Release Date: April 23, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Thanks for the data point on the (inaudible) you incurred and the color on the reserves. Just curious, your -- what we did see in the [stat] statements too, that the reserve ratios appear to be getting better. Just curious, do you guys make any material changes or maybe top off a little bit the '23 vintage as well?
A: W. Robert Berkley, Jr. - Jr., Nothing particularly material at this stage. Again, we think that the -- look, we're constantly looking at our loss picks and trying to tweak and refine. So it's not like we've come up with these picks and then they're frozen indefinitely. That having been said, there was nothing material or consequential to the portfolio overall as far as changes during '23.
Q: In your prepared remarks, Rob, in the beginning, it sounded like you're just as optimistic or maybe more optimistic about how the portfolio is coming together than you were last quarter. I guess pricing power, I know it's just a quarter, doesn't make a trend, looks like it's kind of flattish. Are you -- are we still kind of on the view that top line growth is likely to be in the low double digits for the year? Or do you think things could play out a bit better, especially as pricing on the cash lease side for the industry starts to move a bit north.
A: W. Robert Berkley, Jr. - Jr., My best guesstimate at this stage and that's with a capital G, is that we should be able to grow the business, given what I see, between 10% and 15%. As Mike, I know you're aware of and we all presumably have a shared appreciation, we have 60 different businesses all focused on different niches within the marketplace. And at any moment in time, there are parts of the market that we participate in that are improving and there are parts of the market that are facing more of a headwind. One of the things, again, as I think we've discussed in the past is that once upon a time, these product lines marched in lockstep, at this stage, they have seem to be decoupling more and more every day. So there'll be some puts and there'll be some takes. But overall, I think that there's a better-than-average chance that we can grow between 10% and 15% for the foreseeable future. Could there be a quarter that we come in shy of that? Yes. Could there be a quarter that we exceed that? Yes. But that's sort of the channel markers I would offer you.
Q: I was interested in just getting a little bit of past perspective and maybe future perspective on the impact of the Argentine component of the investment portfolio in the traditional NII? How has it impacted the past this quarter? And how should we think about it in the future as a one-off line item?
A: W. Robert Berkley, Jr. - Jr., Okay. So it's -- what I would describe is somewhat of a recent phenomenon that is a reflection of the shift in the political environment. As far as data points go, Richie, I know that in your comments, you alluded to what we saw in the -- I guess, it would have been the fourth quarter of last year, which was really the, I think, one of the first meaningful contributions or impacts that we saw and we saw a even greater impact in the fourth quarter and we'll see how it unfolds from here. So Rich, do you want to just spend a moment maybe sharing with Josh and others that may be interested in what has transpired with these linked securities in Argentina?
Q: Just had a question if you could just let us know, I understand it's about $1 million of favorable PYD. How much of that was coming from the insurance segment versus the reinsurance segment? And maybe just a little color in terms of the movement between lines and accident years.
A: W. Robert Berkley, Jr. - Jr., So David, to make a long story short, the amount of movement from each one of the 2 segments was what I would define relative to the overall reserve position of each segment, let alone the aggregate, one could say it's immaterial. And as far as the development goes, if you wouldn't mind just catching up with Karen on those details but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary from -- based on what I have, the sheet that I have in front of me. But why don't you catch up with Karen, she can try and give you a little bit more detail on that. But if your question is, are we taking lots of reserves out of the current year or the more recent year, no, the answer is, we're not. And as a reminder, our -- life of our reserves is just inside of 4 years and the incurred tail is inside of 3 years.
Q: My first question is just in terms of the flow of business you guys are seeing to the E&S market. We saw some stamping capacity out of 3 of the largest E&S states turned negative in March, which I recognize is only 1 month of data but just curious what you're seeing with the flow to the E&S market? And any color you have just on what we saw in those 3 states in March?
A: W. Robert Berkley, Jr. - Jr., So I'm not familiar with the data, Elyse, that perhaps you have in front of you. But speaking to our experience, we continue to see during the first quarter, very robust activity on the E&S front, particularly on the casualty or liability in general. Property, there continues to be an opportunity. But again, I think it's probably not what it was 1 year ago. And I think that's just the reality of things and the cycle. So we are more of a liability shop than a property shop though we do participate in property. I expect that we'll try and make some more hay in property before we call it a day. But it is possible that, that may have not peaked but property is peaking.
Q: Yes. So just, I guess, on this E&S point, if we do get into an environment where business starts to flow from E&S back to admitted, can you just talk about, I guess, the capability of your business to be above [weighted] or admitted paper as well. And I would guess you'd have better capability to do that on the casualty side than the property side. But I'm not sure about that but I'm just curious, like I know as you've kind of been "standard" not admitted player, you kind of live between. So yes, just curious on your thoughts.
A: W. Robert Berkley, Jr. - Jr., Ryan, thanks for the question. And the
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
