Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (NYSE:KNSL) Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call April 28, 2023 9:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Michael Kehoe - President and CEO

Bryan Petrucelli - CFO

Brian Haney - COO

Conference Call Participants

Mark Hughes - Truist

Pablo Singzon - JPMorgan

Andrew Anderson - Jefferies

Scott Heleniak - RBC Capital Markets

Casey Alexander - Compass Point

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. My name is Brent, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Kinsale Capital Group First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Thank you.

Before we get started, let me remind everyone that through the course of the teleconference, Kinsale's management may make comments that reflect their intentions, beliefs and expectations for the future. As always, these forward-looking statements are subject to certain risk factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially. These risk factors are listed in the company's various SEC filings, including the 2022 annual report on Form 10-K, which should be reviewed carefully.

The company has furnished a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission that contains the press release announcing its first quarter results. Kinsale's management may also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures in the call today. A reconciliation of GAAP to these measures can be found in the press release, which is available at the company's website at www.kinsalecapitalgroup.com.

I will now turn the conference over to Kinsale's President and CEO, Mr. Michael Kehoe. Please go ahead, sir.

Michael Kehoe

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. We will follow our familiar format for today's call, where in Bryan Petrucelli, Kinsale's CFO; and Brian Haney, Kinsale's COO and I will each make a few comments, and then we'll move on to any questions you may have.

In the first quarter, 2023 Kinsale's operating earnings per share increased by 50% and gross written premium grew by 46% over the first quarter of 2022. The company posted a 78% combined ratio for the quarter and an operating return on equity of 29%. These favorable results are being driven by the Kinsale business strategy of disciplined E&S underwriting and technology-enabled low costs, which allow us to generate attractive returns and to take market share from competitors at the same time.

Adding to the Kinsale results are the overall favorable P&C market conditions with a strong and steady flow of business into the E&S market from the standard market, which allows us to expand margins and accelerate growth at the same time as we have been doing for several years now. The commercial property market continues to be an area of opportunity and rapid growth for Kinsale. As we discussed last quarter, we balanced the expected strong returns on the property business we write with a variety of controls to limit the increase in volatility.