Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc. (SLDE) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc. first-quarter 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your moderator today, Garett Edson with ICR. Thank you, sir. You may proceed.

各位好。歡迎參加 Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc. 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。(接線員指示) 請注意，本次會議將被錄音。現在我想把電話會議交給今天的主持人，ICR 的 Garett Edson。謝謝您，先生。您可以開始了。

Thank you, and good morning. With us today are your hosts, Bruce Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Slide; and Andy Omiridis, Chief Financial Officer. By now, everyone should have access to our earnings release, which was published yesterday after the market closed and can be found on our website at ir.slideinsurance.com.

謝謝，早安。今天與會的主講人包括 Slide 董事長兼執行長 Bruce Lucas，以及財務長 Andy Omiridis。目前各位應已取得我們的財報新聞稿，該新聞稿於昨日收盤後發布，並可在我們網站 ir.slideinsurance.com 查閱。

Before we begin our formal remarks, I need to remind everyone that part of our discussion today may include forward-looking statements, which are based on the expectations, estimates, and projections of management regarding the company's future performance, anticipated events or trends, and other matters that are not historical facts.

在我們開始正式發言之前，我需要提醒各位，我們今天的部分討論可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述係基於管理層對公司未來表現、預期事件或趨勢，以及其他非歷史事實事項的期望、估計與預測。

The forward-looking statements in our discussion are subject to various assumptions, risks, uncertainties, and other factors that are difficult to predict and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and therefore, undue reliance should not be placed upon them.

我們討論中的前瞻性陳述受多項假設、風險、不確定性及其他難以預測的因素影響，可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示者存在重大差異。這些陳述並非對未來表現的保證，因此不應過度依賴。

We refer all you to our earnings release and recent filings with the SEC for a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could impact the future operating results and financial conditions of this slide. Our statements are as of today, April 29, 2026, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements we may make except as required by law.

我們請各位參閱我們的財報新聞稿以及近期向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件，以取得更詳細的風險與不確定性說明；這些因素可能影響本公司未來的營運結果與財務狀況。我們的陳述截至今日（2026 年 4 月 29 日）為止，除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

In addition, this call is being webcast, and an archived version will be available shortly after the call ends on the Investor Relations portion of the company's website at www.slideinsurance.com. With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to our Founder, Chairman and CEO, Bruce Lucas. Please go ahead.

此外，本次電話會議將進行網路直播，會議結束後不久，存檔版本將可於公司網站 www.slideinsurance.com 的投資人關係頁面取得。接下來，我想把電話會議交給我們的創辦人、董事長兼執行長 Bruce Lucas。請開始。

Thank you, and welcome to our first quarter of 2026 earnings call. We appreciate your continued interest in Slide and are excited to be speaking with you today. We started off 2026 by delivering another quarter of strong execution across our business and reinforcing the ability of our tech-enabled coastal specialty focus to produce what we believe to be the best top- and bottom-line performance in our sector.

謝謝，歡迎參加我們 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。感謝各位持續關注 Slide，我們也很高興今天能與各位交流。我們以強勁的執行力展開 2026 年，在整體業務上再度交出亮眼的一季，並強化我們以科技賦能的沿海專業保險定位所具備的能力；我們相信這能帶來本產業中最佳的營收與獲利表現。

Our performance was once again based on strong renewal rates on our existing book, expansion of our voluntary sales, and the continued acquisition of Citizens policies. For the quarter, we meaningfully grew our gross written premiums by 49% year-over-year to $414.8 million.

我們的表現再次建立在既有保單組合的高續保率、自願性銷售的擴張，以及持續承接 Citizens 保單之上。本季我們的毛簽保費（GWP）年增 49%，達 4.148 億美元。

In the quarter, we continued to strategically capitalize on Citizens' ongoing depopulation efforts. As a reminder, our extensive data capabilities and technology-driven underwriting process enables us to identify Citizens' policies that offer compelling return profiles. While we plan to remain selective in pursuing Citizens' assumptions this year, we expect to continue to grow our gross written premiums in 2026 year-over-year as a result of higher policy retentions, higher voluntary sales, and the launch of new states.

本季我們持續策略性把握 Citizens 持續推動的去集中化（depopulation）措施所帶來的機會。提醒各位，我們強大的資料能力與科技驅動的核保流程，使我們能辨識出具備吸引人報酬特性的 Citizens 保單。雖然今年我們仍將選擇性地承接 Citizens 的保單移轉，但我們預期在更高的保單留存率、更高的自願性銷售，以及新州別的推出帶動下，2026 年毛簽保費仍將較 2025 年成長。

In addition to our strong top-line results, Slide grew net income by 51% year-over-year to $139.5 million, which is another new quarterly record for the company. Along with net income, first quarter return on equity was once again strong at 12.5% and 50% on an annualized basis, reflecting the continued strength of our business.

除了強勁的營收表現外，Slide 的淨利年增 51%，達 1.395 億美元，再創公司單季新高。隨著淨利成長，第一季股東權益報酬率（ROE）同樣維持強勁，為 12.5%，年化約 50%，反映我們業務的持續韌性。

Meanwhile, our disciplined underwriting model continues to deliver industry-leading results with our combined ratio improving to 55.5% compared to 58.9% in the prior year quarter. Our first-quarter performance continues to deliver robust profitability and attractive equity returns that create meaningful value for our shareholders. This strong start to the year positions us well to achieve our full-year objectives.

同時，我們嚴謹的核保模式持續交出業界領先的成果，綜合成本率改善至 55.5%，優於去年同期的 58.9%。我們第一季的表現持續帶來強勁獲利能力與具吸引力的股東權益報酬，為股東創造實質價值。今年的強勁開局，使我們更有把握達成全年目標。

We have deliberately built a dynamic coastal specialty insurance platform with the strongest balance sheet in the sector, providing us with the financial flexibility to accelerate our geographic expansion throughout 2026. While we've established a strong market position in Florida, we're now strategically extending our proven capabilities into additional catastrophe-exposed markets.

我們刻意打造了一個具動態調整能力的沿海專業保險平台，並擁有本產業中最強健的資產負債表，讓我們具備財務彈性，可在 2026 年加速地理版圖擴張。在佛羅里達州建立穩固市場地位之後，我們正策略性地將已驗證的能力延伸至更多暴露於巨災風險的市場。

For example, South Carolina continued to deliver robust voluntary sales in the first quarter, and we're confident we will be able to build on this momentum moving forward. As we continue to progress through 2026, we remain committed to thoughtful geographic diversification in multiple states.

例如，南卡羅來納州在第一季持續帶來強勁的自願性銷售，我們有信心未來能在此動能上再接再厲。隨著 2026 年持續推進，我們仍致力於在多個州進行審慎的地理多元化。

Our geographic expansion will bolster our foundation for sustainable growth and long-term shareholder value. We are in the final process of completing our 2026 reinsurance program, and I anticipate completion of the reinsurance tower in the next one to two weeks.

我們的地理擴張將強化可持續成長與長期股東價值的基礎。我們正處於完成 2026 年再保險計畫的最後階段，我預期在未來一到兩週內完成再保險塔（reinsurance tower）的建置。

Year-over-year, risk-adjusted rate decreases are prevalent in the Florida market, and the decreases have been substantial. I will not disclose the extent of the decreases in pricing at this time out of respect for our reinsurance partners who are still negotiating with our peers.

與去年相比，佛羅里達市場普遍出現風險調整後費率下調，而且降幅相當顯著。出於對仍在與同業談判的再保險合作夥伴的尊重，我目前不會披露降價幅度。

However, I will note that we increased our first event reinsurance power by roughly $1 billion versus 2025, and despite this increase, reinsurance capacity significantly outpaced our demand as every layer of the reinsurance tower was oversubscribed on favorable terms. I'd like to thank our reinsurance partners for their unwavering commitment to Slide through hard and soft market conditions and your partnership is greatly appreciated.

不過我要指出，相較 2025 年，我們將第一事件（first event）的再保險保障額度提高了約 10 億美元；儘管如此，再保險供給仍大幅超過我們的需求，再保險塔的每一層都在有利條件下出現超額認購。我要感謝我們的再保險合作夥伴，無論市場處於硬市或軟市，都對 Slide 展現堅定承諾；我們非常感謝各位的合作。

During the quarter, we completed our $120 million stock repurchase program, and our Board authorized a new $125 million repurchase program in late March. In the first quarter, we repurchased approximately 7.7 million shares at a weighted average price of $17.75 per share. Since initiating our buybacks, we have repurchased approximately 13.3 million shares at an average share price of $17.30.

本季我們完成了 1.2 億美元的庫藏股回購計畫，董事會並於 3 月下旬核准新的 1.25 億美元回購計畫。第一季我們以每股 17.75 美元的加權平均價格回購約 770 萬股。自啟動回購以來，我們已以每股平均 17.30 美元回購約 1,330 萬股。

Through our repurchase program, we have returned $230.9 million to shareholders and reduced our IPO dilution from 13% to 3%. This reflects our business model's ability to generate strong free cash flow, our willingness to opportunistically repurchase shares when we believe there is a dislocation in our valuation, and our ability to successfully return capital to our shareholders in a highly value-accretive way.

透過回購計畫，我們已向股東返還 2.309 億美元，並將 IPO 稀釋從 13% 降至 3%。這反映出我們的商業模式具備產生強勁自由現金流的能力、在我們認為估值出現偏離時願意把握機會回購股票的意願，以及以高度增值的方式成功向股東返還資本的能力。

It is unusual for a recent IPO issuer to return IPO proceeds less than one year after going public, and there are a couple of reasons for our decision to aggressively pursue share buybacks. First, since our IPO was priced in June at $17 per share, we have significantly outperformed our expectations each of the last four quarters while providing strong guidance for 2026. Despite our consistently strong results, our share price remained close to the IPO price, which does not reflect our fair value.

對於一家近期完成 IPO 的發行人而言，在上市未滿一年就返還 IPO 募集資金並不常見，而我們決定積極推動股票回購有幾個原因。首先，自我們於 6 月以每股 17 美元的價格完成 IPO 以來，過去四個季度我們的表現均大幅超出預期，並且對 2026 年提供了強勁的指引。儘管我們的業績一貫強勁，我們的股價仍接近 IPO 價格，這並未反映我們的合理價值。

Second, our strong financial performance has meaningfully increased our free cash position, which continues to build. This growth in unencumbered cash has exceeded our near-term deployment needs, and we believe we have ample capital flexibility to support our growth initiatives even after repurchasing $230 million of common stock.

第二，我們強勁的財務表現顯著提高了我們的自由現金部位，且仍在持續累積。這一未受限制現金的增長已超出我們短期的資金部署需求，我們相信即使在回購 2.30 億美元普通股之後，我們仍具備充足的資本彈性以支持成長計畫。

Given our current earnings profile and outlook, we believe repurchasing shares at attractive valuations is a prudent use of capital that can enhance earnings per share and return on equity over time. We remain highly confident in our business plan and expected financial performance and believe our share repurchase program further supports our objective of delivering best-in-class returns on equity.

基於我們目前的獲利結構與展望，我們認為在具吸引力的估值水準回購股份，是一項審慎的資本運用方式，長期可提升每股盈餘與股東權益報酬率。我們對自身的商業計畫與預期財務表現仍高度有信心，並相信我們的股票回購計畫進一步支持我們實現提供同業最佳股東權益報酬率的目標。

Accordingly, the Board of Directors has authorized an additional $100 million share repurchase program. We will continue to evaluate repurchase opportunities in a disciplined manner and we'll act when we believe doing so is in the best interest of shareholders. We expect to strengthen Slide's earnings profile and balance sheet throughout 2026, and we remain committed to deploying our excess capital in ways that maximize shareholder value.

因此，董事會已核准額外 1.00 億美元的股票回購計畫。我們將持續以嚴謹自律的方式評估回購機會，並在我們認為符合股東最佳利益時採取行動。我們預期在 2026 年期間持續強化 Slide 的獲利結構與資產負債表，並仍致力於以能最大化股東價值的方式部署我們的超額資本。

Finally, our success is built on the efforts of our exceptional team. I want to thank all our employees for their dedication and the critical role they play in Slide's performance. I'm proud of what we are accomplishing together, and I appreciate all of you. Thank you for your continued support of Slide.

最後，我們的成功建立在卓越團隊的努力之上。我要感謝所有員工的投入，以及他們在 Slide 營運表現中所扮演的關鍵角色。我為我們共同完成的成果感到自豪，也感謝各位。感謝您持續支持 Slide。

And with that, I'll now turn the call over to Andy Omiridis to provide some color on our excellent first quarter.

接下來，我將把電話交給 Andy Omiridis，請他就我們優異的第一季表現補充說明。

Thank you, Bruce, and good morning, everyone. In the first quarter, net income rose 50.8% to $139.5 million from $92.5 million in the prior-year period, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $1.02. Our earnings profile continues to strengthen, with growth in both top and bottom line driven by increased scale achieved following our IPO in June 2025.

謝謝你，Bruce，各位早安。第一季淨利較去年同期的 9,250 萬美元成長 50.8%，至 1.395 億美元，使稀釋後每股盈餘為 1.02 美元。我們的獲利結構持續強化，營收與獲利雙雙成長，主要受惠於我們在 2025 年 6 月 IPO 後所達成的規模擴大。

Gross premiums written reached $414.8 million, up 49.1% from $278.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. This growth was driven by 46% year-over-year increase in policies in force, which now stand at 508,928, driven by growth of voluntary new business, renewals of previously acquired Citizens policies, and further Citizens acquisitions.

總簽單保費達 4.148 億美元，較 2025 年第一季的 2.782 億美元成長 49.1%。此成長主要由有效保單數年增 46% 所帶動，目前達 508,928 張，成長動能來自自願性新業務的增加、先前承接之 Citizens 保單的續保，以及進一步承接 Citizens 保單。

During the quarter, we also acquired an additional $92.3 million in annualized gross premiums or 28,783 policies from Citizens, capitalizing on selective attractive takeout opportunities. Net losses and loss adjustments expenses totaled $111.1 million (sic - see press release, "$111 million") in the quarter as compared to $83.8 million in the prior-year period. As a result, our accident year loss ratio improved to 28.4% from 34.2%, reflecting the continued strong performance of our book.

本季我們亦自 Citizens 額外承接年化總保費 9,230 萬美元（或 28,783 張保單），把握具選擇性且具吸引力的承接（takeout）機會。本季淨損失與損失調整費用合計 1.111 億美元（原文如此—請參見新聞稿，「1.11 億美元」），相較去年同期為 8,380 萬美元。因此，我們的事故年度損失率由 34.2% 改善至 28.4%，反映我們承保組合持續強勁的表現。

Policy acquisition and other underwriting expenses rose to $44.1 million from $28.6 million in the prior year period, driven by increased renewal policies from prior year assumed Citizens policies, resulting in increased policy acquisition costs in 2026. General and administrative expenses increased to $46.2 million from $41.4 million, primarily due to higher staffing levels to support our growth.

保單取得及其他承保費用由去年同期的 2,860 萬美元上升至 4,410 萬美元，主要因前一年度承接之 Citizens 保單帶來更多續保保單，導致 2026 年保單取得成本增加。一般及管理費用由 4,140 萬美元增加至 4,620 萬美元，主要因為為支持成長而提高人力配置。

These trends produced an overall expense ratio of 25.1%, down from 27.4% in the prior period, and a combined ratio of 55.5%, an improvement of 3.4 percentage points year-over-year. The gains reflect the operating leverage we continue to build as we scale the business.

上述趨勢使整體費用率降至 25.1%，低於前期的 27.4%；綜合率為 55.5%，年減 3.4 個百分點。這些改善反映我們在擴大業務規模的同時，持續建立營運槓桿。

Turning to Capital Management, as Bruce mentioned, we completed our $120 million share repurchase program during the quarter and our Board authorized a new $125 million program in late March. In total, we have repurchased 7.7 million shares at a weighted average price of $17.75 per share during the quarter.

談到資本管理，如 Bruce 所提，我們在本季完成了 1.20 億美元的股票回購計畫，且董事會於 3 月下旬核准新的 1.25 億美元計畫。本季合計我們以每股加權平均 17.75 美元的價格回購 770 萬股。

As of the date of this earnings call, we have repurchased an additional 3 million shares for $53.8 million at an average price of $17.95. Since inception, we have repurchased 13.3 million shares for $230.9 million at an average price of $17.30. As of March 31, 2026, we had cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 billion and total invested assets of $720 million, consisting of 33.5% corporate bonds, 31.3% municipal bonds, 24.1% US government bonds, and 11.1% asset-backed securities, and other.

截至本次財報電話會議當日，我們已額外回購 300 萬股，金額 5,380 萬美元，平均價格 17.95 美元。自計畫啟動以來，我們已回購 1,330 萬股，金額 2.309 億美元，平均價格 17.30 美元。截至 2026 年 3 月 31 日，我們持有現金及約當現金 12 億美元，投資資產總額 7.20 億美元，組成包括 33.5% 公司債、31.3% 市政債、24.1% 美國政府債，以及 11.1% 資產擔保證券及其他。

As a relatively new public company, I'd like to take a moment to outline our capital priorities. We have demonstrated our ability to generate strong free cash flow and have deployed that capital both to support attractive growth opportunities and to repurchase shares when we believe it is accretive over the long-term. We expect to continue managing capital in this disciplined manner, always prioritizing the actions that create the greatest long-term value for our shareholders.

作為一家相對新上市的公司，我想花點時間說明我們的資本優先順序。我們已展現產生強勁自由現金流的能力，並將該資本同時用於支持具吸引力的成長機會，以及在我們認為長期具增益（accretive）時回購股份。我們預期將持續以此嚴謹自律的方式管理資本，始終優先採取能為股東創造最大長期價值的行動。

I'm pleased to reaffirm that the full-year 2026 guidance we provided on our February earnings call, we continue to expect gross written premiums between $1.85 billion and $1.95 billion, and net income between $455 million and $470 million. Top-line growth is expected to come primarily from sustained organic expansion, including double-digit increases in policies in force and premium outside of Florida, supplemented by selective opportunities in Florida that meet our targeted returns. Finally, we expect to file our Form 10-Q after the market closes on April 30, 2026.

我很高興重申我們在 2 月財報電話會議所提供的 2026 全年指引：我們仍預期總簽單保費介於 18.5 億至 19.5 億美元，淨利介於 4.55 億至 4.70 億美元。營收端成長預期主要來自持續的有機擴張，包括有效保單數與佛羅里達州以外保費的雙位數增長，並輔以在佛州符合我們目標報酬的具選擇性機會。最後，我們預計在 2026 年 4 月 30 日收盤後提交 Form 10-Q。

Thank you for your time, and operator, we are now ready to open the line for questions.

感謝各位撥冗，主持人，我們現在準備開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Alex Scott, Barclays.

(主持人指示) Alex Scott，巴克萊。

First one I had for you is just to follow-up on the reinsurance commentary you gave. It sounded like a fair amount of limit you added, so I wanted to check to see if you could give us an update on how much higher the model PML loss would be -- that would still be covered by your reinsurance tower? Has that meaningfully changed the risk profile of your company?

我第一個問題是想跟進你們對再保的評論。聽起來你們增加了相當多的承保上限（limit），所以我想確認一下，你們是否可以更新：模型 PML 損失會提高多少——而這部分仍會被你們的再保塔（reinsurance tower）所涵蓋？這是否已實質改變你們公司的風險輪廓？

Yeah, everything scales in tandem. So we've had, obviously, tremendous growth year over year at almost 50%-plus. As you add more policies, your probable maximum loss in your reinsurance tower gets higher. And so apples to apples compared to last year, it's the same.

是的，一切都會同步擴張。所以很明顯地，我們的年增成長非常驚人，接近 50% 以上。當你增加更多保單時，你在再保塔中的可能最大損失（PML）就會提高。因此，若與去年做同口徑比較，情況是一樣的。

But in total, we did increase our first event reinsurance tower by $1 billion. So the tower is at approximately $3.5 billion of first event coverage. And that is in line with what we did last year, although on a smaller book and smaller tower. They are proportionately identical to one another.

但就總體而言，我們確實把第一事件再保塔提高了 10 億美元。因此，該再保塔的第一事件保障約為 35 億美元。這與我們去年所做的相符，只是當時的承保簿較小、再保塔也較小。兩者在比例上是完全一致的。

Got it. Okay, that makes sense. And just to follow-up on the reinsurance costs, I mean, to the extent you have savings, which it sounds like you probably will, and that's one of your biggest costs. Can you help us think through how that translates to the loss ratio and the benefit that we'd actually see coming through the underwriting?

了解。好，這就說得通了。另外再追問一下再保成本：也就是說，在你們能節省成本的範圍內——聽起來你們很可能會有節省——而再保又是你們最大的成本之一。你能否幫我們梳理一下，這會如何反映到損失率，以及我們實際會在核保結果中看到的效益？

Yeah, we don't have an external quarter share, so it really shouldn't have any impact on underlying loss ratio. But yes, you are correct, Alex, that reinsurance is our single largest expense of the organization. So a decrease in reinsurance pricing is good for the Florida market and Florida seedings. But the underlying loss ratio should be unchanged because our only quota share is internal.

是的，我們沒有對外的分出比例再保（external quota share），所以它其實不應該對基礎損失率造成任何影響。不過沒錯，Alex，你說得對，再保是我們組織中單一最大項的費用。因此，再保價格下降對佛羅里達市場以及佛州的分出（cedings）是好事。但基礎損失率應該不變，因為我們唯一的比例再保是內部的。

Paul Newsome, Piper Sandler.

Paul Newsome，Piper Sandler。

Wanted to ask a broader question about the Citizens takeouts. There seems to be a pretty wide range of views about whether or not you can take them out, take Citizen takeout today versus in the past, given just how active folks have been. Maybe you could just talk a little bit about why you folks remain confident and if there's any particular thing that you think you have an advantage over your peers in doing those takeouts?

我想問一個更宏觀的問題，關於 Citizens 的接手（takeouts）。目前對於你們是否還能把它們接出來，大家看法差異很大——相較於過去，考量到現在市場參與者的活躍程度。也許你可以談談，為什麼你們仍然有信心，以及你們是否認為在做這些 takeouts 上，相較同業有任何特別的優勢？

Yeah, it's a good question, Paul. I mean, obviously, the Citizens opportunity is not as robust as it has been in prior years, but every company is different. It depends on your portfolio, where your portfolio is located, how did the Citizens policies fit within that portfolio, are there reinsurance synergies that are created or are there debit sets that happen?

是的，這是個好問題，Paul。我的意思是，很明顯，Citizens 的機會不像前幾年那麼充沛，但每家公司都不一樣。這取決於你的投資組合、投資組合的位置、Citizens 的保單如何融入該投資組合，以及是否能產生再保協同效應，或是否會出現不利的組合（debit sets）。

So every company is going to look at the citizens portfolio a little differently and the policies are going to model differently for everyone. We are focused on profitability, like our growth has been incredible, and we're certainly not reliant on Citizens this year. We think voluntary growth in new states is the real story for '26.

因此，每家公司看待 Citizens 組合的方式都會有些不同，而這些保單對每個人的模型結果也會不同。我們專注於獲利；我們的成長非常驚人，而且今年我們當然不依賴 Citizens。我們認為，2026 年真正的故事是新州的自願性新增業務成長。

But if we see opportunities in Citizens to add accretive policies that really fit well within our portfolio, we're going to do that. And we underwrite with a $6 trillion TIV underwriting set, ProCast has been proven. 100 times over now. It gives very accurate forward reinsurance costs. We feel like that gives us an advantage to find policies that are accretive to the current portfolio.

但如果我們在 Citizens 看到機會，可以加入能增厚（accretive）且非常契合我們投資組合的保單，我們就會去做。而且我們以 6 兆美元 TIV 的核保資料集來核保，ProCast 已經被證明過——到現在已經超過 100 次。它能提供非常精準的前瞻再保成本。我們覺得這讓我們在找出能為現有投資組合帶來增厚效益的保單方面具備優勢。

And then maybe as a second question, could we have a little additional color on the competitive environment? Perhaps the biggest question I get today is, given where you and other insurers' profitability is why wouldn't we see a rush of competitors come into the market? And is there any early evidence that something like that might be happening?

那作為第二個問題，能否再多補充一些關於競爭環境的細節？也許我現在被問最多的是：在你們和其他保險公司的獲利能力都在這個水準下，為什麼不會看到一波競爭者湧入市場？以及是否有任何早期跡象顯示這種情況可能正在發生？

Yeah, Paul, we're not seeing it. We get this question every quarter and every quarter our answer is the same. While there have been some new entrants to the market, I will note those entrants come in with an extremely small balance sheet.

是的，Paul，我們沒有看到。我們每一季都被問到這個問題，而每一季我們的回答都一樣。雖然市場上確實有一些新進者，但我要指出的是，這些新進者的資產負債表規模非常小。

They have to scale. They have to build systems. They have to hire people. It's a loss lead. Maybe Citizens can be attractive for them, maybe not, but obviously, that opportunity is not as robust as it was, say, two years ago.

他們必須擴張規模。他們必須建立系統。他們必須聘用人員。這是一種以虧損帶動（loss lead）。Citizens 對他們也許有吸引力、也許沒有，但很明顯，這個機會已不像例如兩年前那麼充沛。

We're not seeing new capital flow in, and we're seeing some companies that got conditional approval in Florida not able to raise the necessary funds to even operate. So we're just not seeing that at this time. I think the market has been pretty stable and we're very happy with how we are positioned in Florida.

我們沒有看到新的資金流入；而且我們也看到一些在佛州拿到附條件核准的公司，甚至無法籌到必要資金來營運。所以目前我們確實沒有看到那種情況。我認為市場一直相當穩定，而我們對自己在佛州的定位非常滿意。

(Operator Instructions) Tommy McJoynt, KBW.

（接線員指示）Tommy McJoynt，KBW。

We appreciate you guys giving us the full-year guide for net income. And to be clear, that guide, I think you've said, does not include your assumption for a major CAD event in the third quarter, which we as analysts often want to bake in.

我們很感謝你們提供全年淨利的指引。而且為了釐清，我想你們已經說過，那個指引並未納入你們對第三季發生重大 CAD 事件的假設——而我們分析師通常會把這個因素納入。

Maybe you can help us frame what would happen to your net income if a prior event like a Hurricane Helene, and Milton or Ian were to repeat, what would that do to your net income? We understand it's not as simple as plugging in the full first event retention just because there's an offset from claims cost and revenues as well.

也許你可以幫我們建立一個框架：如果像過去的事件，例如颶風 Helene，以及 Milton 或 Ian 這類事件再度發生，對你們的淨利會造成什麼影響？我們理解這不只是把第一事件自留額（retention）整個代入那麼簡單，因為理賠成本與保費收入等也會有抵銷效果。

Well, if it's an event like Helene, there's virtually zero impact to our earnings. If there's an event like Milton, there's going to be a larger impact because it was a cat four that hit Tampa, whereas Helene was primarily a flood event.

嗯，如果是像 Helene 那樣的事件，對我們的獲利幾乎沒有影響。如果是像 Milton 那樣的事件，影響會更大，因為它是襲擊坦帕的四級颶風，而 Helene 主要是洪水事件。

We're still finalizing in the reinsurance tower what our first event retention is going to be. But I would say that as a guidepost, we have consistently capped our retention to no more than 25% of pre-tax earnings. So even if you had a full event retention, I would expect pre-tax earnings to go down by about 25% for the year. And so maybe we run a 40 ROE. We're in a very good spot here.

我們仍在最終敲定再保塔中第一事件自留額會是多少。但我想作為一個參考基準，我們一向把自留額上限控制在不超過稅前盈餘的 25%。所以即使你遇到完整的事件自留額，我預期全年稅前盈餘大約會下降 25%。因此也許我們的 ROE 會跑到 40。我們目前的狀況非常好。

And the retention is also spread out across a very large reinsurance tower. So it's not like you have a $200 million loss and all of that loss is absorbed by the company. We spread that retention throughout different layers, we call it COPAR. And we like to do that just to hedge the risk and show the reinsurers that we have real skin in the game, but any event is not some Armageddon for us. It's just a deem to earnings for the year, but those earnings will still be incredibly robust.

而且這個自留額也分散在一個非常龐大的再保塔之中。所以並不是說你有 2 億美元的損失，而這全部損失都由公司吸收。我們把這個自留額分散在不同的層級，我們稱之為 COPAR。我們喜歡這麼做，是為了對沖風險，並向再保人展示我們確實有「與其共擔風險」（skin in the game），但任何單一事件都不會對我們造成末日式的衝擊。它只是對當年度盈餘的一個拖累，但那些盈餘仍會非常強勁。

Thanks. And are there any details that you can share around second and third event loss retentions as well, the sideways protection and the reinsurance tower, or will we need to wait for more details on the reinsurance program?

謝謝。另外，關於第二次與第三次事件的損失自留額（retentions）、側向保護（sideways protection）以及再保險塔（reinsurance tower），你們是否能分享一些細節？還是我們需要等再保險方案有更多細節後才能知道？

Yeah. Good question. Expect something similar in terms of structure to what we did last year. We do like to step down retentions on event two. We do buy 30 event cover, and that is a rarity in the Florida market. In fact, I'm unaware of anyone that does that besides us. So as we get a higher number of catastrophe events, our retention steps down for each event, but we're still in the process of finalizing what that will look like, but not dissimilar to last year.

是的。好問題。我預期在結構上會與我們去年做的相近。我們確實喜歡在第二次事件時下調自留額。我們也會購買 30 次事件保障（30 event cover），而這在佛羅里達市場相當罕見。事實上，除了我們之外，我不知道還有誰這麼做。因此，當災難事件的次數增加時，我們每一次事件的自留額都會逐次下降；但我們仍在敲定最終會長什麼樣子，不過與去年不會差太多。

Thanks. And then this last one, when we think about the new business that you're generating both in the voluntary and what I'll call the Citizens assumption side, which one of those is a larger contributor to new business growth in '26. Is it still Citizens Takeouts or are the voluntary channels in Florida and in the other states contributing more than that this year?

謝謝。最後一個問題，當我們思考你們正在產生的新業務（同時包含自願市場與我稱之為 Citizens 承接那一側），哪一個對 2026 年的新業務成長貢獻更大？仍然是 Citizens Takeouts（自 Citizens 承接/移出）嗎？還是今年佛州以及其他州的自願通路貢獻更大？

It's voluntary. That'll be the larger channel for sure.

是自願業務。那肯定會是更大的通路。

Randy Binner, Texas Capital.

Randy Binner，Texas Capital。

Just picking up on that question, can you comment on the pace and the composition of the top-line growth for the rest of the year? Is there going to be -- is it going to be, for the voluntary business or the business in new states, is it going to be pretty linear? Is there any seasonality? There's kind tough comp in the fourth quarter. It would just be helpful to understand how high level, how you see the rest of the top-line coming in for the remaining three quarters in the year.

延續剛才那個問題，你能否評論一下今年剩餘期間營收（top-line）成長的速度與組成？也就是說——對於自願業務或新州的業務，成長會相當線性嗎？是否有任何季節性？第四季的比較基期有點硬。如果能從高層次說明一下，你如何看待今年剩下三個季度的營收進來的節奏，會很有幫助。

Yeah, I would expect top line to steadily increase as we move through 2026 with the launch of new products, new states, et cetera. We do have to watch our growth because we're purchasing a reinsurance tower and that tower has projections as to what our in-force portfolio will look like at September 30.

是的，我預期隨著我們在 2026 年推進、推出新產品與進入新州等，營收會穩步增加。我們確實必須留意成長，因為我們正在購買一個再保險塔，而該塔對我們截至 9 月 30 日的在保組合（in-force portfolio）會長什麼樣子有相應的預測。

And so we have to navigate within the tower on the top-line growth. But we did model in some very strong top-line growth into the reinsurance purchase So we're able to go full steam at this point, and continue to fill the exposure set within our reinsurance tower. But I definitely think you're going to see an acceleration, particularly in the third and fourth quarters.

因此，我們必須在該再保險塔的框架內去掌握營收成長。不過，我們在再保險採購時已把非常強勁的營收成長納入模型，所以目前我們可以全速前進，並持續在再保險塔內填充曝險組合（exposure set）。但我確實認為你會看到加速，尤其是在第三季與第四季。

Okay. That's helpful. And then just one detail question is, was there any PYD or cat in the loss ratio in the quarter?

好的。這很有幫助。另外一個細節問題：本季的損失率（loss ratio）裡面有任何 PYD 或巨災（cat）嗎？

We had some cat in there. We had some relatively minor events in the first quarter, but there's no PYD. The earnings number that we posted is 100% a quarterly function with no PYD in it.

裡面有一些巨災。第一季有一些相對較小的事件，但沒有 PYD。我們公布的獲利數字 100% 是單季因素所致，裡面沒有 PYD。

Okay. Got it. And then just one more, if I could. The cash balance seems high. I'm a little newer to the story, so maybe I'm not up to speed on this, but it seems like some of the cash balance on the balance sheet could shift into investments that could generate a higher yield. Is that the right way to think of how the investment income line might develop over time?

好的。了解。如果可以的話再問一個。現金餘額看起來偏高。我對這家公司故事還比較新，可能沒有完全跟上，但看起來資產負債表上的部分現金餘額可以轉到投資上，以產生更高的收益率。這樣理解投資收益（investment income）這一行未來隨時間的發展方向，是正確的嗎？

I believe yes, and the reason the cash balance is so high is because the company keeps crushing its own projections in terms of profitability, and it is meaningfully accretive to our cash balance. As a result of the cash balance accelerating, particularly over the last four quarters, we've been able to do things like return $230 million of equity back to shareholders, and we still believe that we have more capital on the balance sheet than we need to execute on the business plan.

我認為是的；而現金餘額之所以這麼高，是因為公司在獲利表現上持續大幅超越自身預測，並且對我們的現金餘額有顯著的增厚（accretive）。由於現金餘額加速成長，特別是在過去四個季度，我們得以做一些事情，例如向股東返還 2.30 億美元的股權資本；而我們仍然認為，資產負債表上的資本多於執行商業計畫所需。

So we are working closely with our financial advisors. We are reinvesting those cash proceeds and the higher yielding assets. But at this point in time, nothing's a higher yield than just the underwriting. When you're running 55% combined ratios, you want to continue to bolster and increase your underwriting capability.

因此，我們正與財務顧問密切合作。我們正在把這些現金收益再投資到收益率更高的資產。但就目前而言，沒有任何東西的收益率能高過承保本業。當你的綜合率（combined ratio）在 55% 時，你會希望持續強化並提升你的承保能力。

But it is a dance, and it takes time to deploy capital in an effective and thoughtful way. But it's a good problem to have, and we expect that problem to get a little bit bigger as we go through the year, and we start posting earnings numbers for the rest of the 2026 quarters.

但這是一種平衡，需要時間才能以有效且審慎的方式部署資本。不過這是個好問題（好困擾），而我們預期隨著今年推進、並開始公布 2026 年其餘季度的獲利數字，這個問題會變得稍微更大一些。

Matt Carletti, Citizens Capital Markets.

Matt Carletti，Citizens Capital Markets。

Bruce, I was hoping you could just spend a minute talking about some of the new states you talked about, New York, New Jersey, California, so forth, and just help us with kind of which ones you might find most attractive. Some of those have been in the news in different ways.

Bruce，我希望你能花一點時間談談你提到的一些新州，例如紐約、紐澤西、加州等等，並協助我們了解哪些州對你們而言可能最具吸引力。其中一些州最近以不同方式出現在新聞中。

Obviously, California has a bit of a capacity issue going on. There's wildfires. There's been kind of proposed profit caps in New York, which I know won't be a big state for you overnight and maybe it's a bunch of annoyed about nothing. But I'm just curious kind of your views as you sit there and think about where to put your chits as you kind of expand outside of Florida?

顯然，加州目前有一些承保容量（capacity）問題。也有野火。紐約則有一些擬議的利潤上限（profit caps）；我知道它不會一夕之間成為你們的大州，也許只是大家杞人憂天。但我很好奇，當你坐在那裡思考要把籌碼押在哪裡、並在佛州以外擴張時，你的看法是什麼？

Yeah. It's a good question, Matt. I would say number one for us is definitely California. We've spent a lot of time developing our California product and partnerships, distribution. That launch is imminent, I mean, it could happen this week, I mean, we're that close, we're just putting the finishing touches on. Systems at this point in time. So we expect to launch that product in the near term, but we think there's a tremendous opportunity in California.

是的。好問題，Matt。我會說對我們而言第一名絕對是加州。我們花了很多時間開發加州產品與合作夥伴關係、以及通路（distribution）。那個上線已迫在眉睫——我是說，可能這週就會發生，我們已經非常接近了，只是在做最後的收尾。就系統而言，目前就是如此。因此我們預期在短期內推出該產品，而且我們認為加州有巨大的機會。

We also do believe that New York and New Jersey are still very accretive. And the primary reason for that is there is a capacity shortfall in both of those markets. There are tremendous reassurance synergies that we pick up as we scale in the Northeast.

我們也確實認為紐約與紐澤西仍然非常具增厚性（accretive）。其主要原因是這兩個市場都存在承保容量缺口（capacity shortfall）。隨著我們在美國東北部擴張規模，我們能獲得非常可觀的再保險協同效益（reinsurance synergies）。

It's the blueprint and model that I kind of created when I was at Heritage and was very successful. So I have a high degree of confidence in that execution strategy. We'll see what New York does on profit caps. I think that's going to be a much bigger issue for, say, a company that has 100% of their premium in New York, not a company at the end of the year that will have 4% or 5% of its premium in New York, if that. It's not really an issue at this point in time. We're still on track and on schedule to launch all of our new states, and we feel pretty bullish about that growth opportunity.

這是我在 Heritage 任職時所建立、並且非常成功的一套藍圖與模式。因此，我對該執行策略有很高的信心。我們會看看紐約對利潤上限會怎麼做。我認為這對於例如有 100% 保費都在紐約的公司會是更大的問題；但對於一家在年底時即便如此也只有 4% 或 5% 保費在紐約的公司而言，就不是那麼大的問題。就目前這個時間點來看，這並不是個問題。我們仍按計畫、按時程推進在所有新州的上市（launch），而且我們對這個成長機會相當樂觀。

Alex Scott, Barclays.

Alex Scott，巴克萊。

I wanted to see if you can comment a little bit more on some of your efforts on distribution in California ahead of the launch. I mean, is building out distribution something that takes a long time and sort of you have the blueprint and some of the initial foundation laid, but it'll kind of come in over time? Or is a lot of that work been done up front? I'm just trying to understand how impactful this launch could be on growth for the rest of the year.

我想看看你是否能再多評論一下，你們在加州正式推出之前，在通路（distribution）方面所做的一些努力。我的意思是，建立通路是不是需要很長時間？也就是說，你們有藍圖、也打下了一些初步基礎，但會隨著時間逐步到位？還是說，很多工作其實在前期就已經完成了？我只是想了解，這次推出對今年剩餘時間的成長可能會有多大影響。

Yeah, Alex, good question. All of our distribution is in place. So we spent the time on the front end to identify the right distribution partners in a very large and differentiated market. California is huge. It's not like there's two or three markets. There's probably 20 markets within California.

是的，Alex，問得很好。我們所有的通路都已經就位。因此我們在前期花時間，在一個非常龐大且差異化的市場中，找出合適的通路合作夥伴。加州非常大。不像只有兩三個市場。加州內部大概有 20 個市場。

So all of that work is done. Really, at this point, we're just fine-tuning some system issues, technical issues, but it'll get launched here in short order. And we do think there's an opportunity to grow top line this year by $50 million to $100 million just in California, if not more. So we're really chomping at the bit to get the finishing touches on and launch the program.

所以這些工作都已經完成了。目前我們主要是在微調一些系統問題、技術問題，但很快就會推出。而且我們確實認為，光是在加州，今年就有機會讓營收（top line）成長 5,000 萬到 1 億美元，甚至更多。所以我們真的迫不及待要把最後的收尾做好並推出這個方案。

Got it. That's helpful. Follow-up I had is on the prioritization of capital return. You're in a unique position where you have enough cash coming in to potentially grow and return capital. And, I look at my own model and even with a good amount of growth, premium to surplus is coming down in my model, which probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

了解。這很有幫助。我接著想追問的是資本回饋（capital return）的優先順序。你們處在一個很獨特的位置：有足夠的現金流入，理論上可以同時成長並回饋資本。而我看我自己的模型，即使有不錯的成長，保費對盈餘（premium to surplus）在我的模型裡反而在下降，這大概不太合理。

With the stock trading at what is it, 5.5 times price to earnings, I mean, a significant discount even to the arguably more volatile reinsurers and property CAD, will you continue to leverage buybacks to reduce your share count the way you did this quarter until that's corrected?

在股價交易於大約 5.5 倍本益比的情況下，我是說，相較於可說更波動的再保險公司與財產險 CAT（巨災）風險曝險，這是很大的折價；你們是否會像本季一樣，持續運用庫藏股回購來降低股數，直到這種情況被修正？

Yeah, that's a great question. It's something that we talk about a lot as capital management. And you're right, this is a good problem to have. Most companies do not have the problem that we have on profitability and cash.

是的，這是個很好的問題。這也是我們在資本管理上經常討論的事情。而你說得沒錯，這算是一個「好問題」。大多數公司並沒有我們在獲利能力與現金方面所面臨的這種問題。

But we are always, first and foremost, looking for the highest return on equity for our shareholders. That is our number one mission at Slide. It should be everyone's number one. And so the first thing we do is we really pick apart the business plan. We look at the opportunities in front of us, the amount of capital that will be required, what we believe the ROE will be on those opportunities.

但我們永遠、首先最優先考量的是為股東創造最高的股東權益報酬率（ROE）。這是 Slide 的第一使命。也應該是每個人的第一使命。因此我們做的第一件事，就是徹底拆解商業計畫。我們會看眼前的機會、所需投入的資本規模，以及我們認為這些機會可帶來的 ROE。

And once we have that cash position set aside for the growth initiatives, we then start looking at excess cash, what's the best use of it. There are definitely instances where you'd want to have some redundant capital on your balance sheet. I think that is prudent. It helps us hedge out any volatility in the portfolio, but we have been generating such rapid increases in profitability and free cash that buying back stock at an average of $17.30 a share, which is less than 2% higher than the IPO price, that's a no-brainer.

在我們為成長計畫預留好所需的現金部位之後，我們就會開始看超額現金，思考最佳用途。確實有一些情況，你會希望資產負債表上保留一些冗餘資本。我認為這是審慎的作法。它有助於我們對沖投資組合中的任何波動；但我們的獲利與自由現金流成長得非常快，以每股平均 17.30 美元回購股票——這只比 IPO 價格高不到 2%——這根本不用想。

We'll take that trade all day. When we went public in June of last year, there were analyst projections that were issued to the street as to what we were going to do in '25 and '26. I think it's very safe to say that we have absolutely surpassed all of those expectations in a meaningful way, yet the stock had been stuck right around that IPO price.

這種交易我們每天都願意做。當我們在去年六月上市時，分析師對外發布了我們在 2025 年與 2026 年將會達成的預測。我認為可以很有把握地說，我們已經在實質上大幅超越了所有那些預期，但股價卻一直卡在接近 IPO 價格附近。

When we see that type of dislocation, we're a strong and aggressive buyer. And as we continue to increase our earnings or increase our top-line, you should expect us to be very active in share buybacks as long as the price is not indicative of fair value.

當我們看到這種錯位（dislocation）時，我們會是強勢且積極的買方。而隨著我們持續提升獲利或提升營收規模，只要股價仍未反映公允價值，你就應該預期我們會非常積極地進行股票回購。

Thank you. At this time, I would like to turn it back over to Mr. Bruce Lucas for closing comments.

謝謝。此時，我想把時間交回給 Bruce Lucas 先生做結語。

I would just like to thank everyone for participating in our first-quarter earnings call.

我只想感謝各位參與我們第一季的法說會（earnings call）。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a great day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以掛斷電話線。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。