Kingstone Companies Inc (KINS) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Kingstone Company's fourth-quarter and full year 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Karin Daly, Vice President, The Equity Group and Kingstone's Investor Relations representative. Thank you. You may begin.

您好，歡迎參加金士頓公司 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄音。現在，我想將電話轉給主持人、The Equity Group 副總裁兼金士頓投資者關係代表 Karin Daly。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Melissa, and good morning, everyone. Joining us on the call today will be President and Chief Executive Officer, Meryl Golden; and Chief Financial Officer, Jennifer Gravelle. On behalf of the company, I would like to note that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from projected results.

謝謝你，梅麗莎，大家早安。今天參加電話會議的有總裁兼執行長 Meryl Golden；和財務長 Jennifer Gravelle。我代表公司指出，本次電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述，其中涉及已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他可能導致實際結果與預測結果有重大差異的因素。

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Kingstone undertakes no obligation to update the information discussed. For more information, please refer to the section entitled Risk Factors in Part 1 Item 1A of the company's latest Form 10-K. Additionally, today's remarks may include references to non-GAAP measures. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP figures, please see the tables in the latest earnings release.

前瞻性陳述僅代表其作出之日的觀點，金士頓不承擔更新所討論資訊的義務。欲了解更多信息，請參閱公司最新的10-K表格第1部分第1A項中“風險因素”部分。此外，今天的演講可能涉及非公認會計準則衡量指標。有關這些非 GAAP 指標與 GAAP 數據的對照表，請參閱最新收益報告中的表格。

With that, it's my pleasure to turn the call over to Meryl Golden. Meryl?

說完這些，我很高興將電話轉給梅莉爾‧戈爾登 (Meryl Golden)。梅麗爾？

Thanks, Karin. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining our call. I am delighted to share the results of another record-breaking quarter and the most remarkable year in Kingstone's history. In 2024, the hard work to transform and turn around the company that started over five years ago was fully reflected in our financial results. During the year, we saw improvement in virtually every aspect of our business.

謝謝，卡琳。大家早安，感謝大家參加我們的電話會議。我很高興與大家分享金士頓又一個破紀錄的季度和歷史上最非凡的一年的業績。 2024年，五年多來公司轉型和扭虧的努力充分體現在了我們的財務表現。在這一年中，我們業務的幾乎每個方面都得到了改善。

I want to thank my great leadership team and our employees who worked tirelessly to make these results possible, and our select producers for their commitment to the company. I am proud of what we've been able to accomplish and excited to build on this foundation to achieve even better results in 2025.

我要感謝我出色的領導團隊和我們的員工，他們孜孜不倦地工作以實現這些成果，還要感謝我們精選的生產商對公司的承諾。我為我們所取得的成就感到自豪，並很高興在此基礎上在 2025 年取得更好的成績。

Let me start by highlighting the phenomenal growth we achieved in the fourth quarter and for the full year. We finished the year with 21% growth overall and 31% growth in our core business. In the third and fourth quarters, core business growth was driven by the exit of two competitors, Adirondack and Mountain Valley, who reached an agreement with the New York Department of Financial Services to non-renew or cancel their entire book by the end of 2024.

首先，我要強調我們在第四季和全年取得的驚人成長。我們全年整體成長 21%，核心業務成長 31%。第三季和第四季度，核心業務的成長得益於兩家競爭對手 Adirondack 和 Mountain Valley 的退出，這兩家公司與紐約金融服務部達成協議，將在 2024 年底前不再續約或取消其全部業務。

In the fourth quarter, our direct -- our core direct written premium grew by 49% as a result of the increased market opportunity from their exit, with homeowners' new business policies up 4 times the prior year quarter, overall policy count up 44% and average premium up 15%.

第四季度，由於他們退出帶來的市場機會增加，我們的核心直接承保保費增長了 49%，其中房主的新業務保單數量比去年同期增長了 4 倍，總體保單數量增長了 44%，平均保費增長了 15%。

In the back half of 2024, we wrote $23 million in direct written premiums and over 6,000 policies from customers previously insured with these two carriers. For additional visibility, in January, we wrote an additional couple of million of dollars of premiums from this competitive displacement, but otherwise, all of these policies have moved.

2024 年下半年，我們為先前在這兩家保險公司投保的客戶簽發了 2,300 萬美元的直接承保保費和 6,000 多份保單。為了提高知名度，我們在一月份為這種競爭性置換額外簽發了幾百萬美元的保費，但除此之外，所有這些保單都發生了變化。

The hard market conditions in Downstate New York footprint have not changed materially. Growth in written premium in 2025 to date has moderated from what we experienced in the second half of 2024, as to be expected, but is still materially higher than the prior-year quarter driven by both higher new business count and higher average premium.

紐約州下州的市場環境並不十分嚴峻，並未發生實質變化。正如預期的那樣，2025 年迄今的承保保費增長與 2024 年下半年相比有所放緩，但仍大幅高於去年同期，這得益於新業務數量增加和平均保費增加。

For 2025, our plan is to continue our focus on our core state of New York and capitalize on the hard market conditions. We are also investing considerable resources to learn more about other catastrophe-exposed geographies and strategically developing a plan to expand our footprint beyond Downstate New York. We will share our expansion plans later in the year when they are finalized.

2025 年，我們的計劃是繼續專注於我們的核心州紐約州，並利用艱難的市場條件。我們也投入了大量資源來了解其他受災地區，並制定策略計劃，將我們的業務範圍擴大到紐約州南部以外的地區。我們將在今年稍後公佈最終確定的擴張計劃。

From a profitability perspective, our select product continues to outperform our expectations with a 29% reduction in frequency for the year compared to our legacy product, a phenomenon that we have experienced since the introduction of the Select product three years ago. Typically, the legacy renewal book would have lower frequency than Select since it's all renewals, and Select includes 49 -- excuse me, 47% new business.

從獲利能力的角度來看，我們的精選產品繼續超出我們的預期，與我們的傳統產品相比，今年的頻率降低了 29%，這是我們自三年前推出精選產品以來就一直經歷的現象。通常情況下，傳統續訂帳簿的頻率會低於 Select，因為它全是續訂，而 Select 包括 49 — — 對不起，47% 的新業務。

Our Select pricing and underwriting has shifted our mix to more preferred risks with more well-maintained homes, better insurance scores and higher deductibles, which is driving our frequency improvement. We've also been closely monitoring the business from Adirondack and Mountain Valley, and that book is running even better than our well-performing Select book. Despite our high growth rate in 2024, only 41% of our policies-in-force have been written in the Select product as of year-end, which bodes extremely well for the future.

我們的精選定價和承保已將我們的組合轉向更優先的風險，包括維護更好的房屋、更好的保險評分和更高的免賠額，這推動了我們的頻率改善。我們也一直在密切關注阿迪朗達克和山谷的業務，這兩本書的進展甚至比我們表現良好的精選書還要好。儘管我們在 2024 年實現了高成長率，但截至年底，我們有效的保單中只有 41% 是 Select 產品，這對未來來說是個非常好的兆頭。

Before I cover guidance, I want to share an update on our debt and the aftermarket offering. I had previously shared that a $4 million prepayment have been made in December, reducing our debt to $6 million at year-end '24. Today I am pleased to share that we made three additional prepayments in January and February, and our debt has been fully paid off, which will save us roughly $800,000 in interest expense in 2025, contributing another $0.05 to earnings per diluted share. It's an incredible accomplishment that we were able to pay off $20 million of debt in just five months. I am delighted that Kingstone is now debt-free.

在介紹指導之前，我想分享有關我們的債務和售後市場產品的最新情況。我之前曾分享過，12 月已預付了 400 萬美元，到 24 年底，我們的債務將減少到 600 萬美元。今天我很高興地告訴大家，我們在一月和二月進行了三次額外的預付款，我們的債務已經全部還清，這將使我們在 2025 年節省約 80 萬美元的利息支出，為每股攤薄收益再貢獻 0.05 美元。我們僅用五個月就償還了 2000 萬美元的債務，這是一個令人難以置信的成就。我很高興金士頓現在沒有債務了。

To enable this, during the fourth quarter of '24, we issued 302,000 shares via the ATM at an average share price of $15.41. And through yesterday, we have issued an additional 613,000 shares at an average share price of $16. The ATM has been used as a vehicle to generate cash at the holding company level to fund expenses and to pay off the debt. You may recall that the magnitude of prior-year underwriting losses precluded the insurance company from paying dividends to the holding company until last November. So the ATM played a critical role in sustaining the company.

為了實現這一目標，在 24 年第四季度，我們透過 ATM 發行了 302,000 股，平均股價為 15.41 美元。截至昨天，我們已增發 613,000 股，平均股價為 16 美元。自動櫃員機已被用作控股公司層級產生現金的工具，以支付費用和償還債務。您可能還記得，由於去年承保損失巨大，保險公司直到去年 11 月才向控股公司支付股息。因此，ATM 在公司維持營運方面發揮了至關重要的作用。

Kingstone is in great financial condition again with a healthy balance sheet. We are generating substantial income and cash and have sufficient statutory surplus to support our growth even after a material reduction in quota share. And we have the ability to pay dividends to the holding company from the insurance company again if additional capital is needed. As such, we have put a pause on share issuance via the ATM for the foreseeable future.

金士頓的財務狀況再次良好，資產負債表也很健康。我們正在產生大量收入和現金，即使在配額份額大幅減少之後，我們仍有足夠的法定盈餘來支持我們的成長。如果需要額外資本，我們有能力再次從保險公司向控股公司支付股利。因此，在可預見的未來，我們將暫停透過 ATM 發行股票。

And finally, turning to guidance. There were a few material items that are now reflected in our raised guidance for 2025. First, the updated guidance considers increased premiums written in the fourth quarter of '24 that will be earned in '25. Second, the reduction in our quota share for '25 to 16% from 27% in '24 and the higher ceding commission received had a material positive impact. Third, the reduction of interest expense from the elimination of our debt. And last, the gain on the sale of our headquarters building, which should close next week.

最後，轉向指導。我們上調的 2025 年指引中已經反映出一些重要事項。首先，更新後的指引考慮了 2024 年第四季簽訂的、將在 2025 年獲得的保費增加。其次，我們的配額份額從 2024 年的 27% 減少到 2025 年的 16%，並且收到的轉讓佣金增加，產生了實質的正面影響。第三，透過消除債務來減少利息支出。最後，我們總部大樓的出售收益將在下週完成。

With that, for 2025, we are reaffirming core business direct written premium growth between 15% and 25%. And based on approximately $184 million of net premiums earned, we expect to achieve a GAAP combined ratio of between 81 and 85, basic earnings per share of between $1.90 and $2.30, diluted earnings per share of between $1.75 and $2.15, and return on equity between 27% and 35%.

因此，到 2025 年，我們重申核心業務直接承保保費成長率將在 15% 至 25% 之間。基於約 1.84 億美元的淨保費收入，我們預計 GAAP 綜合比率將在 81 至 85 之間，基本每股收益將在 1.90 美元至 2.30 美元之間，稀釋每股收益將在 1.75 美元至 2.15 美元之間，股本回報率將在 27% 至 35% 之間。

While 2024 was a monumental year for the company, it has only increased our desire to achieve even better results in 2025. The Kingstone team is working hard every day to build on our success and keep the momentum going. We have a winning formula, the right team, a great product and a competitive expense structure as our foundation that we believe will drive increased value to our shareholders for years to come.

2024 年對公司來說是具有里程碑意義的一年，但這更增強了我們在 2025 年取得更好成績的願望。金士頓團隊每天都在努力工作，以鞏固我們的成功並保持良好的發展勢頭。我們擁有成功的秘訣、優秀的團隊、優質的產品和具有競爭力的費用結構作為基礎，我們相信這些將在未來幾年為我們的股東帶來更高的價值。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Jen for a more detailed review of our quarterly results. Jen?

說完這些，我將把電話轉給 Jen，讓她更詳細地回顧我們的季度業績。珍？

Thanks, Meryl, and good morning, everyone. We could not be more pleased to share with you our record-breaking fourth quarter and full year 2024 results. As Meryl previously mentioned, this now marks our fifth consecutive quarter of profitability with net income of $5.4 million or $0.40 per diluted share for the quarter. For the year, our net income was $18.4 million, compared to a net loss of $6.2 million last year, and earnings per diluted share of $1.48 compared to a loss of $0.57 last year.

謝謝，梅莉爾，大家早安。我們非常高興與您分享我們破紀錄的 2024 年第四季和全年業績。正如梅莉爾之前提到的，這標誌著我們連續第五個季度實現盈利，本季淨收入為 540 萬美元，即每股 0.40 美元。今年，我們的淨收入為 1,840 萬美元，而去年的淨虧損為 620 萬美元，每股收益為 1.48 美元，而去年的虧損為 0.57 美元。

Direct written premiums for the fourth quarter increased 37%, inclusive of a 49% increase in core direct written premiums from the market dislocation that Meryl had been discussing, was partially offset by the continued strategic reduction of our core -- of our noncore business, which decreased another 60% in direct written premiums and 65% in policies-in-force compared to the same period last year.

第四季度直接承保保費增長了 37%，其中包括梅麗爾所討論的市場混亂導致的核心直接承保保費增長了 49%，但這部分增長被我們核心非核心業務的持續戰略性削減所抵消，與去年同期相比，直接承保保費又下降了 60%，有效保單減少了 65%。

Besides the high new business yield, the growth in our core business also reflects strong pricing action with average premiums for personal lines up almost 20% in the quarter versus the same quarter in 2023. For the year, direct written premiums were up 21%, with growth of 31% in the core business, driven by a 12% increase in core personal lines policies written and a 21% increase in the average premium for the year.

除了高新業務收益率外，我們核心業務的成長也反映了強勁的定價行動，本季個人險平均保費與 2023 年同期相比上漲了近 20%。全年直接承保保費成長 21%，核心業務成長 31%，這得益於核心個人險保單承保量成長 12% 以及全年平均保費成長 21%。

Our combined ratio improved by 11 percentage points to 78.5% for the quarter. Our current quarter loss ratio improved by 7.7 percentage points, comprised of a 4.7 percentage point improvement in the non-cat losses and a 3 percentage point reduction in catastrophe losses. We also had a small $144,000 favorable prior-year development, reducing the loss ratio by 0.4 percentage points.

本季我們的綜合比率改善了 11 個百分點，達到 78.5%。我們本季的損失率改善了 7.7 個百分點，其中非巨災損失改善了 4.7 個百分點，巨災損失減少了 3 個百分點。我們還取得了 144,000 美元的小幅有利發展，將損失率降低了 0.4 個百分點。

Our expense ratio was 29.8%, 2.9 percentage points lower than the fourth quarter of 2023. For the calendar year, our combined ratio improved by 25.3 percentage points to 80%, with an 18.5 percentage point improvement in the non-cat loss ratio, including a 1.4 percentage point of favorable prior-year development, a 5.2 percentage point improvement in the catastrophe loss ratio and an expense reduction of 1.6 percentage points, resulting in an expense ratio of 31.3%.

我們的費用率為 29.8%，比 2023 年第四季低 2.9 個百分點。在整個自然年度，我們的綜合費用率改善了 25.3 個百分點，達到 80%，非巨災損失率改善了 18.5 個百分點，其中包括 1.4 個百分點的良好上年發展，巨災損失率改善了 5.2 個百分點，費用減少了 1.6 個百分點，最終費用率為 31.3%。

For the quarter, our non-cat loss ratio improvement was driven primarily by a reduction in frequency of water losses in homeowners, our main line of business. This was offset by a few large fire claims, which are typical during the fourth quarter. For the year, our attritional loss ratio improved by 17.1 percentage points to 48.2%, driven by material reductions in both frequency and severity for personal lines as compared to the prior year, particularly for water, which is our largest peril.

本季度，我們的非巨災損失率改善主要得益於房主（我們的主要業務）水損失頻率的減少。但這一損失被第四季度常見的幾起大型火災索賠事件所抵消。本年度，我們的損失率改善了 17.1 個百分點，達到 48.2%，這得益於個人險種的事故頻率和嚴重程度與上一年相比都有了大幅降低，尤其是水險，這是我們最大的風險。

Frequency for the homeowners' water peril decreased every quarter this year and improved over 25% for the year in total. In addition to mild weather throughout the year, we attribute this improvement in frequency to better risk selection in our Select product and to the reduction in our noncore business, which had a much higher frequency than core. Water severity was also down almost 14% for the year as well, driven by better risk selection in our Select products and the reduction of our noncore business, as I previously mentioned, as well as fewer large losses compared to the prior year and the three-year average.

今年業主遭遇水災的頻率每季都有所下降，全年整體改善了25%以上。除了全年溫和的天氣外，我們將頻率的提高歸因於我們的精選產品中更好的風險選擇以及非核心業務的減少，非核心業務的頻率遠高於核心業務。今年水災嚴重程度也下降了近 14%，這得益於我們精選產品中風險選擇得當、非核心業務減少（正如我之前提到的），而且與前一年和三年平均水平相比，大額損失也有所減少。

Kingstone's reserve position has continued to strengthen during the calendar year 2024. At year-end, our carried reserves were $3.2 million higher than the central estimate from our outside independent actuarial firm, which is up from $1.9 million in the calendar year-end 2023. Our net investment income for the quarter increased 21% to $1.9 million, up from $1.6 million in the same period last year. Strong cash generation from operations continues to support our investment portfolio growth.

金士頓的儲備狀況在 2024 日曆年繼續增強。截至年底，我們的結轉儲備比我們外部獨立精算公司的中心估計高出 320 萬美元，高於 2023 日曆年末的 190 萬美元。本季我們的淨投資收入成長 21%，達到 190 萬美元，高於去年同期的 160 萬美元。強勁的營運現金產生能力持續支持我們的投資組合成長。

In the quarter, we invested primarily in highly-rated two- to five-year corporate bonds, longer duration taxable municipals and mortgage-backed securities. This approach reduces our portfolio's exposure to short-term rates and lets us lock in attractive book yields over the coming years.

本季度，我們主要投資於評級較高的兩至五年期公司債券、期限較長的應稅市政債券和抵押貸款支持證券。這種方法降低了我們的投資組合對短期利率的曝險，並讓我們在未來幾年鎖定有吸引力的帳面收益率。

During the quarter, we invested $39 million in these instruments, achieving a book yield of about 5% and an effective duration of 5.25 years. Our noncash invested assets use an average of 3.68% with an effective duration of 3.9 years and a weighted average maturity of 7.6 years. We continue to balance between duration and maturity, allowing us to generate steady returns while managing sensitivity to rate changes.

本季度，我們向這些工具投資了 3,900 萬美元，實現了約 5% 的帳面收益率和 5.25 年的有效期限。我們的非現金投資資產平均使用率為 3.68%，有效期限為 3.9 年，加權平均期間為 7.6 年。我們繼續在期限和成熟度之間取得平衡，使我們能夠在管理對利率變化的敏感度的同時產生穩定的回報。

Approximately $12 million of our fixed income portfolio will mature by the end of 2025 and another $34 million by the end of 2026. These securities have relatively low book yields of 3.2% and 3.6%, respectively. As these assets mature, we plan to reinvest them at the prevalent higher market rates, which will further enhance our future investment income.

我們的固定收益投資組合中約有 1,200 萬美元將於 2025 年底到期，另有 3,400 萬美元將於 2026 年底到期。這些證券的帳面收益率相對較低，分別為 3.2% 和 3.6%。隨著這些資產的成熟，我們計劃以普遍較高的市場利率進行再投資，這將進一步提高我們未來的投資收益。

Significant increases in the treasury yields across the curve, pressured bond prices during the quarter, leading to a $3.1 million unrealized decline in the value of our bond portfolio as reflected in the change in Other Comprehensive Income. We intend to hold the bonds to maturity, mitigating the impact of the short-term market fluctuations. Despite these headwinds at year-end, we still achieved $100,000 unrealized gain for the full year.

本季度，各類國債殖利率大幅上升，對債券價格帶來壓力，導致我們的債券投資組合價值未實現下降 310 萬美元，這反映在其他綜合收入的變化中。我們打算持有債券至到期，以減輕短期市場波動的影響。儘管年底面臨這些不利因素，我們全年仍實現了 10 萬美元的未實現收益。

Overall, we had an incredible quarter: 37% growth in written premiums at a combined ratio of 78.5%, net income per diluted share of $0.40 and annualized return on equity of 34.4%, leading to an exceptional year where we achieved an increase in direct written premiums of $42 million, improvement in our combined ratio by more than 25 points, an increase in net income by $24.5 million, and eliminated the debt at our holding company. It's unbelievable and what a difference a year makes.

總體而言，我們度過了一個令人難以置信的季度：承保保費增長 37%，綜合成本率為 78.5%，每股淨收益為 0.40 美元，年化股本回報率為 34.4%，這是一個非凡的一年，我們實現了直接承保保費增長 4,200 萬美元，綜合成本改善率改善了 25 個百分點，公司淨收入超過 4,500 萬美元，綜合成本改善率改善了 25 個百分點，公司淨收入。這真是令人難以置信，一年的時間就發生瞭如此大的變化。

And with that, we're going to open this up for questions. Operator?

接下來，我們將開始回答問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Bob Farnam, Janney Montgomery Scott.

鮑伯法納姆、珍妮蒙哥馬利史考特。

Hi, there. Good morning. A couple of questions here. On the growth expectations for 2025, obviously, with Adirondack and Mountain Valley, kind of that opportunity going away. I'm just trying to get an idea of where that growth is coming from and maybe kind of get into what the competitive environment is like to be able to do that growth.

你好呀。早安.這裡有幾個問題。對於 2025 年的成長預期，顯然，隨著阿迪朗達克和山谷的消失，這種機會將會消失。我只是想了解這種成長來自哪裡，並了解實現這種成長的競爭環境是什麼樣的。

Sure. So Bob, the hard market conditions in our Downstate New York footprint still persists. And there are a few companies writing coastal properties. And of those still open, most are MGAs and E&S writers, as we've talked about in the past. There have been rumors of new market entrants, but it's just rumors. So nothing has really happened to date.

當然。所以鮑勃，我們紐約州下州的業務所在地的艱難市場條件仍然存在。還有一些公司正在開發沿海地產。而那些仍然開放的職位中，大多數是 MGA 和 E&S 作家，正如我們過去所討論的那樣。有傳言說有新的市場進入者，但這只是傳言。所以到目前為止還沒有發生什麼事。

So again, we are continuing to see growth in our new business counts and our average premium, and we feel super confident with our pricing. So we intend to take advantage of these hard market conditions.

因此，我們再次看到新業務數量和平均保費不斷增長，我們對我們的定價非常有信心。因此，我們打算利用這些艱難的市場條件。

Do you have a sense of the new business, where they're coming from, like what the incumbent carrier -- who the incumbent carriers are?

您是否了解新業務、它們來自哪裡、現有業者是誰？

I don't really know who the carriers are, but our mix is like essentially the same as it has been. So I mean, more and more you hear about the standard and preferred carriers who are not interested in coastal business in Downstate New York. So it's a mix of carriers. And again, it's the same mix of business that we've been writing in Downstate New York.

我確實不知道運營商是誰，但我們的組合基本上與以前一樣。所以我的意思是，你越來越多地聽說標準和首選承運商對紐約州下州的沿海業務不感興趣。所以它是多種載體的混合體。再說一次，這與我們在紐約州下州開展的業務組合相同。

Okay. All right. And when you talk about your potential expansion plans, are you talking about New England, or are you thinking of other states around the country?

好的。好的。當您談到潛在的擴張計劃時，您指的是新英格蘭，還是考慮全國其他州？

Yeah. So actually, both. So what I want to say is this is the perfect time for Kingstone to expand geographically, for two reasons. First, we are in a great place. Our Select products is proven to match rate to risk. We have an incredible team. We have a low expense ratio. And our balance sheet is strong.

是的。所以其實兩者都有。所以我想說的是，現在是金士頓進行地理擴張的最佳時機，原因有二。首先，我們處於一個很好的位置。事實證明，我們的精選產品能夠將利率與風險相匹配。我們擁有一支出色的團隊。我們的費用率很低。我們的資產負債表強勁。

And at the same time, as I'm sure you know, the homeowners market around the country, there are so many states that need capacity. And so we've committed significant resource to learning about many of these catastrophe-exposed states, trying to understand the market, the market potential, the regulatory environment, so we can better prioritize among them. And we're not in a hurry. We're going to be super thoughtful about our expansion. So thanks for asking that question, Bob.

同時，我相信您知道，全國各地的房主市場中，有許多州需要容量。因此，我們投入了大量資源來了解這些遭受災難的州，試圖了解市場、市場潛力和監管環境，以便我們能夠更好地確定優先順序。我們並不著急。我們將非常認真地考慮我們的擴張。謝謝你提出這個問題，鮑伯。

Okay. You're talking about the improvement in the expense ratio. Do you have like an idea of where your -- where that expense ratio is going to get to over time? Is there -- do you have a goal for kind of an expense ratio?

好的。您談論的是費用率的改善。您是否知道隨著時間的推移，您的費用率將會達到什麼水準？您對費用率有目標嗎？

Well, I'd like to say that it's now part of our culture to be very focused on having low expenses, because having low expenses allows us to have either more competitive rates or higher margins. So it's something that we continue to work at. My goal for this year is to take another point out of our expense ratio.

嗯，我想說，現在我們文化的一部分就是非常注重降低開支，因為降低開支可以讓我們獲得更具競爭力的價格或更高的利潤率。所以這是我們將繼續努力的事情。我今年的目標是將我們的支出率再降低一個百分點。

And again, because we wrote so much business in the second half of last year, that's going to earn in 2025, plus the reduction in our quota share, our earned premium should be higher. So I'm pretty sure we can achieve that.

而且，由於我們在去年下半年簽訂瞭如此多的業務，這些業務將在 2025 年盈利，再加上我們配額份額的減少，我們賺取的保費應該會更高。所以我確信我們能夠實現這一目標。

Right. Okay. And last question, kind of getting into the realm of forward-looking, but how would you characterize first quarter weather? Has this been kind of a regular winter season for you guys, or better or worse?

正確的。好的。最後一個問題，有點進入前瞻性的領域，但您如何描述第一季的天氣？對你們來說，這是一個正常的冬天嗎？是更好還是更糟？

Sure. So last year was an incredibly mild winter. And this year, we have definitely had more snow than last year, and it's been colder, but there have not been any material catastrophe events. And in fact, the frequency of catastrophe events has been pretty low. So Q1 is looking good for a winter quarter.

當然。去年的冬天異常溫和。今年的雪肯定比去年多，天氣也更冷，但沒有發生任何重大災難事件。事實上，災難事件發生的頻率相當低。因此，對於冬季季度而言，第一季看起來不錯。

Great. Thanks for the input.

偉大的。感謝您的意見。

My pleasure.

我的榮幸。

[Gabriel McClear] Private Investor.

[Gabriel McClear] 私人投資者。

Hi, Meryl, and congratulations on the fourth quarter. Yeah. And also, I'd like to say thank you for all you do.

你好，梅莉爾，恭喜第四季。是的。此外，我也想對您所做的一切表示感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yeah. I think Bob just stole my first question about the first quarter, so that was good. I guess my second question, I got one for you and then one for Jennifer, but the one for you is maybe getting a little deeper into the guidance.

是的。我認為鮑勃剛剛偷走了我關於第一季的第一個問題，所以這很好。我想我的第二個問題是，我先問你一個問題，然後再問詹妮弗一個問題，但給你的問題可能更深入一些指導。

When I go back and I look at your June, quarter ending June, quarter ending September and then the last quarter, the growth has accelerated sequentially by quite a bit, with the 49% in core. And then we're guiding for 15% to 25% growth in core for the year. And I know it's -- we've got about 2.5 months into this year. So how are you thinking about that? Or what are you seeing out there, Meryl? How is that square?

當我回顧你們的 6 月、6 月底的季度、9 月底的季度以及上一季時，我發現成長率連續加速了不少，核心成長率達到了 49%。我們預計今年核心業務的成長率將達到 15% 至 25%。我知道——今年已經過了大約兩個半月。那麼您對此有何看法？或者你在那裡看到了什麼，梅莉爾？那個正方形怎麼樣？

Yeah. So I still feel very good that we can achieve core growth between 15% and 25%. So I've mentioned there are a few active writers and we really have not heard of -- well, there's no reality of other companies entering the market yet, just rumors. And so we have, because we've been a broad open market, there's lots of new producers that are knocking on our door looking for appointments. So we are expanding our producer base.

是的。因此，我仍然對我們能夠實現 15% 至 25% 的核心成長感到非常高興。所以我提到有幾位活躍的作家，我們真的沒有聽說過——嗯，還沒有其他公司進入市場的現實，只是謠言。我們也確實如此，因為我們是一個廣闊的開放市場，所以有很多新的生產商來敲我們的門，尋求合作。因此我們正在擴大我們的生產商基礎。

And then we're always out in the field talking to our producers about their needs. And so we have updated our underwriting appetite where there's a market need, and we're priced adequately. For example, we're now writing up to $3.5 million in replacement cost.

然後我們總是在現場與我們的生產商討論他們的需求。因此，我們根據市場需求更新了承保意願，並且定價合理。例如，我們現在記錄的重置成本高達 350 萬美元。

And also, we anticipate seeing an improvement in retention because our rate changes this year will be less -- it'll certainly be more moderate than they were in the last few years. So a combination of all those things, Gabe, I feel very confident with our guidance on core written premium.

此外，我們預計保留率會有所提高，因為今年我們的費率變化會較少——肯定會比過去幾年更溫和。因此，加布，綜合考慮所有這些因素，我對我們對核心承保保費的指導非常有信心。

Okay. Very good. And then I've got a question for Jennifer. Jennifer, I think you might have said it, but kind of -- I don't think I caught it, but what is our book yield on the portfolio right now?

好的。非常好。然後我有一個問題要問珍妮佛。珍妮佛，我想你可能已經說過了，但是有點——我認為我沒有明白，但是我們目前的投資組合的賬面收益率是多少？

3.86.

3.86。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Thank you, Gabe.

謝謝你，加布。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our question-and-answer session. I'll turn the floor back to Ms. Golden for any final comments.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，我們的問答環節到此結束。我將把發言權交還給戈爾登女士，請她發表最後的評論。

Thank you. It continues to be an exciting time for Kingstone. We could not be more optimistic about the trajectory of our business and our ability to generate long-term value for our shareholders. Thank you for joining the call today and for your continued support.

謝謝。對於金士頓來說，這仍然是一個令人興奮的時刻。我們對我們的業務發展軌跡和為股東創造長期價值的能力非常樂觀。感謝您今天的參加電話會議並感謝您一直以來的支持。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。