Old Republic International Corp (ORI) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. My name is Abby, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Old Republic International first-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，感謝你們的支持。我叫艾比 (Abby)，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Old Republic International 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）

And I would now like to turn the conference over to Joe Calabrese with the Financial Relations Board. You may begin.

現在我想將會議交給財務關係委員會的喬‧卡拉布雷斯 (Joe Calabrese)。你可以開始了。

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for the Old Republic conference call to discuss first-quarter 2025 results. This morning, we distributed a copy of the press release and posted a separate financial supplement. Both of the documents are available on Old Republic's website at www.oldrepublic.com.

謝謝。大家下午好，感謝大家參加舊共和國電話會議討論 2025 年第一季業績。今天早上，我們分發了一份新聞稿，並發布了一份單獨的財務補充。這兩份文件均可在 Old Republic 的網站 www.oldrepublic.com 查閱。

Please be advised that this call may involve forward-looking statements as discussed in the press release and the financial supplement dated April 24, 2025. Risks associated with these statements can be found in the company's latest SEC filings.

請注意，本次電話會議可能涉及 2025 年 4 月 24 日新聞稿和財務補充文件中討論的前瞻性陳述。與這些聲明相關的風險可以在該公司最新的美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 文件中找到。

Presenting on today's conference call will be Craig Smiddy, President and CEO; Frank Sodaro, Chief Financial Officer; and Carolyn Monroe, President and CEO of Old Republic's National Title Insurance Group. Management will make some opening remarks and then we'll open the line for your questions.

出席今天電話會議的有總裁兼執行長 Craig Smiddy、財務長 Frank Sodaro 和 Old Republic 國家產權保險集團總裁兼執行長 Carolyn Monroe。管理層將致開幕詞，然後我們將開始回答您的問題。

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Craig. Please go ahead, sir.

現在，我想將電話轉給克雷格。先生，請繼續。

Okay. Well, thank you very much, and good afternoon, and welcome again to Old Republic's first-quarter 2025 earnings call. Well, Old Republic started the new year, much like we finished last year with the continuation of an upbeat story of growth and profitability.

好的。好吧，非常感謝，下午好，再次歡迎參加 Old Republic 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。好吧，《舊共和國》以新的一年開始了，就像我們去年結束時一樣，繼續講述樂觀的成長和獲利故事。

During the first quarter, we produced $252.7 million of consolidated pretax operating income, that's up from $231.5 million in the first quarter of 2024. Our consolidated combined ratio was 93.7%, and that compares to 94.3% in the first quarter last year.

第一季度，我們的綜合稅前營業收入為 2.527 億美元，高於 2024 年第一季的 2.315 億美元。我們的合併比率為 93.7%，去年第一季為 94.3%。

Specialty Insurance grew net premiums earned by 13% in the first quarter and produced $260 million of pretax operating income. That's up from $220 million last year. And the Specialty Insurance combined ratio was 89.8% in the quarter compared to 90.3% last year.

特種保險第一季淨保費收入成長 13%，稅前營業收入達 2.6 億美元。這一數字比去年的 2.2 億美元有所增加。本季專業保險綜合成本率為 89.8%，去年同期為 90.3%。

Entitled, despite the continuation of higher mortgage interest rates than a tight real estate market, the title insurance folks grew premiums and fees by 11% in the first quarter and produced $4.3 million of pretax operating income, which is up $2.3 million from last year. The Title Insurance combined ratio was 102.1 in the quarter compared to 102.5 last year.

儘管抵押貸款利率持續高於緊俏的房地產市場，但產權保險人員在第一季的保費和費用仍增加了 11%，稅前營業收入為 430 萬美元，比去年同期增加了 230 萬美元。本季產權保險綜合比率為 102.1，去年同期為 102.5。

Our conservative reserving practices that we talk about continue to produce favorable prior-year loss reserve development in both Specialty Insurance and Title Insurance, and Frank will provide a little more detail on that later. Our balance sheet remains strong even as we've returned capital to shareholders through both dividends and share repurchases. And here, too, Frank will provide a little more color around that. That all happens while we continue to return excess capital to shareholders and invest in new specialty underwriting subsidiaries, technology, and talent.

我們所談論的保守準備金做法繼續在專業保險和產權保險中產生有利的上一年度損失準備金發展，弗蘭克稍後將提供更多細節。即使我們透過股利和股票回購向股東返還資本，我們的資產負債表依然保持強勁。在這裡，弗蘭克也將對此提供更多說明。這一切都發生在我們繼續向股東返還多餘資本並投資新的專業承保子公司、技術和人才的同時。

I will now turn the discussion over to Frank for some more color and details around those comments, and then Frank will turn things back to me to cover Specialty Insurance. And that will be followed by Carolyn, who will discuss the Title, and then we'll open up for some conversation and Q&A.

現在，我將把討論交給弗蘭克，讓他對這些評論進行更詳細的闡述，然後弗蘭克會把事情交還給我，讓我討論專業保險。接下來是卡羅琳 (Carolyn) 討論標題，然後我們將進行一些對話和問答。

So, Frank, with that, I will hand it over to you.

那麼，弗蘭克，我會把它交給你。

All right. Thank you, Craig, and good afternoon, everyone. This morning, we reported net operating income of $202 million for the quarter compared to $185 million last year. On a per share basis, comparable year-over-year results were $0.81 compared to $0.67, a 21% improvement.

好的。謝謝你，克雷格，大家下午好。今天上午，我們報告本季淨營業收入為 2.02 億美元，而去年同期為 1.85 億美元。以每股計算，年比業績為 0.81 美元，而去年同期為 0.67 美元，成長 21%。

Net investment income increased 4% as a result of higher yields on the bond portfolio, partially offset by a lower invested asset base from returning excess capital. Our average reinvestment rate on corporate bonds during the quarter was 5.1%.

由於債券投資組合收益率上升，淨投資收益增加了 4%，但因返還過剩資本導致投資資產基礎下降，部分抵消了這一增長。本季我們對公司債的平均再投資率為 5.1%。

The total bond portfolio book yield now stands at 4.6% compared to 4.5% at the end of last year. The value of our total investment portfolio increased by nearly $200 million. Our equity portfolio, which is focused on high-quality value stocks and makes up 16% of the total investment portfolio, was up nearly $60 million in the quarter.

目前債券投資組合總帳面殖利率為 4.6%，去年年底為 4.5%。我們的總投資組合價值增加了近2億美元。我們的股票投資組合專注於優質價值股，佔總投資組合的 16%，本季增加了近 6,000 萬美元。

Turning now to loss reserves. Both Specialty Insurance and Title Insurance recognized favorable development in the quarter, leading to a benefit in the consolidated loss ratio of 2.6 percentage points with no significant unfavorable development to speak of. This compares to 2.3 points of favorable development last year.

現在談談損失準備金。本季專業保險和產權保險均取得了良好的發展，導致合併損失率提高了 2.6 個百分點，沒有明顯的不利發展。相較之下，去年的進展則有利 2.3 個百分點。

I'll now go a little deeper into Specialty Insurance coverages. Workers' comp continued to have strong favorable development, albeit less than last year. Both commercial auto and property experienced favorable development that was considerably higher than last year.

現在我將更深入地探討專業保險範圍。儘管比去年有所下降，但工人補償繼續保持強勁的良好發展。商用汽車和房地產均取得了良好的發展，而且遠高於去年。

In general, liability had a very small amount of unfavorable development compared to a more meaningful level of unfavorable development last year. We ended the quarter with book value per share of $24.19, which inclusive of the regular dividend, weighted to an increase of just over 7%, and that resulted primarily from our strong operating earnings and higher investment valuations.

整體而言，與去年更為顯著的不利發展水準相比，負債業務的不利發展程度非常小。本季結束時，我們的每股帳面價值為 24.19 美元，其中包括定期股息，加權增幅略高於 7%，這主要得益於我們強勁的營業利潤和更高的投資估值。

In the quarter, we paid approximately $500 million for the special dividend declared late last year. In addition, we paid $68 million of regular dividends and repurchased $25 million worth of our shares. We did not repurchase additional shares since the end of the quarter, so that leaves us with just over $200 million remaining in our current repurchase program.

本季度，我們支付了約 5 億美元的去年年底宣布的特別股息。此外，我們還支付了 6,800 萬美元的定期股息，並回購了價值 2,500 萬美元的股票。自本季末以來，我們沒有回購任何股票，因此我們目前的回購計畫僅剩下 2 億多美元。

I'll now turn the call back over to Craig for a discussion of Specialty Insurance.

我現在將把電話轉回給 Craig，討論專業保險問題。

Okay. Thanks for that, Frank. Specialty Insurance net premium written was up 10% in the first quarter. And that came from strong renewal retention ratios, rate increases on most of the lines of coverage, solid new business writings, and increasing premium production in our new specialty underwriting subsidiaries.

好的。謝謝你，弗蘭克。第一季專業保險淨保費成長了 10%。這得益於強勁的續保保留率、大多數承保範圍的費率上漲、穩健的新業務承保以及我們新的專業承保子公司保費產量的增加。

Our specialty growth continues to expand our E&S presence with seven of our underwriting subsidiaries utilizing Old Republic's E&S platform. Our E&S direct premiums written were up 13% this quarter. As mentioned in my opening remarks, in the first quarter, Specialty Insurance pretax operating income was $260 million and the combined ratio was 89.8%. So given these top-line and bottom-line results, we continue on our journey of profitable growth within Specialty Insurance.

我們的專業成長持續擴大我們的 E&S 業務，我們的七家承保子公司均利用 Old Republic 的 E&S 平台。本季度，我們的 E&S 直接保費收入上漲了 13%。正如我在開場白中提到的，第一季度，專業保險稅前營業收入為 2.6 億美元，綜合比率為 89.8%。因此，鑑於這些營收和利潤結果，我們將繼續在專業保險領域實現獲利成長。

Getting a little more into the details. The loss ratio for the first quarter was 61.7%, including 3.3 percentage points of favorable prior-year loss reserve development compared to 62.7% last year that included 2.5 points of favorable development. The expense ratio was 28.1% in the first quarter compared to 27.6% last year, right in line with expectations.

進一步了解細節。第一季的損失率為 61.7%，其中損失準備金較上年同期增長 3.3 個百分點，而去年同期的損失率為 62.7%，其中損失準備金較上年同期增長 2.5 個百分點。第一季費用率為28.1%，去年同期為27.6%，符合預期。

Turning to some comments on property catastrophe losses that have impacted the industry as a result of the LA wildfires. During our last quarter's earnings call, you might recall that we indicated we had estimated our ultimate LA wildfire losses to be between $10 million and $15 million. And currently, we've reduced that estimate to less than $10 million.

談談對洛杉磯山火給行業帶來的影響的財產災難損失的一些評論。您可能還記得，在我們上個季度的收益電話會議上，我們表示估計洛杉磯野火最終造成的損失在 1,000 萬美元至 1,500 萬美元之間。目前，我們已將這項估算降至 1,000 萬美元以下。

Now to can give you some details on Commercial Auto and Workers Compensation, our two largest lines of coverage. Commercial auto net premiums written grew 9% in the first quarter, while the loss ratio came in at 70.3% compared to 71.9% last year. Rate increases were approximately 11%. And consistent with comments we've made in previous quarters, that is commensurate with the loss trends that we're observing in Commercial Auto.

現在我可以向您提供一些有關商業汽車和工人賠償的詳細信息，這是我們最大的兩項保險。第一季商業汽車淨保費收入成長 9%，損失率為 70.3%，去年同期為 71.9%。利率上漲了約 11%。與我們在前幾季所做的評論一致，這與我們在商用汽車領域觀察到的損失趨勢相符。

Workers' Compensation net premiums written were 3% higher in the first quarter, while the loss ratio came in at 58.7% compared to 47% last year. Loss frequency trend continues to decline while the loss severity trend remains stable. So given higher wage trends within table, which is of course our rating base, declining loss frequency trends, stable loss severity trend combined with rate decreases that are in the low single digits, we think our rate levels in this line of coverage remain adequate.

第一季工傷賠償淨保費增加了 3%，損失率為 58.7%，去年同期為 47%。損失頻率趨勢持續下降，損失嚴重程度趨勢維持穩定。因此，考慮到表格中較高的工資趨勢（這當然是我們的評級基礎）、下降的損失頻率趨勢、穩定的損失嚴重程度趨勢，再加上低個位數的費率下降，我們認為我們在這一覆蓋範圍內的費率水平仍然足夠。

We expect solid growth and profitability in Specialty Insurance to continue throughout '25, which we think reflects the success of our strategy and our operational excellence initiatives. And we also expect to continue to see growing contributions from our newest specialty underwriting subsidiaries.

我們預計專業保險的穩健成長和獲利能力將在整個25年持續下去，我們認為這反映了我們的策略和卓越營運計劃的成功。我們也期望看到我們最新的專業承保子公司的貢獻持續成長。

So that will end it for Specialty Insurance for now. And I'll hand it over to you, Carolyn, to give us some color and comments on Title Insurance.

所以專業保險現在就到此結束了。現在我將把它交給你，卡羅琳，請你為我們提供一些有關產權保險的詳細資訊和評論。

Thank you, Craig. Title Insurance reported premium and fee revenue for the quarter of $605 million. This represents an increase of just under 11% from the first quarter 2024. While we are pleased with our performance, conditions in the real estate and mortgage industries continue to be less than favorable in the seasonally weak first quarter. Our directly produced premium and fees were up 6% from the first quarter of last year, while agency produced premiums were up 12%.

謝謝你，克雷格。產權保險公司報告本季保費和費用收入為 6.05 億美元。這比 2024 年第一季成長了近 11%。雖然我們對自己的業績感到滿意，但在第一季度，由於季節性疲軟，房地產和抵押貸款行業的狀況仍然不太樂觀。我們的直接保費和費用比去年第一季成長了 6%，而代理商產生的保費增加了 12%。

Commercial premiums increased 27% this quarter compared to first quarter 2024. Commercial premiums were 24% of our earned premiums this quarter compared to 21% in the first quarter of last year. Agency premiums made up 78% of our revenue during the quarter, up from 77% during first quarter of last year. Investment income was also up this quarter around 7% compared to first quarter of 2024, reflecting higher investment yields earned.

與 2024 年第一季相比，本季商業保費成長了 27%。本季商業保費占我們已賺保費的 24%，去年第一季為 21%。本季度，代理保費占我們營收的 78%，高於去年第一季的 77%。與 2024 年第一季相比，本季的投資收入也成長了約 7%，反映出投資收益率有所提高。

Our overall loss ratio increased to 2.7% this quarter compared to 2.2% in the first quarter of 2024. Although prior policy years continued to develop favorably, the amount of favorable development in first quarter 2025 was less than the first quarter of 2024.

本季我們的整體損失率從 2024 年第一季的 2.2% 上升至 2.7%。儘管前幾年的政策繼續向好發展，但 2025 年第一季的有利發展幅度低於 2024 年第一季。

Our pretax operating income increased to $4 million this quarter compared to $2 million in the first quarter of last year, and our combined ratio of 102.1% is slightly lower than the first quarter of 2024. Our elevated combined ratio continues to reflect market conditions, which we are managing through. Our expense ratio improved to 99.4% from 100.3% in the first quarter of 2024, an improvement of nearly 1%.

本季我們的稅前營業收入從去年第一季的 200 萬美元增至 400 萬美元，而我們的綜合比率為 102.1%，略低於 2024 年第一季。我們較高的綜合成本率繼續反映出市場狀況，我們正在對此進行管理。我們的費用率從 2024 年第一季的 100.3% 改善至 99.4%，改善了近 1%。

Technology continues to be paramount to ensuring smooth and secure real estate transactions. In our previous fourth-quarter call, we emphasized the importance of refocusing our technological efforts to streamline business operations. In the first quarter, we proudly announced our strategic partnership with Qualia, which saw Qualia acquiring our settlement and production software platforms, RamQuest and E-Closing.

科技對於確保房地產交易的順利和安全仍然至關重要。在我們先前的第四季電話會議上，我們強調了重新調整技術力度以簡化業務運作的重要性。第一季度，我們很自豪地宣布與 Qualia 建立策略合作夥伴關係，Qualia 收購了我們的結算和生產軟體平台 RamQuest 和 E-Closing。

By leveraging Qualia's expertise and advanced infrastructure, providing a modern digital transaction, we will be able to equip our direct offices and title agents with cutting-edge tools and solutions. This partnership also allows our internal tech teams to reallocate our focus and resources toward developing other crucial technologies that will help us thrive in a competitive market.

透過利用 Qualia 的專業知識和先進的基礎設施，提供現代化的數位交易，我們將能夠為我們的直屬辦事處和產權代理配備尖端的工具和解決方案。此次合作也使我們的內部技術團隊能夠重新分配我們的重點和資源，以開發其他關鍵技術，幫助我們在競爭激烈的市場中蓬勃發展。

It is necessary for our internal systems such as remittance, policy issuance, CPLs and rate engines to work seamlessly with all closing and production platforms. Additionally, integrating fraud prevention systems and AI technologies is of utmost importance to strengthen our security measures and enhance operational efficiencies.

我們的內部系統（例如匯款、保單簽發、CPL 和費率引擎）必須與所有結算和生產平台無縫協作。此外，整合詐欺預防系統和人工智慧技術對於加強我們的安全措施和提高營運效率至關重要。

As we continue to be agency focused, we understand the unique challenges and opportunities that our title agents encounter daily, and we are dedicated to providing them with innovative technological solutions required to maintain a competitive edge. And with that, I'll turn it back to Craig.

隨著我們繼續以代理商為中心，我們了解我們的產權代理商每天遇到的獨特挑戰和機遇，我們致力於為他們提供保持競爭優勢所需的創新技術解決方案。說完這些，我就把話題轉回給克雷格。

Okay. Thanks, Carolyn. So profitable growth continues in Specialty Insurance; and in Title Insurance, we remain focused on profitability in a challenging marketplace. And on a final note, operating return on equity improved to an annualized rate of 14.4% compared to 11.5% in the first quarter last year, which you might have noticed in the supplement. And that's happening as we continue to profitably manage capital returning excess capital to shareholders.

好的。謝謝，卡洛琳。因此，專業保險的獲利成長仍在繼續；而在產權保險方面，我們仍然專注於在充滿挑戰的市場中實現盈利。最後要說的是，營業股本回報率從去年第一季的 11.5% 提高到年化 14.4%，您可能已經在補充資料中註意到了這一點。而這一切的發生，都是因為我們繼續獲利管理資本，並將多餘的資本回饋給股東。

So that'll conclude our prepared remarks, and we'll now open up for discussion to Q&A where I'll answer your question or I'll ask Frank or Carolyn to help me out and respond.

我們的準備好的發言就到此結束，現在我們將開始問答討論，我會回答您的問題，或者我會請弗蘭克或卡羅琳幫我回答。

And ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Greg Peters, Raymond James.

女士們、先生們，我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員指示）格雷格·彼得斯，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

So let's go to the Specialty Insurance business. And as we go through and evaluate your top-line performance in the first quarter, can you give us a sense of how much of the top line is a function of rate versus actually new business produced? Because I imagine it's going to vary by segment.

那麼讓我們來談談專業保險業務。當我們回顧並評估第一季的營收表現時，您能否告訴我們，營收中有多少是由利率決定的，有多少是由實際產生的新業務決定的？因為我想它會因細分市場而異。

Well, that's right, Greg. It does indeed vary by segment. As we mentioned in the release, we're seeing rate decreases in the Public Directors and Officers business as well as of course, Workers' Compensation, some slight decreases there.

嗯，沒錯，格雷格。它確實因細分市場而異。正如我們在新聞稿中提到的那樣，我們看到公共董事和高階主管業務的費率有所下降，當然工人賠償的費率也有所下降。

But on the other hand, as I mentioned in my earlier comments, we're getting strong rate increases still on our Commercial Auto business. And we're also getting strong rate increases on our general liability business as well. So it really is a mixed bag. I would say that our new underwriting subsidiaries are providing a pretty substantial lift here beyond just rate and retention and new business in the organic segments of our business.

但另一方面，正如我在先前的評論中提到的，我們的商用汽車業務的利率仍在大幅上漲。我們的一般責任險業務的費率也大幅上漲。所以這確實是個好壞參半的問題。我想說的是，我們的新承保子公司不僅為我們業務的有機部分提供了利率和保留率以及新業務，還提供了相當大的推動力。

So as we indicated last year, we were optimistic that as these new -- newest underwriting subsidiaries came online that we were going to continue to see greater and greater contributions throughout '25, and that's happening. So -- and we expect it to happen going forward. So it's a combination of a lot of things that are driving rate versus growth in organic business versus contributions from new underwriting subsidiaries.

因此，正如我們去年指出的那樣，我們樂觀地認為，隨著這些新的承保子公司的上線，我們將在 25 年繼續看到越來越大的貢獻，而這正在發生。所以——我們預計它會繼續發生。因此，推動利率與有機業務成長以及新承保子公司貢獻的因素有很多。

Right. Maybe on the new business initiatives, because you don't have a lot of historical data inside the company regarding claim patterns, et cetera, how do you approach the reserving on these ventures? And how do you approach loss picks, et cetera?

正確的。也許在新的業務計劃中，因為公司內部沒有大量有關索賠模式等的歷史數據，您如何處理這些項目的儲備？您如何處理虧損選擇等等？

Sure. Well, we approach it exactly as we approach all of our other businesses. But to your point on the longer tail lines of businesses, we do look at industry data. We look at our own data. And to the extent that those lines of business are the same, we're deriving loss patterns from our existing business.

當然。嗯，我們處理這個問題的方式和我們處理所有其他業務的方式完全一樣。但對於您提到的企業長尾線問題，我們確實會關注產業數據。我們查看自己的數據。在這些業務線相同的範圍內，我們從現有業務衍生出虧損模式。

The other thing I would point out is that a lot of the new underwriting subsidiaries are shorter tail lines. As mentioned previously, we're trying to diversify the line of coverage mix. And I think we've done a pretty good job of that over the last five years, diversifying away from being so concentrated in just Workers' Compensation and Auto -- Commercial Auto.

我想指出的另一件事是，許多新的承保子公司的尾線較短。正如前面提到的，我們正在嘗試實現覆蓋範圍的多樣化。我認為，過去五年來我們在這方面做得相當不錯，實現了業務多元化，不再僅僅集中於工傷賠償和汽車——商用汽車。

And through that, the diversification we've added a considerable amount of short tail lines. So reserving there is less of an issue. So for instance, Inland Marine coverages, while we have history on Inland Marine experience that we could look at, it's so short tail. It's a [year, anyway]. So it's -- there's not a lot of tail risk there. And similarly, that would go for our A&H business. It's very short tail, a year to two years.

透過這種多樣化，我們增加了大量的短尾線。因此，在那裡預訂並不是什麼問題。以內陸航運保險為例，雖然我們有內陸航運保險的歷史經驗可以參考，但保險期限太短。這是一個[無論如何，年份]。所以——那裡沒有太多的尾部風險。同樣，這也適用於我們的 A&H 業務。它的尾巴很短，一年到兩年。

And then I'll use another example, our new Lawyers' Professional Liability business. Well, we've written professional liability business and even written Lawyers' Professional Liability business. So we do have a history there and rely on that. And then I'll just stop with if you look at our E&S business, they're writing general liability.

然後我將使用另一個例子，我們的新律師專業責任業務。嗯，我們已經寫過專業責任業務，甚至寫過律師專業責任業務。所以我們確實在那裡有歷史並且依賴它。然後我就停下來了，如果你看看我們的 E&S 業務，他們正在寫一般責任。

They're writing some auto liabilities, some property -- again, the property short tail, and we have the experience that we look to when we're looking at trends on general liability and auto liability. So to sum it up, again, either we have the experience. We might supplement that with some industry experience or it's so short tail that it comes out very, very quickly.

他們正在承保一些汽車責任險、一些財產險——同樣，財產險是短尾險，我們在研究一般責任險和汽車責任險趨勢時，也參考了這些經驗。總而言之，我們有經驗。我們可能會用一些行業經驗來補充這一點，或者說它的尾巴很短，所以它會很快出現。

That's good detail. Thanks. I guess, the last question, I'll pivot to Carolyn's business. And I guess, ultimately, the expense ratio improved, but it's still running higher. And I don't want to get too hung up on the first quarter, but maybe give us some thoughts about how the expense ratio could improve over the course of the year relative to the prior year and any thoughts you might have on that?

細節很好。謝謝。我想，最後一個問題，我將轉向卡羅琳的業務。我想，最終費用率會有所改善，但仍處於較高水準。我不想對第一季的情況過於糾結，但能否請您談談今年的費用率相對於上一年會如何改善，您對此有何看法？

Carolyn, I would be happy to kick it off. So we mentioned last quarter and then Carolyn mentioned again, in her comments, the example where we sold our closing platforms and refocused our technology development efforts on other tools. And we think we're partnering with a vendor there that's going to provide even better technologies.

卡羅琳，我很樂意開始這個活動。因此，我們提到了上個季度，然後卡羅琳在她的評論中再次提到了我們出售關閉的平台並將我們的技術開發工作重新集中在其他工具上的例子。我們認為我們正在與那裡的供應商合作，他們將提供更好的技術。

And that alone will help the bottom line as we move throughout this year. It will gradually help the bottom line. And as we move into next year, we should see probably about a $4 million per quarter improvement in the bottom line, because we were incurring expenses there that were greater than the fees that we were taking in.

光是這一點就能幫助我們在今年全年獲利。它將逐漸對底線產生幫助。進入明年，我們應該會看到每季的利潤增加約 400 萬美元，因為我們在這方面的支出高於我們收取的費用。

Carolyn, I'll turn it to you. I know there's other things that we're doing as well to manage. And then, Greg, I -- before I hand it to Carolyn, I would just underscore that I agree with you completely. I wouldn't -- if you look at last year where we started a similar position, but we ended up the year in a better place because of that first quarter being a quarter that is traditionally very low in transactions.

卡洛琳，我會把它交給你的。我知道我們還在做其他事情來管理。然後，格雷格，在我把它交給卡羅琳之前，我只想強調我完全同意你的觀點。我不會——如果你看看去年，我們開始時的情況類似，但最終我們處於更好的狀態，因為第一季傳統上是交易量非常低的季度。

So Carolyn, I'll turn it to you.

那麼卡羅琳，我會把它交給你。

Okay. Thank you, Craig. We continue to manage our expenses to the market. But Greg, it's really going to be based on our top-line revenue. We've got to see the market turn more for us to really have a large effect on our expense ratio. But it doesn't stop us. I mean, we're constantly monitoring what we're doing, what we're spending and what we -- how we can change that. So I do see it improving throughout the year, because we also feel like we're going to see an improved market as we get to this summer. Does that help?

好的。謝謝你，克雷格。我們將繼續根據市場狀況管理我們的支出。但是格雷格，這實際上將基於我們的營業收入。我們必須看到市場進一步轉變，才能真正對我們的費用率產生重大影響。但這並不能阻止我們。我的意思是，我們一直在監控我們在做什麼、我們在花什麼錢以及我們如何改變這種狀況。所以我確實看到它全年都在改善，因為我們也覺得今年夏天我們將看到市場有所改善。這樣有幫助嗎？

Yeah, it does. On the technology piece, as part of your answer or part of Craig's answer, that was principally in the direct operations, right, where you're going to get the savings. Or was that also agency too?

是的，確實如此。關於技術部分，作為您回答的一部分或 Craig 回答的一部分，這主要是在直接運營中，對吧，您將從中獲得節省。或者那也是代理商？

So our -- this was just -- our platforms were totally separate. They actually only served a small piece of our direct operations. They were -- RamQuest and E-Closing were software platforms that were used out in the market by independent title agents. So -- but they just rolled up under our whole title operation. They were operated as separate companies that we combined into our financials. So it's not really a function of direct or agency. They were separate companies.

所以我們的——這只是——我們的平台是完全獨立的。他們實際上只服務我們直接業務的一小部分。RamQuest 和 E-Closing 是市場上獨立產權代理商使用的軟體平台。所以——但他們只是在我們的整個所有權運營下進行。它們作為獨立的公司運營，我們將它們合併到我們的財務部門。所以它實際上並不是直接或代理的功能。他們是獨立的公司。

(Operator Instructions) Matt Carletti, Citizens.

（操作員指示）馬特·卡萊蒂，公民。

I want to ask you a question on -- kind of a high-level question, but just there's been a lot of obviously focus and discussion on uncertainty in the markets to the economy and tariffs and all that sort of thing since, call it, April 2.

我想問您一個問題——一個比較高層次的問題，但自 4 月 2 日以來，人們顯然一直關注並討論市場對經濟、關稅等問題的不確定性。

Have you seen anything even anecdotally in your book of business, whether it be on the specialty side, just projects or clients kind of taking a pause before making decisions? Or there have been some, again, probably anecdotal articles, but about the housing market and how people have kind of stopped and kind of reassessing maybe a move or buying a house. Have you seen any changes in volumes on -- even on the title side since then?

您是否在您的業務記錄中看到任何事，即使是軼事，無論是在專業方面，還是在專案或客戶做出決定之前都暫停一下？或者有一些，可能是軼事文章，關於房地產市場以及人們如何停止並重新評估搬家或購買房屋。從那時起，您是否看到過交易量有任何變化——甚至是標題方面的變化？

Right. Well, it's hard to really know what we're seeing in the way of top line is a result of tariffs or is it some other economic variable. I would say probably an area that you could take some prudence from is the reduction in our Canadian business.

正確的。嗯，我們很難真正知道我們看到的營收成長是關稅造成的，還是其他經濟變數造成的。我想說，您可能需要謹慎對待的一個領域是減少我們的加拿大業務。

We -- of course, exchange rates there has some impact and you can attribute some of the reduction to just exchange rates alone. But given that a large amount of our business on the trucking side is north-south type of travel, and we've seen a reduction there, I would think some of that is tariff related.

當然，匯率會產生一定的影響，你可以將部分減少僅僅歸因於匯率。但考慮到我們的卡車運輸業務很大一部分是南北向的運輸，而且我們看到了南北向運輸的減少，我認為部分原因與關稅有關。

And then I feel even more confident saying that our accident business up there, the reductions that we're seeing up there are probably some fallout from the tariff discussions. Because what our travel accident business does up there, we have the incoming business where you have visitors into Canada and students coming into Canada. And then we also have business where Canadians are the so-called snowbirds are heading down into the United States. And there's been a lot of media coverage where they are not -- a lot of Canadians are not deciding to come here and go somewhere else.

然後我更加自信地說，我們在那裡看到的事故業務的減少可能是關稅討論的一些影響。因為我們的旅行事故業務在那裡開展，所以我們有入境業務，即接待進入加拿大的遊客和進入加拿大的學生。然後我們還有一些事情要做，加拿大人，也就是所謂的雪鳥，正前往美國。很多媒體都報道說，很多加拿大人並沒有決定來這裡而去其他地方。

So we've seen a pretty steep drop off in our travel and accident business. We've seen some drop-off in the commercial trucking business. So I think that's an area where it's probably the easiest to surmise that it's probably related to tariff or at least the ensuing behaviors after the tariffs.

因此，我們的旅行和事故業務出現了相當急劇的下滑。我們發現商業卡車運輸業務有所下滑。因此，我認為在這個領域最容易推測的是它可能與關稅有關，或至少與關稅之後的行為有關。

So -- and then I would just add from a -- we haven't seen anything from a loss cost standpoint. We're keeping our eyes open. On the Workers' Compensation side of things, tariffs down the line could have an impact on pharmaceuticals could have an impact on medical devices. On the Commercial Auto side of things, tariffs could have an impact on vehicle parts and replacement vehicles.

所以 — — 然後我想補充一點 — — 從損失成本的角度來看，我們還沒有看到任何東西。我們正密切關注。就工人賠償方面而言，未來的關稅可能會對藥品產生影響，也可能對醫療器材產生影響。從商用汽車方面來看，關稅可能會對汽車零件和替換車輛產生影響。

But we -- as you know, what we do for a living is monitor in as real-time as possible, what's going on in severity and frequency trends. And to the extent that those tariffs start to have an impact on severity trends, we're going to spot it and we're going to do what we always do and react accordingly just as we have done when there's been inflationary trends in the past.

但是，如您所知，我們的工作就是盡可能即時監測事件的嚴重程度和頻率趨勢。一旦這些關稅開始對嚴重程度趨勢產生影響，我們就會發現它，並採取我們一貫的做法，做出相應的反應，就像我們過去在通膨趨勢時所做的那樣。

Again, that's -- for us, that's what we do is we -- part of our underwriting excellence proposition is making sure that we have a complete understanding of changes to exposure trend, frequency trends, severity trends, and we'll be following it very closely. And right now, those are the couple of areas in Work Comp and a couple of areas in Commercial Auto that we know we have to keep an eye on.

再說一次，對我們來說，這就是我們所做的——我們承保卓越主張的一部分是確保我們完全了解風險暴露趨勢、頻率趨勢、嚴重程度趨勢的變化，並且我們將密切關注它。目前，我們知道我們必須密切關注工傷賠償和商用汽車領域的幾個領域。

Paul Newsome, Piper Sandler.

保羅紐瑟姆、派珀桑德勒。

I've got a couple of questions here. First, maybe start off with a competitive environment question. One of the things that this quarter has been softest as you get into the larger markets as opposed to little and maybe small. Are you also seeing that newness?

我這裡有幾個問題。首先，也許可以從競爭環境問題開始。與小市場或小型市場相比，本季最疲軟的事情之一是進入較大的市場。您也看到了這種新鮮感嗎？

Paul, that's a hard one for us to answer. Most of our business is small and mid commercial business. And if I understood your question, are we seeing a difference between softness and hardness in the small and mid versus the large?

保羅，這個問題我們很難回答。我們的大部分業務是中小型商業業務。如果我理解你的問題的話，我們是否看到小號、中號和大號之間的軟硬度差異？

On the large, what we do there through our older public risk management subsidiary is business whereby the insurers are taking the preponderance of the risk, either through large deductible or captives. And that business is very sticky for us. And our rates there are not somewhat subject to the types of rates you might experience on other kinds of large commercial risk transfer business. This is risk retention business less rate sensitive.

整體而言，我們透過較老的公共風險管理子公司所進行的業務是讓保險公司承擔大部分風險，無論是透過高額免賠額或自保公司。這項業務對我們來說非常棘手。我們的利率並不會受到您在其他大型商業風險轉移業務中可能遇到的利率類型的影響。這是利率敏感度較低的風險保留業務。

So I can't say anything that we've seen in our portfolio is suggesting a difference between our book of small commercial, middle-market commercial and large commercial business.

因此，我無法說我們在投資組合中看到的任何東西表明我們的小型商業、中型商業和大型商業業務之間存在差異。

And our capital markets question -- or capital management question, pardon me. So the buybacks slowed or stopped at a certain point, I'm curious if there is a reason for that. And maybe you could just talk about sort of the outlook for stock repurchases prospectively given the pause?

我們的資本市場問題——或者資本管理問題，請原諒。因此回購在某個時候放緩或停止了，我很好奇這是否有原因。也許您可以談談暫停期間股票回購的前景？

Sure. So yeah, we -- as I think we discussed last quarter, we made the decision based upon our analysis of our capital position to evaluate both special dividends and share repurchases. And as I think I had commented on, we had a very nice problem of continuing to carry too much capital. Because as quickly as we could return excess capital and reinvest it, which comes first into our business, we kept replenishing at a faster pace than we could return it.

當然。是的，正如我們上個季度討論過的那樣，我們根據對資本狀況的分析做出了決定，以評估特別股息和股票回購。我認為我已經評論過，我們有一個非常好的問題，那就是繼續持有過多的資本。因為我們能夠盡快返還過剩資本並將其重新投資（這在我們的業務中是第一位的），所以我們補充的速度比返還的速度更快。

And we made the decision at the end of the year to go ahead and issue a special dividend, as Frank commented on, about $500 million through a $2 special dividend because we felt that that enabled us to more -- to reset that level or level set that capital base to a more appropriate level without continuing to retain excess capital.

正如弗蘭克所說，我們在年底決定繼續發放特別股息，透過 2 美元的特別股息發放約 5 億美元的特別股息，因為我們認為這使我們能夠更多地 - 重置該水平或將資本基礎設定到更合適的水平，而無需繼續保留過剩資本。

And as we commented on, we did have some share repurchases in the first quarter as well. As we go forward, there's a lot of variables at play here as we entertain other new specialty underwriting subsidiaries, as we entertain the possibility of acquisitions, those require capital. And we still have an outstanding authorization under our existing repurchase and we'll continue to execute on that as we go forward.

正如我們所評論的，我們在第一季也進行了一些股票回購。隨著我們不斷前進，這裡存在著許多變數，因為我們正在考慮其他新的專業承保子公司，我們考慮收​​購的可能性，而這些都需要資本。我們在現有回購下仍有未完成的授權，我們將繼續執行。

And we'll see where things are and do what we always do, which is at a point in time where management believes we're continuing or that we have excess capital, we need to return to shareholders. We will take that matter up with our Board and decide the best way to return it, whether that's through share repurchases, special dividend or a combination of the two.

我們會觀察情況並採取我們一貫的做法，即當管理層認為我們會繼續經營或擁有過剩資本時，我們需要向股東返還資金。我們將向董事會討論此事，並決定返還的最佳方式，無論是透過股票回購、特別股息或兩者結合。

And then maybe one final question. The corporate expense levels look like they jumped a bit in the quarter and the commentary and the press release suggest maybe they're somewhat sustainable. But as you noted, is that the way to think about it? Or is there another way to think about sort of how the corporate expenses will be? Obviously, that's a huge piece of your business, but can you throw a little bit in the --?

還有一個最後一個問題。本季企業支出水準似乎略有上升，評論和新聞稿顯示這種上升趨勢或許具有一定的可持續性。但正如您所說，這是思考問題的方式嗎？或者是否有其他方式來思考公司開支將會如何？顯然，這是你業務的很大一部分，但你能不能在--？

Sure. I'll comment and then Frank can fill in where he might see appropriate. So on corporate expenses, this quarter, as we noted in the release, you have a lot of moving pieces with a lower level of interest income because of the lower invested asset base. You've got the RFIG runoff moving out of that piece of the business as well in the $500 million special cash dividend payment.

當然。我會發表評論，然後弗蘭克可以填寫他認為合適的內容。因此，就本季的企業支出而言，正如我們在新聞稿中指出的那樣，由於投資資產基礎較低，因此利息收入水平較低，存在許多變動因素。在 5 億美元的特別現金股息支付中，RFIG 的資金也從該業務部分流出。

And on the expense side of things, a lot of that is related to executive compensation expenses, which were higher. And that's -- they're higher as a result of -- mostly as a result of performance. A lot of that is variable in nature related to our performance, and we've had very strong performance.

在費用方面，很多都與高階主管薪酬費用有關，而高階主管薪酬費用較高。這是 — — 它們之所以更高 — — 主要是因為性能。其中許多都是與我們的表現相關的變量，而我們的表現非常強勁。

So as a result, higher executive compensation levels, nice problem to have, because of the very good performance. We have a higher expense there. So on a go-forward basis, with the reduced level of capital, highly variable income and expenses, I think you can suggest that the bottom-line type of loss within corporate is probably going to continue throughout the remainder of the year.

因此，由於業績表現非常好，高階主管薪酬水準提高是個好現象。我們在那裡的開支更高。因此，從未來來看，由於資本水準的下降、收入和支出的高度可變性，我認為你可以認為企業的底線虧損可能會在今年剩餘時間內持續下去。

And that concludes our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the conference back over to management for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我將會議交還給管理階層，請他們發表結束語。

Okay. Well, we have one quarter under the belt and that feels pretty good thus far. We're very proud of the results we've been able to deliver to shareholders, and we thank all of our associates and business partners that have helped us achieve that. Obviously, the economy is a question mark, a lot of volatility, a lot of question marks remain. And we'll have to see how the rest of the year goes. But so far, so good for Old Republic.

好的。嗯，我們已經完成了一個季度，到目前為止感覺非常好。我們為能夠向股東帶來的成果感到非常自豪，並感謝所有幫助我們實現這一目標的同事和業務夥伴。顯然，經濟是一個問號，存在著許多波動，還有很多問號。我們還得看看今年剩餘時間的情況如何。但到目前為止，舊共和國的情況還不錯。

So thank you very much. We appreciate your time and interest.

非常感謝。我們感謝您的時間和關注。

And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. We thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。