AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call April 25, 2024 10:30 AM ET
Company Participants
Kathryn Shirley - Chief Administrative Officer
Janelle Frost - President and CEO
Andy Omiridis - Executive Vice President and CFO
Conference Call Participants
Mark Hughes - Truist
Matt Carletti - Citizens JMP
Operator
Good day. And welcome to the AMERISAFE 2024 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Today’s conference is being recorded.
At this time, I’d like to turn the conference over to Ms. Kathryn Shirley, Chief Administrative Officer. Please go ahead, ma’am.
Kathryn Shirley
Good morning. Welcome to the AMERISAFE 2024 first quarter investor call. If you have not received the earnings release, it is available on our website at amerisafe.com. This call is being recorded. A replay of today’s call will be available. Details on how to access the replay are in the earnings release.
During this call, we will be making forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied in these statements.
If the underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect or as a result of risk, uncertainties and other factors, including factors discussed in the earnings release, in the comments made during today’s call and in the risk factors section of our Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements.
I will now turn the call over to Janelle Frost, AMERISAFE’s President and CEO.
Janelle Frost
Thank you, Kathryn, and good morning, everyone. Workers’ compensation rates across the industry continue to decline in the first quarter, spurred by favorable frequency trends and modest increases in severity. Continued wage growth is helping the industry taper the impact of multiyear rate decreases. However, it is not as robust as 2023.
With these conditions as a backdrop, AMERISAFE had solid results in the first quarter, reporting a combined ratio of 87.3% and an ROE of 22.8%. We remained competitive by maintaining our strategy of evaluating risk through safety services and underwriting, giving our insurers peace of mind, and continuing our track record of creating value for our shareholders.
Premiums for policies we wrote in the quarter were relatively flat compared to the first quarter of 2023. We continued to see strong retention in policies for which we offered renewal, with 94.9% of retention in the first quarter, as well as modest policy growth.