already on the ground and just waiting for the green light. So we've already written a couple of million dollars so far in this quarter. And we expect to write probably around $10 million between now and the end of the year. And as I mentioned in my commentary, first full calendar year, probably around the $25 million GWP mark.

不不不。我們從拿到執照的那一天就開始寫生意了。我們的團隊已經在地面上等待綠燈。因此，到目前為止，本季度我們已經寫了數百萬美元。從現在到今年年底，我們預計可能會寫下大約 1000 萬美元。正如我在評論中提到的那樣，第一個完整日曆年的 GWP 可能在 2500 萬美元左右。

(Operator Instructions) This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to management for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回管理層聽取任何閉幕詞。

Well, in that case, thank you all for joining us today. We appreciate your continued support, and we'll continue to build on our success so that we continue to generate value for you in the future years.

那麼，在那種情況下，謝謝大家今天加入我們。感謝您一直以來的支持，我們將繼續在成功的基礎上再接再厲，以便在未來幾年繼續為您創造價值。

If you have any additional questions, please contact Robin and she will be happy to assist. Have a great day.

如果您有任何其他問題，請聯繫羅賓，她將很樂意提供幫助。祝你有美好的一天。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。