TRAVELERS COMPANIES INC
For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Feb 13, 2025.
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FY2024 · Filed Feb 13, 2025
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Item 1. BUSINESS
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the Company) is a holding company principally engaged, through its subsidiaries, in providing a wide range of commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations and individuals. The Company is incorporated as a general business corporation under the laws of the State of Minnesota and is one of the oldest insurance organizations in the United States, dating back to 1853. The principal executive offices of the Company are located at 485 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017, and its telephone number is (917) 778-6000. The Company also maintains executive offices in Hartford, Connecticut, and St. Paul, Minnesota. The term “TRV” in this document refers to The Travelers Companies, Inc., the parent holding company excluding subsidiaries.
PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE OPERATIONS
The property and casualty insurance industry is highly competitive in the areas of price, service, product offerings, agent and broker relationships and other methods of distribution. Distribution methods include the use of local and national independent agents and brokers, agency aggregators and carrier-based agencies, as well as direct to consumer, affinity and other partner platforms. According to A.M. Best, there are approximately 1,100 property and casualty groups in the United States, comprising approximately 2,600 property and casualty companies. Of those groups, the top 150 accounted for approximately 94% of the consolidated industry’s total net written premiums in 2023. The Company competes with both foreign and domestic insurers. In addition, some property and casualty insurers writing commercial lines of business, including the Company, offer products for alternative forms of risk protection in addition to traditional insurance products. These products include large deductible programs and various forms of self-insurance, some of which utilize captive insurance companies and risk retention groups. The Company’s competitive position in the marketplace is based on many factors, including the following:
ability to profitably price business, retain existing customers and obtain new business;
premiums charged, contract terms and conditions, products and services offered (including the ability to design customized programs);
agent, broker and policyholder relationships;
ability to keep pace relative to competitors with changes in technology and information systems, including artificial intelligence;
ability to use data and analytics to make decisions;
speed of claims payment;
ability to provide a positive customer experience;
ability to provide products and services in a cost effective manner;
ability to provide new products and services to meet changing customer needs;
ability to adapt to changes in business models, technology, customer preferences or regulation impacting the markets in which the Company operates;
perceived overall financial strength and corresponding ratings assigned by independent rating agencies;
ability to recruit and retain qualified employees;
geographic scope of business; and
local presence.
In addition, the marketplace is affected by the available capacity of the insurance industry, as measured by statutory capital and surplus, and the availability of reinsurance from both traditional sources, such as reinsurance companies and capital markets (through catastrophe bonds), and non-traditional sources, such as hedge funds and pension plans. Industry capacity as measured by statutory capital and surplus expands and contracts primarily in conjunction with profit levels generated by the industry, less amounts returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Capital raised by debt and equity offerings may also increase statutory capital and surplus.
Pricing of the Company’s property and casualty insurance products is generally developed based upon an estimation of expected losses, the expenses associated with producing, issuing and servicing business and managing claims, the time value of money related to the expected loss and expense cash flows, and a reasonable profit margin that considers the capital needed to support the Company’s business. The Company has a disciplined approach to underwriting and risk management that emphasizes product returns and profitable growth over time rather than premium volume or market share. The Company’s insurance subsidiaries are subject to state laws and regulations regarding rate and policy form approvals. The applicable state laws and regulations establish standards in certain lines of business to ensure that rates are not excessive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory, or used to engage in unfair price competition. The Company’s ability to increase rates and the relative timing of the process are dependent upon each respective state’s requirements, as well as the competitive market environment.
The following table shows the geographic distribution of the Company’s consolidated direct written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2024:
| Location | % of Total |
|---|---|
| Domestic: | |
| California | 10.5% |
| Texas (1) | 9.0 |
| New York | 8.2 |
| Florida | 4.1 |
| Pennsylvania | 4.1 |
| Illinois | 3.7 |
| Georgia | 3.6 |
| New Jersey | 3.6 |
| Massachusetts | 3.1 |
| All other domestic (2) | 45.0 |
| Total Domestic | 94.9 |
| International: | |
| Canada | 2.8 |
| All other international | 2.3 |
| Total International | 5.1 |
| Consolidated total | 100.0% |
(1)The percentage for Texas includes business written by the Company through a fronting agreement with another insurer.
(2)No other single state accounted for 3.0% or more of the Company’s consolidated direct written premiums written in 2024.
Catastrophe Exposure
The Company’s property and casualty insurance operations expose it to claims arising out of catastrophes. The Company uses various analyses and methods, including proprietary and third-party modeling processes, to monitor and analyze underwriting risks of business in natural catastrophe-prone areas and target risk areas for conventional terrorist attacks (defined as attacks other than nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological events). The Company relies, in part, upon these analyses to make underwriting decisions designed to manage its exposure on catastrophe-exposed business. For example, as a result of these analyses, the Company has at various times limited the writing of new property and homeowners business in some markets and has selectively taken underwriting actions on new and existing business. These underwriting actions on new and existing business include tightening underwriting standards, selective price increases and changes to policy terms specific to hurricane-, tornado-, wind-, wildfire- and hail-prone areas. See “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Catastrophe Modeling” and “—Changing Climate Conditions.” The Company also utilizes reinsurance to manage its aggregate exposures to catastrophes. See “—Reinsurance.”
BUSINESS INSURANCE
Business Insurance offers a broad array of property and casualty insurance products and services to its customers, primarily in the United States, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and throughout other parts of the world, including as a corporate member of Lloyd’s. Business Insurance is organized as follows:
Select Accounts provides small businesses with property and casualty insurance products and services, including commercial multi-peril, workers’ compensation, commercial automobile, general liability and commercial property.
Middle Market provides mid-sized businesses with property and casualty insurance products and services, including workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial multi-peril, commercial automobile and commercial property, as well as risk management, claims handling and other services. Middle Market generally provides these products to mid-sized businesses through Commercial Accounts, as well as to targeted industries through Construction, Technology & Life Sciences, Public Sector Services and Energy, and additionally, provides mono-line umbrella and excess coverage insurance through Excess Casualty. Middle Market also provides insurance for goods in transit and movable objects, as well as builders’ risk insurance, through Inland Marine; insurance for the marine transportation industry and related services, as well as other businesses involved in international trade, through Ocean Marine; and comprehensive breakdown for equipment, including property and business interruption, through Boiler & Machinery.
National Accounts provides large companies with casualty insurance products and services, including workers’ compensation, commercial automobile and general liability, generally utilizing loss-sensitive products, on both a bundled and unbundled basis, as well as risk management, claims administration and other insurance-related services. National Accounts also includes the Company’s commercial residual market business, which primarily offers workers’ compensation claims, policy management and other administrative services related to the involuntary market. National Accounts also offers insurance-related services, such as claims administration, risk management, loss control and risk management information services through Constitution State Services LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
National Property and Other provides traditional and customized commercial property insurance programs to large and mid-sized customers through National Property, as well as insurance coverages and programs provided by Northland Transportation, Agribusiness, Northfield and National Programs. Northland Transportation provides insurance coverage for the commercial trucking industry. Agribusiness serves small- to medium-sized agricultural businesses, including farms, ranches and other agricultural-related operations. Northfield includes commercial property and general liability policies for small, difficult to place commercial business primarily on an excess and surplus lines basis. National Programs offers tailored property and casualty insurance programs on an admitted basis for customers with common risk characteristics or coverage requirements.
International, through its operations in Canada, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, provides property and casualty insurance and risk management services to several customer groups, including, among others, those in the technology, manufacturing, public services and commercial real estate industry sectors. International also provides insurance for both the foreign exposures of United States organizations and the United States exposures of foreign organizations through Global Services. At its Lloyd’s syndicate (Syndicate 5000), for which the Company provides 100% of the capital, International underwrites five principal businesses — marine, energy, property, aviation and special risks.
Business Insurance also includes Simply Business, a leading provider of small business insurance policies primarily in the United Kingdom, and Business Insurance Other, which primarily comprises the Company’s asbestos and environmental liabilities and other runoff operations, including certain assumed reinsurance arrangements.
Selected Market and Product Information
The following table sets forth Business Insurance’s net written premiums by market and product line for the periods indicated. For a description of the markets and product lines referred to in the table, see “—Principal Markets and Methods of Distribution” and “—Product Lines,” respectively.
| (for the year ended December 31, in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | % of Total 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| By market: | ||||
| Domestic: | ||||
| Select Accounts | $3,727 | $3,477 | $3,099 | 16.9% |
| Middle Market | 12,023 | 11,045 | 9,923 | 54.4 |
| National Accounts | 1,259 | 1,135 | 1,085 | 5.7 |
| National Property and Other | 3,134 | 3,008 | 2,467 | 14.2 |
| Total Domestic | 20,143 | 18,665 | 16,574 | 91.2 |
| International | 1,935 | 1,765 | 1,061 | 8.8 |
| Total Business Insurance by market | $22,078 | $20,430 | $17,635 | 100.0% |
| By product line: | ||||
| Domestic: | ||||
| Workers’ compensation | $3,469 | $3,492 | $3,397 | 15.7% |
| Commercial automobile | 3,778 | 3,346 | 3,061 | 17.1 |
| Commercial property | 3,698 | 3,494 | 2,771 | 16.7 |
| General liability | 3,591 | 3,264 | 2,962 | 16.3 |
| Commercial multi-peril | 5,537 | 5,000 | 4,304 | 25.1 |
| Other | 70 | 69 | 79 | 0.3 |
| Total Domestic | 20,143 | 18,665 | 16,574 | 91.2 |
| International | 1,935 | 1,765 | 1,061 | 8.8 |
| Total Business Insurance by product line | $22,078 | $20,430 | $17,635 | 100.0% |
Business Insurance markets and distributes products through thousands of independent agencies and brokers. Agencies and brokers are serviced by 88 field offices and supported by customer service centers where the Company performs services for agents for a fee and centralized business centers where the Company processes new and renewal business that meet certain underwriting criteria.
Business Insurance builds relationships with well-established, independent insurance agencies and brokers. In selecting new independent agencies and brokers to distribute its products, Business Insurance considers, among other factors, each agency’s or broker’s financial strength, staff experience and strategic fit with the Company’s operating and marketing plans. Once an agency or broker is appointed, Business Insurance regularly monitors its performance. The majority of products offered in the United States are distributed through independent agents and brokers, many of whom also sell the Company’s Personal Insurance and Bond & Specialty Insurance products. Business Insurance continues to make significant investments to enable real-time interface capabilities with its independent agencies and brokers.
Select Accounts markets and distributes products and services to small businesses, generally with fewer than 50 employees, through a large network of independent agents and brokers. Products offered by Select Accounts are guaranteed-cost policies, including packaged products covering property and liability exposures. Each small business risk is independently evaluated via an automated underwriting platform which in turn enables agents to quote, bind and issue a substantial amount of new small business risks in an efficient manner. Risks with more complex characteristics are underwritten with the assistance of Company personnel.
Middle Market markets and distributes products and services primarily to mid-sized businesses with 50 to 1,000 employees through a large network of independent agents and brokers. The Company offers a full line of products to its Middle Market customers with an emphasis on guaranteed-cost programs. Each account is underwritten based on the unique risk characteristics, loss history and coverage needs of the account. The ability to underwrite at this detailed level allows Middle Market to have a broad risk appetite and a diversified customer base. Within Middle Market, products and services are tailored to certain targeted industry segments of significant size and complexity that require unique underwriting, claims handling services, risk management or other insurance-related products and services.
National Accounts markets and distributes products and services to large companies through a large network of national and regional brokers. Products offered by National Accounts are primarily casualty programs that utilize loss-sensitive products, such as large deductible, and to a lesser extent, retrospectively rated insurance and self-insured retention plans. National Accounts also offers insurance-related services, such as claims administration, risk management, loss control and risk management information services through Constitution State Services LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The commercial residual market business of National Accounts services approximately 36% of the total workers’ compensation assigned risk market, making the Company one of the largest servicing carriers in the industry.
National Property and Other markets and distributes products and services to a wide customer base, providing traditional and customized insurance programs to a broad range of customer sizes through a large network of agents and brokers. National Property and Other also provides insurance coverage to the excess and surplus lines market, which is characterized by the absence of regulation related to rate and form, and allows for more pricing and coverage flexibility to write certain classes of business. In working with agents or program managers on a brokerage basis, National Property and Other underwrites the business internally and sets the premium level. In working with agents or program managers with delegated underwriting authority, the agents produce and underwrite business subject to pricing and underwriting guidelines that have been specifically designed for each facility or program.
International markets and distributes products and services principally through brokers in each of the countries in which it operates. International also writes business at Lloyd’s, where its products are distributed through Lloyd’s wholesale and retail brokers. By virtue of Lloyd’s worldwide licenses, Business Insurance has access to international markets across the world.
Effective January 1, 2025, the Company renewed a quota share reinsurance agreement with subsidiaries of Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited (Fidelis) for 2025 pursuant to which the Company assumes 20% of the subject gross written premiums of Fidelis on a risk-attaching basis, subject to a loss ratio cap. The Company’s portion of premiums from Fidelis is reported as part of the International results of Business Insurance. The Company also has a minority investment in Fidelis.
Business Insurance utilizes underwriting, claims, engineering, actuarial and product development disciplines for particular industries, together with extensive amounts of proprietary data gathered and analyzed over many years, as well as third-party data, to facilitate its risk selection process and develop pricing parameters. Business Insurance utilizes both proprietary forms and standard industry forms for the insurance policies it issues.
A portion of business in this segment, particularly in National Accounts and Construction, is written with large deductible insurance policies. Under workers’ compensation insurance contracts with large deductible features, the Company is obligated to pay the claimant the full amount of the claim. The Company is subsequently reimbursed by the contractholder for the deductible amount and, as a result, is subject to credit risk until such reimbursement is made. At December 31, 2024, contractholder payables on unpaid losses within the deductible layer of large deductible policies were approximately $3.19 billion, and the associated receivables (net of allowance for expected credit losses) were approximately $3.17 billion. Business Insurance also utilizes retrospectively rated policies for a portion of its business, primarily for workers’ compensation coverage. Although the retrospectively rated feature of the policy substantially reduces insurance risk for the Company, it introduces additional credit risk to the Company. Premiums receivable from holders of retrospectively rated policies totaled approximately $46 million at December 31, 2024. Significant collateral, primarily letters of credit and, to a lesser extent, cash collateral, trusts or surety bonds, is generally obtained for large deductible plans and/or retrospectively rated policies that provide for deferred collection of deductible recoveries and/or ultimate premiums. The amount of collateral requested is based upon the creditworthiness of the customer and the nature of the insured risks. Business Insurance regularly monitors the credit exposure on individual accounts and the adequacy of collateral. For additional information concerning credit risk in certain of the Company’s businesses, see “Item 1A—Risk Factors—We are exposed to credit risk in certain of our insurance operations and with respect to certain guarantee or indemnification arrangements that we have with third parties.”
Business Insurance provides the following types of coverages:
Workers’ Compensation. Provides coverage for employers for specified benefits payable under state or federal law for workplace injuries to employees. There are typically four types of benefits payable under workers’ compensation policies: medical benefits, disability benefits, death benefits and vocational rehabilitation benefits. The Company emphasizes managed care cost containment strategies, which involve employers, employees and care providers in a collaborative effort that focuses on the injured employee’s early return to work and cost-effective quality care.
Commercial Automobile. Provides coverage for businesses against losses incurred from personal bodily injury, bodily injury to third parties, property damage to an insured’s vehicle and property damage to other vehicles and other property resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of automobiles and trucks in a business.
Commercial Property. Provides coverage for loss of or damage to buildings, inventory and equipment resulting from a variety of events, including, among others, hurricanes and other windstorms, tornadoes, earthquakes, hail, wildfires, severe winter weather, floods, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, theft, vandalism, fires, explosions, terrorism and financial loss due to business interruption resulting from covered property damage. Commercial property also includes specialized equipment insurance, which provides coverage for loss or damage resulting from the mechanical breakdown of boilers and machinery, and ocean and inland marine insurance, which provides coverage for goods in transit and unique, one-of-a-kind exposures.
General Liability. Provides coverages for businesses against third-party claims arising from accidents occurring on their premises or arising out of their operations, including as a result of injuries sustained from products sold. Coverages may also include directors’ and officers’ liability arising in their official capacities, employment practices liability insurance, fiduciary liability for trustees and sponsors of pension, health and welfare, and other employee benefit plans, errors and omissions insurance for employees, agents, professionals and others arising from acts or failures to act under specified circumstances, cyber liability, as well as umbrella and excess insurance.
Commercial Multi-Peril. Provides a combination of the property and liability coverages described in the foregoing product line descriptions.
The Company offers the above coverages through the following types of products and services:
guaranteed-cost insurance products, where the premiums charged are not adjusted for actual loss experience during the covered period;
loss-sensitive insurance products, including large deductible and retrospectively rated policies, where fees or premiums are adjusted based on actual loss experience of the insured during the policy period; and
service programs, which are generally sold to the Company’s National Accounts customers, where the Company receives fees rather than premiums for providing insurance-related services, such as claims administration, risk management, loss control and risk management information services.
The Company also participates in state assigned risk pools as a servicing carrier and pool participant.
Provides coverage for employers’ liability (similar to workers’ compensation coverage in the United States), public and product liability (the equivalent of general liability), professional indemnity (similar to professional liability coverage), commercial property, commercial automobile, marine, aviation, onshore and offshore energy, construction, terrorism, personal accident and kidnap & ransom. Marine provides coverage for ship hulls, cargoes carried, private yachts, marine-related liability, ports and terminals, and fine art. Aviation provides coverage for worldwide aviation risks, including physical damage and liabilities for airline, aerospace, general aviation, aviation war and space risks. Personal accident provides financial protection in the event of death or disablement due to accidental bodily injury, while kidnap & ransom provides financial protection against kidnap, hijack, illegal detention and extortion. While the covered hazards may be similar to those in the U.S. market, the different legal environments can make the product risks and coverage terms very different from those the Company faces in the United States.
The following discussion reflects the Company’s retention policy with respect to Business Insurance as of January 1, 2025. For third-party liability, Business Insurance generally limits its net retention, through the use of reinsurance, to a maximum of $6.7 million per insured, per occurrence, subject further to a significant aggregate annual deductible. For property exposures, Business Insurance generally limits its net retention, through the use of reinsurance, to a maximum amount per risk of $20.0 million per occurrence. Business Insurance generally retains its workers’ compensation exposures. Reinsurance treaties often have aggregate limits or caps which may result in larger net per-risk retentions if the aggregate limits or caps are reached. Business Insurance utilizes facultative reinsurance to provide additional limits capacity or to reduce retentions on an individual risk basis. Business Insurance may also retain amounts greater than those described herein based upon the individual characteristics of the risk.
The following table shows the geographic distribution of Business Insurance’s direct written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2024:
| Location | % of Total |
|---|---|
| Domestic: | |
| California | 13.2% |
| New York | 8.2 |
| Texas | 7.6 |
| Illinois | 4.3 |
| Florida | 4.1 |
| Pennsylvania | 3.7 |
| New Jersey | 3.7 |
| Georgia | 3.1 |
| All other domestic (1) | 47.6 |
| Total Domestic | 95.5 |
| International: | |
| Canada | 1.7 |
| All other international | 2.8 |
| Total International | 4.5 |
| Total Business Insurance | 100.0% |
(1)No other single state accounted for 3.0% or more of Business Insurance’s direct written premiums in 2024.
The insurance industry is represented in the commercial marketplace by many insurance companies of varying size as well as other entities offering risk alternatives, such as self-insured retentions or captive programs. Market competition operates within the insurance regulatory framework to set the price charged for insurance products and the levels of coverage and service provided. A company’s success in the competitive commercial insurance landscape is largely measured by its ability to profitably provide insurance and services, including claims handling and risk management, at prices and terms that retain existing customers and attract new customers, as well as its financial strength. See “Item 1A—Risk Factors—The intense competition that we face, including with respect to attracting and retaining employees, and the impact of innovation, technological change and changing customer preferences on the insurance industry and the markets in which we operate, could harm our ability to maintain or increase our business volumes and our profitability.”
Competitors typically write Select Accounts business through independent agents and brokers and, to a lesser extent, as direct writers, including through affinity and other partner platforms. Both national (including international companies doing business in the U.S.) and regional property and casualty insurance companies compete in the Select Accounts market which generally comprises lower-hazard, “Main Street” business customers. Risks are underwritten and priced using standard industry practices and a combination of proprietary and standard industry product offerings. Competition in this market is focused on ease and speed of doing business and price.
Competitors typically write Middle Market business through independent agents and brokers. Several of Middle Market’s operations require unique combinations of industry knowledge, customized coverage, specialized risk control and loss handling services, along with partnerships with agents and brokers that also focus on these markets. Competitors in this market are primarily national property and casualty insurance companies (including international companies doing business in the U.S.) that write most classes of business using traditional products and pricing, and regional insurance companies. Companies compete based on product offerings, service levels, price, claim and loss prevention services and ease and speed of doing business. Efficiency through automation and response time to agent, broker and customer needs is one key to success in this market.
In the National Accounts market, competition is based on price, product offerings, claim and loss prevention services, managed care cost containment, risk management information systems and collateral requirements. National Accounts primarily competes with national property and casualty insurance companies (including international companies doing business in the U.S.), as well as with other underwriters of property and casualty insurance in the alternative risk transfer market, such as self-insurance plans, captives managed by others, third-party administrators and a variety of other risk-financing vehicles and mechanisms. The residual market division competes for state contracts to provide claims and policy management services.
National Property and Other competes in focused target markets. Each of these markets is different and requires unique combinations of industry knowledge, customized coverage, specialized risk management and claims handling services, along with partnerships with agents and brokers that also focus on these markets. Some of these businesses compete with national carriers (including international companies doing business in the U.S.) with similarly dedicated underwriting and marketing groups, whereas others compete with smaller regional companies. Specialized agents and brokers, including wholesale agents and program managers, supplement this focused target market approach. National Property and Other’s competitive strategy typically is based on the application of focused industry knowledge to insurance and risk needs.
International competes with numerous international and domestic insurers in Canada, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Companies compete on the basis of price, product offerings, distribution partnerships, the level of claim and risk management services provided and the ease and speed of doing business. The Company has developed expertise in various markets in these countries similar to those served in the United States and provides both property and casualty coverage for these markets.
At Lloyd’s, International competes with other syndicates operating in the Lloyd’s market as well as international and domestic insurers in the various markets where the Lloyd’s operation writes business worldwide, with an emphasis on short-tail insurance lines. Competition is based on price, product, distribution partnerships and service.
BOND & SPECIALTY INSURANCE
Bond & Specialty Insurance offers surety, fidelity, management liability, professional liability, and other property and casualty coverages and related risk management services to its customers, primarily in the United States, and certain surety and specialty insurance products in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Brazil (through a joint venture, as described below), in each case utilizing various degrees of financially-based underwriting approaches. The range of coverages includes performance, payment and commercial surety bonds for construction and general commercial enterprises; management liability coverages including directors’ and officers’ liability, employment practices liability, fidelity liability, fiduciary liability and cyber risk for public corporations, private companies, not-for-profit organizations and financial institutions; professional liability coverage for a variety of professionals including, among others, lawyers and design professionals; in the United States only, property, workers’ compensation, auto and general liability for financial institutions; and transactional liability coverages to public and private companies.
Bond & Specialty Insurance’s surety business in Brazil is conducted through Junto Holding Brasil S.A. (Junto). The Company owns 49.5% of Junto, a market leader in surety coverages in Brazil. This joint venture investment is accounted for using the equity method and is included in “other investments” on the consolidated balance sheet.
On November 3, 2023, the Company announced an agreement to acquire Corvus Insurance Holdings, Inc. (Corvus), a cyber insurance managing general underwriter. On January 2, 2024, the Company completed its acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of Corvus.
Selected Product Information
The following table sets forth Bond & Specialty Insurance’s net written premiums by product line for the periods indicated. For a description of the product lines referred to in the table, see “—Product Lines.” In addition, see “—Principal Markets and Methods of Distribution” for a discussion of distribution channels for Bond & Specialty Insurance’s product lines.
| (for the year ended December 31, in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | % of Total 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic: | ||||
| Fidelity and surety | $1,536 | $1,387 | $1,329 | 37.4% |
| General liability | 1,833 | 1,686 | 1,639 | 44.6 |
| Other | 234 | 230 | 225 | 5.7 |
| Total Domestic | 3,603 | 3,303 | 3,193 | 87.7 |
| International | 506 | 539 | 539 | 12.3 |
| Total Bond & Specialty Insurance | $4,109 | $3,842 | $3,732 | 100.0% |
Bond & Specialty Insurance markets and distributes the vast majority of its products in the United States through many of the same independent agencies and brokers that distribute Business Insurance’s products in the United States. Bond & Specialty Insurance builds relationships with well-established, independent insurance agencies and brokers. In selecting new independent agencies and brokers to distribute its products, Bond & Specialty Insurance considers, among other factors, each agency’s or broker’s profitability, financial stability, staff experience and strategic fit with its operating and marketing plans. Once an agency or broker is appointed, its ongoing performance is regularly monitored. Bond & Specialty Insurance continues to make investments to enable real-time interface capabilities with its independent agencies and brokers. Bond & Specialty Insurance also writes certain products through managing general agents and managing general underwriters.
Bond & Specialty Insurance utilizes underwriting, claims, engineering, actuarial and product development disciplines for specific accounts and industries, together with extensive amounts of proprietary data gathered and analyzed over many years, as well as third-party data, to facilitate its risk selection process and develop pricing parameters. Bond & Specialty Insurance utilizes both proprietary forms and standard industry forms for the insurance policies and bonds it issues.
Bond & Specialty Insurance writes the following types of coverages:
Fidelity and Surety. Provides fidelity insurance coverage, which protects an insured for loss due to embezzlement or misappropriation of funds by an employee, and surety, which is a three-party agreement whereby the surety company agrees to pay a third party or to complete an obligation in response to the default, acts or omissions of a bonded party. Surety bonds are generally provided for construction performance; legal matters, such as appeals; compliance and licensing; and other performance obligations.
General Liability. Provides coverage for specialized liability exposures as described above in more detail in the “Business Insurance” section of this report, as well as transactional liability coverages.
Other. Coverages include Commercial Property, Workers’ Compensation, Commercial Automobile and Commercial Multi-Peril, which are described above in more detail in the “Business Insurance” section of this report.
Fidelity and Surety and certain General Liability products are provided internationally to various customer groups.
The following discussion reflects the Company’s retention policy with respect to Bond & Specialty Insurance as of January 1, 2025. For management liability coverages, including but not limited to directors’ and officers’ liability, professional liability, employment practices liability, fidelity liability, fiduciary liability and cyber risk liability, Bond & Specialty Insurance generally limits net retentions to $25.0 million per policy. For surety, where limits are often significant, Bond & Specialty Insurance generally retains up to $160.0 million probable maximum loss (PML) per principal, after reinsurance, but may retain higher amounts based on the type of obligation, credit quality and other credit risk factors. Reinsurance treaties often have aggregate limits or caps which may result in larger net per risk retentions if the aggregate limits or caps are reached. Bond & Specialty Insurance utilizes facultative reinsurance to provide additional limits capacity or to reduce retentions on an individual risk basis. Bond & Specialty Insurance may also retain amounts greater than those described herein based upon the individual characteristics of the risk.
The following table shows the geographic distribution of Bond & Specialty Insurance’s direct written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2024:
| Location | % of Total |
|---|---|
| Domestic: | |
| California | 10.1% |
| Texas | 7.5 |
| New York | 6.5 |
| Florida | 4.7 |
| Illinois | 3.8 |
| Pennsylvania | 3.4 |
| All other domestic (1) | 51.9 |
| Total Domestic | 87.9 |
| International: | |
| United Kingdom | 5.7 |
| Canada | 4.1 |
| All other international | 2.3 |
| Total International | 12.1 |
| Total Bond & Specialty Insurance | 100.0% |
(1)No other single state accounted for 3.0% or more of Bond & Specialty Insurance’s direct written premiums in 2024.
The competitive landscape in which Bond & Specialty Insurance operates is affected by many of the same factors described above for Business Insurance. Competitors in this market are primarily national property and casualty insurance companies (including international companies doing business in the U.S.) that write most classes of business and, to a lesser extent, regional insurance companies and companies that have developed niche programs for specific industry segments.
Bond & Specialty Insurance underwrites and markets its products to all sizes of businesses and other organizations, as well as individuals. The Company believes that its reputation for timely and consistent decision making and financial stability, a nationwide network of local underwriting, claims and industry experts and strong producer and customer relationships, as well as its ability to offer its customers a full range of products and services, provides Bond & Specialty Insurance an advantage over many of its competitors and enables it to compete effectively in a complex, dynamic marketplace. The Company believes that the ability of Bond & Specialty Insurance to cross-sell its products to customers of Business Insurance and Personal Insurance also provides the Company with a competitive advantage. See “Item 1A—Risk Factors—The intense competition that we face, including with respect to attracting and retaining employees, and the impact of innovation, technological change and changing customer preferences on the insurance industry and the markets in which we operate, could harm our ability to maintain or increase our business volumes and our profitability.”
International competes with numerous international and domestic insurers in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and in Brazil through a joint venture. Companies compete on the basis of price, product offerings, distribution partnerships, the level of claim and risk management services provided, the ease and speed of doing business and stability of the insurer. The Company has developed expertise in various markets in these countries similar to those served in the United States and provides certain specialty coverages for these markets.
PERSONAL INSURANCE
Personal Insurance offers a broad range of property and casualty insurance products and services covering individuals’ personal risks, primarily in the United States, as well as in Canada. Personal Insurance’s primary products of automobile and homeowners insurance are complemented by a broad suite of related coverages.
Selected Product and Distribution Channel Information
The following table sets forth net written premiums for Personal Insurance’s business by product line for the periods indicated. For a description of the product lines referred to in the following table, see “—Product Lines.” In addition, see “—Principal Markets and Methods of Distribution” for a discussion of distribution channels for Personal Insurance’s product lines.
| (for the year ended December 31, in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | % of Total 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic: | ||||
| Automobile | $7,925 | $7,330 | $6,482 | 46.2% |
| Homeowners and Other | 8,550 | 7,949 | 6,916 | 49.8 |
| Total Domestic | 16,475 | 15,279 | 13,398 | 96.0 |
| International | 694 | 650 | 649 | 4.0 |
| Total Personal Insurance | $17,169 | $15,929 | $14,047 | 100.0% |
Personal Insurance products are marketed and distributed primarily through thousands of independent agents and brokers located throughout the United States, supported by personnel in seven sales regions. In addition, sales and service are provided to customers through contact centers. Principal markets for Personal Insurance products are spread throughout the contiguous United States.
In selecting new independent agencies to distribute its products, Personal Insurance considers many factors, including financial stability, staff experience, lead sources, customer facing online and digital capabilities and operating and marketing plans. Once an agency is appointed, Personal Insurance regularly monitors its performance.
Agents can access the Company’s agency service portal for a number of resources, including customer service, marketing and claims management. In addition, agencies can choose to shift the ongoing service responsibility for Personal Insurance’s customers to the Company’s Customer Care Program, where the Company provides, on behalf of an agency, a comprehensive array of customer service needs, including billing inquiries, coverage discussions and account changes. Approximately two thousand agencies take advantage of this service alternative, for which they generally pay a fee.
Personal Insurance also markets and distributes its products directly to consumers, largely through direct mail and digital marketing, and through affinity partners, including employers, credit unions and consumer associations. Personal Insurance handles the sales for these programs through the Company’s contact center locations and the Company’s wholly owned independent agency. Personal Insurance also markets and distributes its products on other distribution platforms, including carrier partnerships. Since 1995, the Company has had a distribution agreement with the agency affiliate of GEICO to underwrite a portion of their homeowners business.
In Canada, the Company markets and distributes its personal insurance products principally through hundreds of brokers located throughout the country.
Personal Insurance has developed a product management methodology that integrates the disciplines of underwriting, claims, actuarial and product development. This approach is designed to maintain high-quality underwriting discipline and pricing segmentation. Proprietary and third-party data accumulated over many years is analyzed, and Personal Insurance uses a variety of risk differentiation models to facilitate its pricing segmentation and underwriting. The Company’s product management area establishes underwriting guidelines integrated with its filed pricing and rating plans, which enable Personal Insurance to effectively execute its risk selection and pricing processes.
Pricing for personal automobile insurance is driven in large part by changes in the frequency of claims and changes in severity, including inflation in the cost of automobile replacements and repairs (including parts and labor), medical care and resolution of liability claims. Pricing in the homeowners business is driven in large part by changes in the frequency of claims and changes in severity, including inflation in the cost of materials, labor and household possessions. In addition to the normal risks associated with any multiple peril coverage, the profitability and pricing of both homeowners and automobile insurance are affected by the incidence of catastrophes and other weather-related events, as well as other unusual circumstances, such as the impact of supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and elevated inflation. Insurers writing personal lines property and casualty policies may be unable to change prices until some time after the costs associated with coverage have changed, primarily because of state insurance rate regulation. The pace at which an insurer can change rates in response to changing costs depends, in part, on whether the applicable state law requires prior approval of rate changes or notification to the regulator either before or after a rate change is imposed. In states with prior approval laws, rates must be approved by the regulator before being used by the insurer. In states having “file-and-use” laws, the insurer must file rate changes with the regulator, but does not need to wait for approval before using the new rates. A “use-and-file” law requires an insurer to file rates within a period of time after the insurer begins using the new rate. Approximately one-half of the states require prior approval of most rate changes. In addition, changes to methods of marketing and underwriting in some jurisdictions are subject to state-imposed restrictions, which can make it more difficult for an insurer to significantly manage catastrophe exposures.
The Company’s ability or willingness to change prices, modify underwriting terms or shift exposure to, or from, certain geographies may be limited due to a number of factors, including public policy, the competitive environment, the evolving political and legislative environment and/or changes in the general economic climate. The Company also may choose to write business it might not otherwise write in some states for strategic purposes, such as improving access to other commercial or personal underwriting opportunities. In choosing to write business in some states, the Company also considers the costs and benefits of those states’ residual markets and guaranty funds, as well as other property and casualty business the Company writes in those states.
Pricing and underwriting for personal automobile and homeowners insurance in Canada is driven in large part by the same factors as in the United States. For personal automobile insurance, all provinces in Canada require prior approval before rates are implemented. In contrast, for personal homeowners insurance, none of the provinces in Canada require regulatory filing or approval, enabling more efficient implementation of product changes into the market.
The primary coverages in Personal Insurance are personal automobile and homeowners and other insurance sold to individuals. Personal Insurance had approximately 8.8 million active policies (i.e., policies-in-force) in the United States at December 31, 2024.
Personal Insurance writes the following types of coverages:
Automobile provides coverage for liability to others for both bodily injury and property damage, uninsured motorist protection, and for physical damage to an insured’s own vehicle from collision, fire, flood, hail and theft. In addition, many states require policies to provide first-party personal injury protection, frequently referred to as no-fault coverage.
Homeowners and Other provides protection against losses to dwellings and contents from a variety of perils (excluding flooding) as well as coverage for personal liability. The Company writes homeowners insurance for dwellings, condominiums and tenants, and rental properties. The Company also writes coverage for boats and yachts, valuable personal items such as jewelry, umbrella liability, and weddings and special events.
International provides automobile and homeowners and other coverages in Canada (similar to coverages in the United States). Personal Insurance had approximately 425,000 active policies in Canada at December 31, 2024.
The following discussion reflects the Company’s retention policy with respect to Personal Insurance as of January 1, 2025. Personal Insurance generally retains its primary personal auto exposures in their entirety. For personal property insurance, there is an $8.0 million maximum retention per risk, net of reinsurance. Personal Insurance uses facultative reinsurance to provide additional limits capacity or to reduce retentions on an individual risk basis. Personal Insurance issues umbrella policies up to a maximum limit of $10.0 million per risk. Personal Insurance may also retain amounts greater than those described herein based upon the individual characteristics of the risk.
The following table shows the geographic distribution of Personal Insurance’s direct written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2024:
| Location | % of Total |
|---|---|
| Domestic: | |
| Texas (1) | 11.3% |
| New York | 8.7 |
| California | 6.9 |
| Georgia | 4.7 |
| Pennsylvania | 4.7 |
| Florida | 4.1 |
| New Jersey | 3.9 |
| Maryland | 3.7 |
| Virginia | 3.5 |
| Colorado | 3.5 |
| Massachusetts | 3.5 |
| Illinois | 3.0 |
| Connecticut | 3.0 |
| All other domestic (2) | 31.5 |
| Total Domestic | 96.0 |
| International: | |
| Canada | 4.0 |
| Total International | 4.0 |
| Total Personal Insurance | 100.0% |
(1)The percentage for Texas includes business written by the Company through a fronting agreement with another insurer.
(2)No other single state accounted for 3.0% or more of Personal Insurance’s direct written premiums in 2024.
Although national companies (including international companies doing business in the U.S.) write the majority of this business, Personal Insurance also faces competition from many regional and local companies. Competitors write business in both traditional and alternative distribution platforms through independent agents and as direct writers, either through the use of exclusive agents, salaried employees or direct marketing strategies. Personal Insurance primarily competes based on breadth of product offerings, price, service (including claims handling), partner and customer experience, stability of the insurer and name recognition. In the independent agent channel, Personal Insurance competes for business within each independent agency since these agencies also offer policies from competing companies. Most independent personal insurance agents utilize price comparison rating technology, sometimes referred to as “comparative raters,” as a cost-efficient means of obtaining quotes from multiple companies. Because the use of this technology facilitates the process of generating multiple quotes, the technology has increased price comparison on new and renewal business.
Personal Insurance competes with numerous international and domestic insurers in Canada. Companies compete based on similar factors to those described above for domestic operations. The Company has developed expertise in various markets in Canada similar to those served in the United States and provides both automobile and homeowners and other coverages for this market.
See “Item 1A—Risk Factors—The intense competition that we face, including with respect to attracting and retaining employees, and the impact of innovation, technological change and changing customer preferences on the insurance industry and the markets in which we operate, could harm our ability to maintain or increase our business volumes and our profitability.”
CLAIMS MANAGEMENT
The Company’s claim functions are managed through its Claims Services organization, with locations in the United States and in the other countries where it does business. With approximately 12,700 employees, Claims Services employs a group of professionals with diverse skills, including claim adjusters, appraisers, attorneys, investigators, engineers, accountants, nurses, data and analytics professionals, system specialists and training, management and support personnel. Approved external service providers, such as investigators, attorneys and, when necessary, independent adjusters and appraisers, are available for use as appropriate.
United States field claim management teams located in 16 claim centers and 56 satellite and specialty-only offices in 42 states are organized to maintain focus on the specific claim characteristics unique to the businesses within the Company’s business segments. Claim teams with specialized skills, required licenses, resources and workflows are matched to the unique exposures of those businesses, with local claims management dedicated to achieving optimal results within each segment, including acting as a third-party administrator for large customers who self-insure and retain the Company to handle their claims process on a fee-for-service basis. The Company’s home office operations provide additional support in the form of workflow design, quality management, information technology, advanced management information and data analysis, training, financial reporting and controls, and human resources strategy. This structure permits the Company to maintain the economies of scale of a large, established company while retaining the agility to respond promptly to the needs of customers, brokers, agents and underwriters. Claims management for International, while generally provided locally by staff in the respective international locations due to local knowledge of applicable laws and regulations, is also managed by the Company’s Claims Services organization in the United States to leverage that knowledge base and to share best practices.
An integral part of the Company’s strategy to benefit customers and shareholders is its continuing industry leadership in the fight against insurance fraud through its Investigative Services unit. The Company has a nationwide staff of experts who investigate a wide array of insurance fraud schemes using in-house forensic resources and other technological tools. This staff also has specialized expertise in fire scene examinations, medical provider fraud schemes, law firm fraud schemes and data mining. The Company also dedicates investigative resources to ensure that violations of law are reported to and prosecuted by law enforcement agencies.
Claims Services uses technology, management information and data analysis to assist the Company in reviewing its claim practices and results in order to evaluate and improve its claims management performance. The Company’s claims-management strategy is focused on segmentation of claims and appropriate technical specialization to drive effective claim resolution. The Company regularly monitors its investment in claim resources to maintain an effective focus on claim outcomes and a disciplined approach to continual improvement. The Company operates a state-of-the-art claims-training facility which offers hands-on experiential learning to help ensure that its claim professionals are properly trained. In recent years, the Company has invested significant additional resources in many of its claims handling operations, including digital, analytics, artificial intelligence and automation capabilities. The Company regularly monitors the effect of these investments to ensure a consistent optimization among outcomes, cost and service.
Claims Services’ catastrophe response strategy is to respond to a significant catastrophic event using its own personnel, enabling it to minimize reliance on independent adjusters and appraisers. The Company has developed a large, dedicated Catastrophe Response Team and has also trained a large Enterprise Response Team of existing employees. The latter team can be deployed on short notice in the event of a catastrophe that generates claim volume exceeding the capacity of the dedicated Catastrophe Response Team. In recent years, these internal resources and expanded digital capabilities were successfully deployed to respond to a significant level of catastrophe claims.
REINSURANCE
The Company reinsures a portion of the risks it underwrites in order to manage its exposure to losses and to protect its capital. The Company cedes to reinsurers a portion of these risks and pays premiums based upon the risk and exposure of the policies subject to such reinsurance. The Company utilizes a variety of reinsurance agreements to manage its exposure to large property and casualty losses, including facultative as well as catastrophe and individual risk treaties. Ceded reinsurance involves credit risk, except with regard to mandatory pools and associations, and is predominantly subject to aggregate loss limits. Although the reinsurer is liable to the Company to the extent of the reinsurance ceded, the Company remains liable as the direct insurer on all risks reinsured. Reinsurance recoverables are reported after reductions for known insolvencies and after allowances for uncollectible amounts. The Company also holds collateral, including trust agreements, escrow funds and letters of credit, under certain reinsurance agreements. The Company monitors the financial condition of reinsurers on a regular basis and reviews its reinsurance arrangements periodically. Reinsurers are selected based on their financial condition, business practices, the price of their product offerings and the value of collateral provided. After reinsurance is purchased, the Company has limited ability to manage the credit risk of a reinsurer. In addition, in a number of jurisdictions, particularly the European Union and the United Kingdom and a small number of U.S. states, a reinsurer is permitted to transfer a reinsurance arrangement to another reinsurer, which may be less creditworthy, without a counterparty’s consent, provided that the transfer has been approved by the applicable regulatory and/or court authority.
For additional information regarding reinsurance, see note 6 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements and “Item 1A—Risk Factors—We may not be able to collect all amounts due to us from reinsurers, reinsurance coverage may not be available to us in the future at commercially reasonable rates or at all and we are exposed to credit risk related to our structured settlements.” For a description of reinsurance-related litigation, see note 17 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
Catastrophe Reinsurance
Catastrophes include hurricanes, tornadoes and other windstorms, earthquakes, hail, wildfires, severe winter weather, floods, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, solar flares and other naturally-occurring events. Catastrophes can also be man-made, such as terrorist attacks and other destructive acts including those involving cyber events, nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological events, civil unrest, explosions and destruction of infrastructure. The incidence and severity of catastrophes are inherently unpredictable. The extent of losses from a catastrophe is a function of both the total amount of insured exposure affected by the event and the severity of the event. Most catastrophes are restricted to small geographic areas; however, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, cyber attacks and other events may produce significant damage or loss in larger areas, especially those areas that are heavily populated. For additional information regarding catastrophes, see “Item 1A—Risk Factors—High levels of catastrophe losses, including as a result of factors such as increased concentrations of insured exposures in catastrophe-prone areas and changing climate conditions, could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, our financial position and/or liquidity, and could adversely impact our ratings, our ability to raise capital and the availability and cost of reinsurance.” The Company generally seeks to manage its exposure to catastrophes through individual risk selection and the purchase of catastrophe reinsurance. In addition to the Company’s catastrophe reinsurance coverages, the Company is also party to other reinsurance treaties that can provide additional coverage for losses arising from catastrophes, as described in the “Net Retention Policy Per Risk” sections of the respective segment discussions above. The Company conducts reviews of its risk and catastrophe coverages on a regular basis and makes changes as it deems appropriate. The following discussion summarizes the Company’s catastrophe reinsurance coverage at January 1, 2025.
Corporate Catastrophe Excess-of-Loss Reinsurance Treaty. This treaty covers the accumulation of certain property losses arising from one or multiple occurrences for the period January 1, 2025, through and including December 31, 2025. The treaty provides for recovery of 80% of each qualifying loss in excess of a $4.0 billion retention up to $5.0 billion, 95% of losses in excess of $5.0 billion up to $7.5 billion and 100% of losses in excess of $7.5 billion up to $8.0 billion. Therefore, the maximum recovery under the treaty would be $3.7 billion, or 92%, of the total $4.0 billion limit. Qualifying losses for each occurrence are after a $100 million deductible. The treaty covers all of the Company’s exposures in North America and all waters contiguous thereto. The treaty only provides coverage for terrorism events in limited circumstances and excludes entirely losses arising from nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological attacks. The treaty only provides coverage for cyber events and civil unrest in limited circumstances and excludes losses arising from communicable disease. The Company’s underlying insurance coverages generally exclude coverage for communicable disease.
Catastrophe Bonds. The Company has catastrophe protection through an indemnity reinsurance agreement with Long Point Re IV Ltd. (Long Point Re IV), an independent Bermuda company registered as a special purpose insurer under the Bermuda Insurance Act of 1978 and related regulations. The reinsurance agreement meets the requirements to be accounted for as reinsurance in accordance with the guidance for reinsurance contracts. In connection with the reinsurance agreement, Long Point Re IV issued notes (generally referred to as “catastrophe bonds”) to investors in amounts equal to the full coverage provided under the reinsurance agreement as described below. The proceeds of the issuance were deposited in a reinsurance trust account. The businesses covered by this reinsurance agreement are subsets of the Company’s overall insurance portfolio, comprising specified property coverages spread across the following geographic locations: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
The reinsurance agreement provides coverage of up to $575 million to the Company through May 24, 2026 for certain losses from tropical cyclones, earthquakes, severe thunderstorms or winter storms in the locations listed above. The attachment point and maximum limit under this agreement are reset annually to adjust the expected loss of the layer within a predetermined range. For events up to and including May 24, 2025, this treaty provides up to $575 million of coverage, subject to a $2.8 billion retention. The coverage under the reinsurance agreement is limited to specified property coverage written in Personal Insurance; Select Accounts, Middle Market (excluding Excess Casualty and Boiler & Machinery) and National Property and Other in Business Insurance; and Other in Bond & Specialty Insurance.
Under the terms of the reinsurance agreement, the Company is obligated to pay annual reinsurance premiums to Long Point Re IV for the reinsurance coverage. Amounts payable to the Company under the reinsurance agreement with respect to any covered event cannot exceed the Company’s actual losses from such event. The principal amount of the catastrophe bonds will be reduced by any amounts paid to the Company under the reinsurance agreement.
As with any reinsurance agreement, there is credit risk associated with collecting amounts due from reinsurers. With regard to Long Point Re IV, the credit risk is mitigated by a reinsurance trust account that has been funded by Long Point Re IV with money market funds that invest solely in direct government obligations and obligations backed by the U.S. government with maturities of no more than 13 months. The money market funds must have a principal stability rating of at least AAAm by Standard & Poor’s or AAAmmf by Fitch Ratings on the issuance date of the bonds and thereafter must be rated by Standard & Poor’s or Fitch Ratings, as applicable. Other permissible investments include money market funds which invest in repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements collateralized by direct government obligations and obligations of any agency backed by the U.S. government with terms of no more than 397 calendar days, and cash.
At the time the agreement was entered into with Long Point Re IV, the Company evaluated the applicability of the accounting guidance that addresses variable interest entities or VIEs. Under this guidance, an entity that is formed for business purposes is considered a VIE if: (a) the equity investors lack the direct or indirect ability through voting rights or similar rights to make decisions about an entity’s activities that have a significant effect on the entity’s operations or (b) the equity investors do not provide sufficient financial resources for the entity to support its activities. Additionally, a company that absorbs a majority of the expected losses from a VIE’s activities or is entitled to receive a majority of the entity’s expected residual returns, or both, is considered to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE and is required to consolidate the VIE in the company’s financial statements.
As a result of the evaluation of the reinsurance agreement with Long Point Re IV, the Company concluded that it was a VIE because the conditions described in items (a) and (b) above were present. However, while Long Point Re IV was determined to be a VIE, the Company concluded that it did not have a variable interest in the entity, as the variability in its results, caused by the reinsurance agreement, is expected to be absorbed entirely by the investors in the catastrophe bonds issued by Long Point Re IV and residual amounts earned by it, if any, are expected to be absorbed by the equity investors (the Company has neither an equity nor a residual interest in Long Point Re IV).
Accordingly, the Company is not the primary beneficiary of Long Point Re IV and does not consolidate that entity in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Additionally, because the Company has no intention to pursue any transaction that would result in it acquiring interest in and becoming the primary beneficiary of Long Point Re IV, the consolidation of that entity in the Company’s consolidated financial statements in future periods is unlikely.
The Company has not incurred any losses that have resulted or are expected to result in a recovery under the Long Point Re IV agreement since its inception.
Personal Insurance Hurricane Catastrophe Excess-of-Loss Reinsurance Treaty. This treaty provides up to $500 million part of $1.00 billion of coverage for a single event, subject to a $2.00 billion retention (i.e., for every dollar of loss between $2.00 billion and $3.00 billion, this treaty provides 50 cents of coverage), for homeowners property losses arising from a hurricane or tropical storm for the period from July 1, 2024 through and including June 30, 2025. The treaty covers the United States coastal states from Texas to Maine, excluding Florida.
Northeast Property Catastrophe Excess-of-Loss Reinsurance Treaty. This treaty provides up to $1.00 billion of coverage, subject to a $2.75 billion retention, for losses arising from a single occurrence and allows for one reinstatement. Coverage is provided on an all perils basis, including but not limited to hurricanes, tornadoes, hail storms, earthquakes, winter storms and/or freeze losses (coverage is included for terrorism events in limited circumstances). Coverage for cyber events applies only in limited circumstances, and coverage for communicable disease and nuclear, biological and radiological terrorism attacks is excluded from this treaty. The treaty covers territory from Virginia to Maine for the period from July 1, 2024 through and including June 30, 2025. Losses from a covered event anywhere in North America and waters contiguous thereto may be used to satisfy the retention. Recoveries under the catastrophe bonds (if any) would be first applied to reduce losses subject to this treaty.
Business Insurance Earthquake Catastrophe Excess-of-Loss Reinsurance Treaty. This treaty provided up to $293 million part of $325 million of coverage for Middle Market, subject to a $135 million retention (i.e., for every dollar of loss between $135 million and $460 million, this treaty provided 90 cents of coverage) for the period from July 1, 2024 through and including June 30, 2025. This treaty was cancelled mid-term and replaced with a new Business Insurance treaty that provides up to $775 million part of $1.00 billion of coverage, subject to a $350 million retention (i.e., for every dollar of loss between $350 million and $1.35 billion, this treaty provides 77.5 cents of coverage) for the period from February 1, 2025, through and including January 31, 2026. The treaty covers losses arising from an earthquake, including other ensuing causes of loss such as fire following and sprinkler leakage, incurred under policies written by domestic Business Insurance (with the exception of Ocean Marine). The treaty covers the United States and Canada, their territories, possessions and waters contiguous thereto.
Personal Insurance Earthquake Catastrophe Excess-of-Loss Reinsurance Treaty. This treaty provides up to $160 million part of $200 million of coverage, subject to a $170 million retention, for losses occurring from an earthquake, including fire following and sprinkler leakage, incurred by Personal Insurance from January 1, 2025 through and including December 31, 2025. The treaty covers the United States, its territories, possessions and waters contiguous thereto.
Canadian Property Catastrophe Excess-of-Loss Reinsurance Treaty. This treaty provides coverage for 50% of losses in excess of C$100 million (US$69 million at December 31, 2024) up to C$200 million (US$139 million at December 31, 2024) and for 100% of losses in excess of C$200 million (US$139 million at December 31, 2024) up to C$500 million (US$347 million at December 31, 2024), in each case with respect to the accumulation of net property losses arising out of one occurrence on business written by the Company’s Canadian businesses for the period from July 1, 2024 through and including June 30, 2025. The treaty covers all property written by the Company’s Canadian businesses, including, but not limited to, habitational property, commercial property, inland marine, ocean marine and auto physical damages exposures. Coverage for cyber events applies only in limited circumstances, and coverage for communicable disease and nuclear, biological and radiological terrorism attacks is excluded from this treaty.
Other International Reinsurance Treaties. For other business underwritten in Canada, as well as for business written in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and in the Company’s operations at Lloyd’s, separate reinsurance protections are purchased locally that have lower net retentions more commensurate with the size of the respective local balance sheet.
Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program is a Federal program administered by the Department of the Treasury authorized through December 31, 2027 that provides for a system of shared public and private compensation for certain insured losses resulting from certified acts of terrorism. For a further description of the program, including the Company’s estimated deductible under the program in 2025, see note 6 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements and “Item 1A—Risk Factors—High levels of catastrophe losses, including as a result of factors such as increased concentrations of insured exposures in catastrophe-prone areas and changing climate conditions, could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, our financial position and/or liquidity, and could adversely impact our ratings, our ability to raise capital and the availability and cost of reinsurance.”
CLAIMS AND CLAIM ADJUSTMENT EXPENSE RESERVES
Claims and claim adjustment expense reserves represent management’s estimate of the ultimate liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses for claims that have been reported and claims that have been incurred but not yet reported as of the balance sheet date.
The Company refines its reserve estimates as part of its regular ongoing process that includes reviews of key assumptions, underlying variables and historical loss experience. The Company reflects adjustments to reserves in the results of operations in the periods in which the estimates are changed. In establishing reserves, the Company takes into account estimated recoveries for reinsurance, salvage and subrogation. The reserves are reviewed regularly by qualified actuaries employed by the Company. For additional information on the process of estimating reserves and a discussion of underlying variables and risk factors, see “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Estimates.”
The process of estimating loss reserves involves a high degree of judgment and is subject to a number of variables. These variables (discussed by product line in the “Critical Accounting Estimates” section of “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”) are affected by both internal and external events, such as changes in claims handling procedures, inflation, judicial trends, the tort environment and the legislative landscape, among others. The impact of many of these items on ultimate costs for claims and claim adjustment expenses is difficult to estimate. Reserve estimation difficulties also differ significantly by product line due to differences in the underlying insurance contract (e.g., claims-made versus occurrence), claim complexity, the volume of claims, the potential severity of individual claims, the determination of the occurrence date for a claim, and reporting lags (the time between the occurrence of the insured event and when it is actually reported to the insurer). Informed judgment is applied throughout the process.
The Company derives estimates for unreported claims and development with respect to reported claims principally from actuarial analyses of historical patterns of loss development by accident year for each business unit, product line and type of exposure. Similarly, the Company derives estimates of unpaid loss adjustment expenses principally from actuarial analyses of historical development patterns and the relationship of loss adjustment expenses to losses for each product line and type of exposure. For a description of the Company’s reserving methods for asbestos and environmental claims, see “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Asbestos Claims and Litigation,” and “—Environmental Claims and Litigation.”
Certain of the Company’s claims and claim adjustment expense reserves are discounted to present value. See note 8 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion.
Reserves on Statutory Accounting Basis
At December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, claims and claim adjustment expense reserves (net of reinsurance) prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP reserves) were $93 million higher, $87 million higher and $91 million higher, respectively, than those reported in the Company’s respective annual financial reports filed with insurance regulators, which are prepared in accordance with statutory accounting practices (statutory reserves).
The differences between the amount of reserves reported for GAAP and statutory reporting are primarily due to the differences in accounting for: (i) fee reimbursements associated with large deductible business, (ii) the impact of updated guidance for credit losses applicable to structured settlements and (iii) the accounting for reinsurance.
For large deductible business, the Company pays the deductible portion of a casualty insurance claim and then seeks reimbursement from the insured, plus a fee. The associated reserves for claim adjustment expenses are reported gross of the expected fee income (i.e., the reserves are not net of the expected fees) for GAAP reporting. For statutory reporting, the associated reserves are reported net of the expected fee income.
For GAAP reporting, amounts payable under structured settlements for which the Company did not receive a release of its obligation from the claimant are reported in loss reserves and reinsurance recoverables, net of an allowance for estimated uncollectible amounts. For statutory reporting, structured settlements for which the Company has not obtained a release are disclosed as a contingent liability and not recorded as part of loss reserves.
Reserves for claims and claim adjustment expenses are reported gross of reinsurance recoverables (i.e., without reduction for amounts recoverable for reinsurance) for GAAP reporting. For statutory reporting, the reserves are reported net of reinsurance recoverables. Additionally, reinsurance balances resulting from reinsurance placed to cover losses on insured events occurring prior to the inception of a reinsurance contract (retroactive reinsurance) are included in reinsurance recoverables for GAAP reporting. Statutory accounting practices require retroactive reinsurance balances to be recorded in other liabilities as contra-liabilities rather than in loss reserves.
Asbestos and Environmental Claims
Asbestos and environmental claims are segregated from other claims and are handled separately within the Company’s Strategic Resolution Group, a separate unit staffed by dedicated legal, claim, finance and engineering professionals which also has responsibility for enterprise-wide major case activity. For additional information on asbestos and environmental claims, see “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Asbestos Claims and Litigation” and “—Environmental Claims and Litigation.”
INTERCOMPANY REINSURANCE POOLING ARRANGEMENTS
Most of the Company’s domestic insurance subsidiaries participate in an intercompany property and casualty reinsurance pooling arrangement. Under such arrangements, the participating subsidiaries share substantially all insurance business they write by reinsuring their combined premiums, losses and expenses to each participating subsidiary in accordance with the quota share participation rate provided in the intercompany agreement. Pooling arrangements allow the participating companies to rely on the capacity of the entire pool’s statutory capital and surplus rather than just on each participating subsidiary’s own statutory capital and surplus.
RATINGS
Ratings are an important factor in assessing the Company’s competitive position in the insurance industry. The Company receives ratings from the following major rating agencies: A.M. Best Company (A.M. Best), Fitch Ratings (Fitch), Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) and S&P Global Ratings (S&P). Rating agencies typically issue two types of ratings for insurance companies: claims-paying (or financial strength) ratings, which reflect the rating agency’s assessment of an insurer’s ability to meet its financial obligations to policyholders, and debt ratings, which reflect the rating agency’s assessment of a company’s prospects for repaying its debts and are considered by lenders in connection with the setting of interest rates and terms for a company’s short- and long-term borrowings. Agency ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and they may be revised or withdrawn at any time by the rating agency. Each agency’s rating should be evaluated independently of any other agency’s rating. The system and the number of rating categories can vary widely from rating agency to rating agency. Customers usually focus on claims-paying ratings, while creditors focus on debt ratings. Investors use both to evaluate a company’s overall financial strength. The ratings issued on the Company or its subsidiaries by any of these agencies are announced publicly and are available on the Company’s website and from the agencies.
A downgrade in one or more of the Company’s claims-paying ratings could negatively impact the Company’s business volumes and competitive position because demand for certain of its products may be reduced, particularly because some customers require that the Company maintain minimum ratings to enter into, maintain or renew business with it.
Additionally, a downgrade in one or more of the Company’s debt ratings could adversely impact the Company’s ability to access the capital markets and other sources of funds, including in the syndicated bank loan market, and/or result in higher financing costs. For example, downgrades in the Company’s debt ratings could result in higher interest expense under the Company’s revolving credit agreement (under which the cost of borrowing could range from the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 85 basis points (including a credit spread adjustment) to SOFR plus 147.5 basis points (including a credit spread adjustment), depending on the Company’s debt ratings), the Company’s commercial paper program, or in the event that the Company were to access the capital markets by issuing debt or similar types of securities. See note 9 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements for a discussion of the Company’s revolving credit agreement and commercial paper program. The Company considers the level of increased cash funding requirements in the event of a ratings downgrade as part of the evaluation of the Company’s liquidity requirements. The Company currently believes that a one- to two-notch downgrade in its debt ratings would not result in a material increase in interest expense under its existing credit agreement and commercial paper programs. In addition, the Company considers the impact of a ratings downgrade as part of the evaluation of its common share repurchases.
S&P updated its capital adequacy model in 2023. The updated model resulted in a modest improvement in its assessment of the Company’s capital metrics. As part of its capital management strategy, the Company will continue to make its own assessment of the appropriate level of capital to support the Company’s business operations. For a discussion of the risks to the Company’s claims-paying and financial strength ratings, see the risk factor entitled “A downgrade in our claims-paying and financial strength ratings could adversely impact our business volumes, adversely impact our ability to access the capital markets and increase our borrowing costs” included in “Part I—Item 1A—Risk Factors.”
Claims — Paying Ratings
The following table summarizes the current claims-paying (or financial strength) ratings for each of the Company’s rated entities as of February 13, 2025, including the position of each rating in the applicable agency’s rating scale.
| A.M. Best · Moody’s · S&P · Fitch | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelers Reinsurance Pool (a)(b) · A++ · (1st of 16) · Aa2 · (3rd of 21) · AA · (3rd of 21) · AA (3rd of 21) | |||||||||
| Travelers C&S Co. of America · A++ · (1st of 16) · Aa2 · (3rd of 21) · AA · (3rd of 21) · AA (3rd of 21) | |||||||||
| First Floridian Auto and Home Ins. Co. | A- | (4th of 16) | — | — | AA (3rd of 21) | ||||
| Travelers Insurance Company of Canada | A++ | (1st of 16) | — | AA- | (4th of 21) | — | |||
| The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company | A | (3rd of 16) | — | — | — | ||||
| Travelers Insurance Company Limited | A++ | (1st of 16) | — | AA | (3rd of 21) | — | |||
| Travelers Insurance Designated Activity Company | A++ | (1st of 16) | — | AA- | (4th of 21) | — | |||
(a)The Travelers Reinsurance Pool consists of: The Travelers Indemnity Company, The Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company, The Phoenix Insurance Company, The Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut, The Travelers Indemnity Company of America, Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, Travelers Commercial Casualty Company, TravCo Insurance Company, The Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, Northland Insurance Company, Northland Casualty Company, The Standard Fire Insurance Company, The Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America, Farmington Casualty Company, Travelers Commercial Insurance Company, Travelers Casualty Company of Connecticut, Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company, Travelers Personal Security Insurance Company, Travelers Personal Insurance Company, St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, The Travelers Casualty Company, St. Paul Protective Insurance Company, Travelers Constitution State Insurance Company, St. Paul Guardian Insurance Company, St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company, Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriters, Inc., TravCo Personal Insurance Company and United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company. In addition, the following entities are also members of the Travelers Reinsurance Pool but have a 0% share of the pool: Northfield Insurance Company, American Equity Specialty Insurance Company, Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company, St. Paul Surplus Lines Insurance Company and Travelers Specialty Insurance Company.
(b)The following affiliated companies are 100% reinsured by one of the pool participants noted in (a) above: Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Company, Gulf Underwriters Insurance Company, American Equity Insurance Company, Select Insurance Company, The Travelers Lloyds Insurance Company and Travelers Lloyds of Texas Insurance Company.
Debt Ratings
The following table summarizes the current debt, trust preferred securities and commercial paper ratings of the Company and its subsidiaries as of February 13, 2025. The table also presents the position of each rating in the applicable agency’s rating scale.
| A.M. Best | Moody’s | S&P | Fitch | |||||
| Senior debt | a+ (5th of 22) | A2 | (6th of 21) | A | (6th of 22) | A | (6th of 22) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior subordinated debentures | a- (7th of 22) | A3 | (7th of 21) | BBB+ | (8th of 22) | BBB+ | (8th of 22) | |
| Commercial paper | AMB-1+ (1st of 5) | P-1 | (1st of 4) | A-1 | (2nd of 10) | F1 | (2nd of 8) | |
Rating Agency Actions
The following rating agency actions were taken with respect to the Company from February 15, 2024, the date on which the Company filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, through February 13, 2025:
On April 22, 2024, Moody’s affirmed all ratings of the Company. The outlook for all ratings is stable.
On June 18, 2024, S&P affirmed all ratings of the Company. The outlook for all ratings is stable.
On August 2, 2024, A.M. Best affirmed all ratings of the Company. The outlook for all ratings is stable.
On November 25, 2024, Fitch affirmed all ratings of the Company. The outlook for all ratings is stable.
INVESTMENT OPERATIONS
The majority of funds available for investment are deployed in a widely diversified portfolio of high quality, liquid, taxable U.S. government, tax-exempt and taxable U.S. municipal and taxable corporate and U.S. agency mortgage-backed bonds. The Company regularly monitors the effective duration of its fixed maturity investments, and the Company’s investment purchases and sales are executed with the objective of having adequate funds available to satisfy its insurance and debt obligations. Generally, the expected principal and interest payments produced by the Company’s fixed maturity portfolio adequately fund the estimated runoff of the Company’s insurance reserves. The Company manages the investment duration relative to its liability duration. In 2024, the estimated effective duration of the Company’s portfolio of fixed maturity and short-term security investments increased, primarily driven by the impact of higher interest rates, as well as the composition of the investment portfolio. In 2024, the estimated effective duration of the Company’s net insurance liabilities decreased, primarily reflecting the impact of the mix of net insurance liabilities and higher interest rates. At December 31, 2024, the estimated effective duration of the Company’s portfolio of fixed maturity and short-term security investments was greater than the estimated effective duration of the Company’s net insurance liabilities. The substantial amount by which the fair value of the fixed maturity portfolio exceeds the value of the net insurance liabilities, as well as the positive cash flow from newly sold policies and the large amount of high-quality liquid bonds, contributes to the Company’s ability to fund claim payments without having to sell illiquid assets or access its credit facilities.
The Company also invests much smaller amounts in equity securities, real estate, private equity limited partnerships, hedge funds, and real estate partnerships and joint ventures. These investment classes have the potential for higher returns but also involve varying degrees of risk, including less stable rates of return and less liquidity.
See note 3 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding the Company’s investment portfolio.
REGULATION
U.S. State and Federal Regulation
The Company’s domestic insurance subsidiaries are collectively licensed to transact insurance business in all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands and are subject to regulation in both the various states and jurisdictions in which the subsidiaries are legally domiciled and in which the subsidiaries transact business. The extent of regulation varies, but generally derives from statutes that delegate regulatory, supervisory, and administrative authority to a department of insurance or finance in each state and jurisdiction. The regulation, supervision, and administration relate, among other things, to standards of solvency that must be met and maintained, the nature of and limitations on investments, premium rates, restrictions on the type and size of risks that may be insured under a single policy, reserves and provisions for unearned premiums, losses and other obligations, deposits of securities for the benefit of policyholders, the licensing of insurers and their agents, approval of policy forms and the regulation of market conduct, including the use of credit and other information in underwriting as well as other underwriting and claims practices. State insurance departments also conduct periodic examinations of the financial condition and market conduct of insurance companies and require the filing of various financial and other reports on a quarterly and annual basis.
State insurance regulation continues to evolve in response to the changing economic and business environment as well as efforts by regulators internationally to develop a consistent approach to regulation. While the U.S. federal government has not historically regulated the insurance business, the Federal Insurance Office (or FIO), which was established within the U.S. Treasury Department as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, has limited authority over the insurance industry. State insurance regulators, through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), along with the Federal Reserve and the FIO have been active in the efforts by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to develop international regulatory standards for the insurance industry that, if adopted by the states, would result in changes to the regulation of insurance in the U.S. In response to these international efforts, the state insurance regulators, through the NAIC, undertook several initiatives to consider and develop changes to the U.S. regulatory framework, including the development of regulatory tools to evaluate risks and establish capital standards on a groupwide basis in addition to the current requirements imposed on a legal-entity basis.
These changes are evidenced by the incorporation of supervisory colleges into the U.S. regulatory framework to facilitate oversight of insurers at a group level that have been designated an internationally active insurance group by the group’s lead state regulator. A supervisory college is a forum of the regulators having jurisdictional authority over a holding company’s various insurance subsidiaries, including foreign insurance subsidiaries, convened to meet with the insurer’s executive management to evaluate the insurer’s business strategies, approach to enterprise risk management and corporate governance from both a groupwide and legal-entity perspective.
While insurance in the United States is regulated on a legal-entity basis, the NAIC has adopted changes to its Model Holding Company Act that some states, including the State of Connecticut, have enacted to allow the insurance commissioner to be designated as the groupwide supervisor (i.e., lead state commissioner) for the insurance holding company system based upon certain criteria, including the jurisdiction of domicile of the insurance subsidiaries holding the majority of the insurance group’s premiums, assets, or liabilities. Based upon these criteria, the State of Connecticut Insurance Department is designated as the Company’s lead regulator and coordinates supervisory colleges for the Company. Additionally, in response to international efforts to establish capital standards on a groupwide basis, the NAIC adopted changes to its Model Holding Company Act to require certain insurance groups to file a Group Capital Calculation to allow the groupwide supervisor (lead state) to evaluate the risks and available capital on a groupwide basis in addition to the risk-based capital requirements currently imposed on a legal-entity basis. The State of Connecticut amended its holding company act to incorporate the changes made to the NAIC Model Holding Company Act and required insurers, including the Company, to file a Group Capital Calculation beginning in 2023. These changes have not impacted the amount of capital the Company’s insurance subsidiaries are required to have.
Insurance Regulation Concerning Dividends from Insurance Subsidiaries. The Company’s principal domestic insurance subsidiaries are domiciled in the State of Connecticut. The Connecticut insurance holding company laws require notice to, and approval by, the state insurance commissioner for the declaration or payment of any dividend from an insurance subsidiary that, together with other distributions made within the preceding twelve months, exceeds the greater of 10% of the insurance subsidiary’s statutory capital and surplus as of the preceding December 31 st, or the insurance subsidiary’s net income for the twelve-month period ending the preceding December 31 st, in each case determined in accordance with the statutory accounting practices prescribed or permitted by the State of Connecticut Insurance Department. This declaration or payment is further limited by the amount of adjusted unassigned surplus held by the insurance subsidiaries, as determined in accordance with statutory accounting practices.
The insurance holding company laws of states in which the Company’s other domestic insurance subsidiaries are domiciled generally contain similar, although in some instances somewhat more restrictive, limitations on the payment of dividends. These insurance subsidiaries, as well as the insurance subsidiaries domiciled in Connecticut, may also be subject to similar dividends limitations imposed by states in which those subsidiaries are considered commercially domiciled as a result of the amount of business written in those states.
Rate and Rule Approvals. TRV’s domestic insurance subsidiaries are subject to each state’s laws and regulations regarding rate and rule approvals. The applicable laws and regulations generally establish standards to ensure that rates are not excessive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory or used to engage in unfair price competition. An insurer’s ability to adjust rates and the relative timing of the process are dependent upon each state’s requirements. Many states have enacted variations of competitive ratemaking laws, which allow insurers to set certain premium rates for certain classes of insurance without having to obtain the prior approval of the state insurance department.
Requirements for Exiting Geographic Markets and/or Canceling or Nonrenewing Policies. Many states have laws and regulations which may impact the timing and/or the ability of an insurer to either discontinue or substantially reduce its writings in that state. These laws and regulations typically require prior notice and in some instances insurance department approval prior to discontinuing a line of business or withdrawing from that state. In addition, all states impose limitations on cancellations or non-renewals of certain policies, including in particular, limitations on the reasons for cancellations and on the timing of non-renewals.
Regulatory and Legislative Responses to Catastrophes. States from time to time have passed legislation, and regulators have taken action, that have the effect of limiting the ability of insurers to manage catastrophe risk, such as legislation restricting insurers from reducing exposures or withdrawing from catastrophe-prone areas or mandating that insurers participate in residual markets involving catastrophe-prone areas. Participation in residual market mechanisms has resulted in, and may in the future result in, significant losses or assessments to insurers, including the Company, and, in certain states, those losses or assessments may not be commensurate with the Company’s direct catastrophe risk exposure in those states. If the Company’s competitors leave states that have residual market mechanisms, the remaining insurers, including the Company, may be subject to significant increases in losses or assessments following a catastrophe. In addition, following catastrophes, there have been, and may in the future be, legislative and administrative initiatives and court decisions that seek to expand insurance coverage for catastrophe claims beyond the original intent of the policies, seek to prevent the application of deductibles included in the policies, or seek to limit the exercise of certain rights available to insurers under the policies. Also, the Company’s ability to adjust policy language or terms, including deductible levels, or to increase pricing to the extent necessary to offset rising claim costs related to catastrophes requires approval of insurance regulatory authorities in certain states. The Company’s ability or its willingness to manage its catastrophe exposure by raising prices, modifying policy terms, or reducing exposure to certain geographies may be limited due to considerations of public policy, an evolving political environment, and/or changes in general economic conditions. Furthermore, the reduction or elimination of the National Flood Insurance Program could result in an increase in the Company’s exposure to flood risk if insurers become required to cover flood risk under certain types of policies.
Assessments for Guaranty Funds and Second-Injury Funds and Other Mandatory Assigned Risk and Reinsurance Arrangements. As a condition of their authority to transact insurance in virtually all states, property and casualty insurers, including the Company’s domestic insurance subsidiaries, are required to be a member of each state’s guaranty association and to bear a portion of the losses covered by the guaranty association (subject to a statutory maximum covered loss amount which varies by state) suffered by claimants of insurers that become insolvent. Additionally, many states also have laws that establish second-injury funds that impose assessments on insurers writing workers’ compensation business, including the Company, to provide compensation to injured employees for the aggravation of a prior injury or disability.
The Company’s domestic insurance subsidiaries are also required to participate in various involuntary assigned risk pools, principally involving workers’ compensation, automobile insurance, property damage due to wind (windpools) in states prone to property damage from hurricanes and in Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plans, as well as automobile assigned risk plans the results of which are not pooled with other carriers, which provide various insurance coverages to individuals or other entities that otherwise are unable to purchase that coverage in the voluntary market.
Other assessments include charges mandated by statute or regulatory authority that are related directly or indirectly to underwriting activities. Examples of such mechanisms include, but are not limited to, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, National Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Pool, various workers’ compensation related funds (e.g., the Florida Special Disability Trust), North Carolina Beach Plan, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, and the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. Amounts payable or paid as a result of arrangements that are in substance reinsurance, including certain involuntary pools where insurers are required to assume premiums and losses from those pools, are accounted for as reinsurance (e.g., the National Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Pool, North Carolina Beach Plan). Amounts related to assessments from arrangements that are not reinsurance are reported as part of “General and Administrative Expenses,” such as the Florida Special Disability Trust. For additional information concerning assessments for guaranty funds and second-injury funds as well as other mandatory assigned risk and reinsurance agreements including state-funding mechanisms, see “Item 1A—Risk Factors.”
Insurance Regulatory Information System (IRIS). The NAIC developed the IRIS to help state regulators identify companies that may require regulatory attention. Financial examiners review annual financial statements and the results of key financial ratios based on year-end data with the goal of identifying insurers that appear to require immediate regulatory attention. Each ratio has an established “usual range” of results. A ratio result falling outside the usual range, however, is not necessarily considered adverse; rather, unusual values are used as part of the regulatory early monitoring system. Furthermore, in some years, it may not be unusual for financially sound companies to have several ratios with results outside the usual ranges. Generally, an insurance company may become subject to regulatory scrutiny or, depending on the company’s financial condition, regulatory action if certain of its key IRIS ratios fall outside the usual ranges and the insurer’s financial condition is trending downward.
Based on preliminary 2024 IRIS ratios calculated by the Company for its lead domestic insurance subsidiaries, in both 2024 and 2023, The Travelers Indemnity Company had results outside the normal range for one IRIS ratio due to the size of its investments in certain non-fixed maturity securities, while Travelers Casualty and Surety Company had results outside the normal range for one IRIS ratio due to the amount of dividends received from its subsidiaries.
Management does not anticipate regulatory action as a result of the 2024 IRIS ratio results for the lead insurance subsidiaries or their insurance subsidiaries. In all instances in prior years, regulators have been satisfied upon follow-up that no regulatory action was required.
Risk-Based Capital (RBC) Requirements. The NAIC maintains an RBC requirement which sets forth minimum capital standards for most U.S.-based property and casualty insurance companies that is intended to raise the level of protection for policyholder obligations. The Company’s U.S. insurance subsidiaries are subject to these NAIC RBC requirements based on laws that have been adopted by individual states. These requirements subject insurers having policyholders’ surplus less than that required by the RBC calculation to varying degrees of regulatory action, depending on the level of capital inadequacy.
The amount of policyholders’ surplus held by each of the Company’s U.S. insurance subsidiaries at December 31, 2024 and 2023 exceeded the level at which the subsidiaries would be subject to RBC regulatory action on a legal entity basis or the need for additional analysis when evaluated on a combined basis.
The RBC formulas have not been designed to differentiate among adequately capitalized companies that operate with levels of capital above the RBC requirement. Therefore, it is inappropriate and ineffective to use the formulas to rate or to rank these companies.
Group Capital Calculation (GCC). While there is currently no group regulatory capital requirement in place for insurers in the United States, certain states, including the State of Connecticut, adopted the NAIC Group Capital Calculation (GCC) to provide insurance regulators with additional analytical information on a combined basis that is used by the lead state in assessing group risks and groupwide capital adequacy to complement the RBC requirements imposed on a legal-entity basis and the holding company analysis performed by the lead state. The GCC utilizes an aggregation of the available capital/financial resources and the required regulatory capital of a group’s subsidiaries (known as an Aggregation Method), using the NAIC RBC requirements to identify available and required capital for the group’s U.S. insurance subsidiaries and the local jurisdictional capital requirements for insurance subsidiaries outside of the U.S. The GCC differs from the RBC in that it does not produce a ratio that is subject to a minimum value or result in an identified action level. Instead, the GCC is used in conjunction with other regulatory tools to assist in the lead regulator’s group-wide supervision and evaluation of the adequacy of a group’s capital position.
As part of the international efforts to develop a groupwide capital standard, the IAIS completed a comparability analysis in November 2024 of the Aggregation Method used in the U.S. (i.e., the GCC as discussed above) and recognized the U.S. method as producing results comparable to the group capital standard (Insurance Capital Standard, or ICS) developed by the IAIS.
Investment Regulation. Insurance company investments must comply with applicable laws and regulations which prescribe the kind, quality, and concentration of investments. In general, these laws and regulations permit investments in federal, state and municipal obligations, corporate bonds, preferred and common equity securities, mortgage loans, real estate, and certain other investments, subject to specified limits and certain other qualifications, depending on the type of investment. At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company was in compliance with these laws and regulations.
Federal Regulation. As mentioned above, the Dodd-Frank Act established a Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The FIO has limited regulatory authority and is empowered to gather data and information regarding the insurance industry and insurers, but it has in the past recommended an expanded federal role in some circumstances. The Dodd-Frank Act also gives the Federal Reserve supervisory authority over a number of non-bank financial services holding companies, including holding companies with insurance company subsidiaries, if they are designated by a two-thirds vote of a Financial Stability Oversight Council (the FSOC) as “systemically important financial institutions” (SIFI) or own a bank or thrift. The Company, based upon the FSOC’s rules and interpretive guidance, has not been designated as a SIFI and is not subject to regulation by the Federal Reserve. Nonetheless, it is possible that FSOC may change its rules, interpretations, or application thereof in the future and conclude that the Company is a SIFI. If the Company were designated as a SIFI, the Federal Reserve’s supervisory authority could include the ability to impose heightened financial regulation and could impact requirements regarding the Company’s capital, liquidity and leverage as well as its business and investment conduct. The Dodd-Frank Act also authorizes assessments to pay for the resolution of SIFIs that have become insolvent. The Company (as a financial company with more than $50 billion in assets) could be assessed, and although any such assessment is required to be risk weighted (i.e., riskier firms pay more), such costs could be material and are not currently estimable. As a result of the foregoing, the Dodd-Frank Act, including any changes thereto or additional related regulations, or other additional federal regulation that is adopted in the future, could impose additional burdens on the Company, including impacting the ways in which the Company conducts its business, increasing compliance costs and duplicating state regulation, and could result in a competitive disadvantage, particularly relative to other competitors that may not be subject to the same level of regulation.
International Regulation
The Company’s insurance subsidiaries based in Canada, and the Canadian branch of one of the Company’s U.S. insurance subsidiaries, are regulated for solvency and risk management purposes by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) under the provisions of the Insurance Companies Act (Canada). These Canadian subsidiaries and the Canadian branch are also subject to Canadian provincial and territorial insurance legislation and regulation, primarily governing market conduct, including pricing, underwriting, coverage, and claim conduct, in varying degrees by province/territory and by product line.
The Company’s insurance subsidiaries based in the United Kingdom (U.K.) are regulated by two regulatory bodies, The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). One of the Company’s U.K. insurance subsidiaries is also authorized in the U.S. as a surplus lines insurer subject to U.S. state regulation applicable to such insurers.
The Company’s managing agency (Travelers Syndicate Management Limited, or TSML) of its Lloyd’s syndicate (Syndicate 5000 at Lloyd’s) is also regulated by the PRA and the FCA, which have delegated certain regulatory responsibilities to the
Council of Lloyd’s. Travelers Syndicate 5000 is able to write, or reinsure, business in respect of over 200 countries and territories throughout the world by virtue of Lloyd’s international licenses. In each such jurisdiction, the policies written by TSML, as part of Lloyd’s, are subject to the laws and insurance regulations of that jurisdiction. Since January 1, 2019, the Company has used a Lloyd’s insurance subsidiary in Brussels, Belgium (Lloyd’s Brussels) to cover its Lloyd’s customers’ risks in the EU. Lloyd’s Brussels is regulated by the National Bank of Belgium.
Travelers is conducting its European insurance operations through an insurance subsidiary that is incorporated in the Republic of Ireland and authorized and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Certain operations are conducted in the U.K. through a U.K. branch of the Irish subsidiary, which is supervised by the PRA and FCA as well as the Central Bank of Ireland.
The Company’s operations in the Republic of Ireland are also subject to regulation by the European Union (EU). Generally, EU requirements are adopted by the EU and then implemented by enabling legislation in the member countries. Significant areas of oversight and influence by the EU include capital and solvency requirements (Solvency II), competition law and antitrust regulation, intermediary and distribution regulation, gender discrimination, sustainability disclosures, including climate change disclosure (due to the requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD, and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, or CSDDD), artificial intelligence and data security and privacy. Under Solvency II, it is possible that the U.S. parent of a European Union subsidiary could be subject to certain Solvency II requirements if the regulator determines that the subsidiary’s capital position is dependent on the parent company and the U.S. parent is not already subject to regulations deemed “equivalent” to Solvency II. Currently, as a result of the Covered Agreements described below, the state regulatory system governing U.S. insurers is deemed “equivalent” for purposes of Solvency II.
Each of the Company’s foreign insurance subsidiaries had capital significantly above their respective regulatory requirements at December 31, 2024.
Regulators in countries where the Company has operations are working with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) (and with the NAIC, the Federal Reserve and FIO in the U.S.) to consider changes to insurance company supervision, including group supervision and group capital requirements as described above.
The IAIS has developed a framework (i.e., the Global Monitoring Exercise, or GME) to assess the potential systemic risk in the global insurance sector for identifying “global systemically important insurers” (G-SIIs) and high-level policy measures that will apply to the G-SIIs. The methodology and measures were endorsed by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) which was created by the Group of Twenty (or G-20); however, identification of G-SIIs was suspended at the beginning of 2020. In December 2022, the FSB, in consultation with the IAIS, decided to discontinue the annual identification of G-SIIs. Going forward the FSB will utilize a newly developed framework to inform its considerations of systemic risk in the insurance sector. The Company has not previously been designated as a G-SII by the FSB; however, it is possible that the designation of G-SIIs could be reinstituted, the methodologies or framework could be amended or interpreted differently in the future and the Company could be named as a G-SII.
The IAIS completed its Common Framework for the Supervision of Internationally Active Insurance Groups (known as ComFrame). ComFrame is intended to apply heightened regulatory requirements similar to those being developed for G-SIIs to internationally active insurance groups (or “IAIGs”), including group supervision, group capital requirements, and resolution planning, i.e., a written plan developed by a financial group detailing how it would be wound down in the event of an insolvency. While the Company would not be considered an IAIG under the current criteria in ComFrame, it is possible that the criteria could be changed. If the Company is designated as an IAIG or the NAIC and individual states adopt ComFrame or similar provisions for large insurers, the Company could be subject to increased supervision and higher capital standards.
Covered Agreements
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have signed covered agreements (the Covered Agreements) regarding prudential (solvency) insurance and reinsurance measures with both the EU and the U.K. The Covered Agreements include three areas of prudential insurance supervision: reinsurance contracts, group supervision, and the exchange of information between U.S. and U.K. regulators and between U.S. and EU regulators on insurers and reinsurers that operate in the U.S., U.K., and EU markets. The Covered Agreement with the EU went into effect in April 2018, while the Covered Agreement with the U.K. took full effect upon the U.K.’s exit from the EU on January 31, 2020. The Covered Agreements are intended to promote cooperation between U.S. insurance regulators and EU and U.K. insurance regulators and to limit the ability of the EU and the U.K. to apply solvency and group capital requirements to the worldwide operations of any U.S. insurer operating in the EU or the U.K. It is possible that individual members of the EU could differ in how they adopt or apply the terms of the Covered Agreement, resulting in greater regulation and higher capital standards as well as inconsistent regulatory requirements among the jurisdictions in which the Company does business. While it is not yet known how or if these actions will impact the Company, such regulation could result in increased costs of compliance, increased disclosure, and less flexibility in capital management, and could adversely impact the Company’s results of operations and limit its growth.
The Covered Agreements eliminate the collateral and local presence requirements for EU and U.K. reinsurers operating in the U.S., and for U.S. reinsurers operating in the EU and U.K., as a condition for credit for reinsurance in regulatory reporting and capital requirements. The prospective elimination of the collateral requirements is conditioned on the reinsurer meeting capital and solvency standards and maintaining a record of prompt payments to ceding insurers. While the collateral requirement is removed for reinsurers meeting these standards, insurers and reinsurers are not prohibited from negotiating and putting into place collateral as part of reinsurance agreements. The Covered Agreements include a five-year transition period to full compliance in the impacted jurisdictions.
Insurance Holding Company Statutes
As a holding company, TRV is not regulated as an insurance company. However, since TRV owns capital stock in insurance subsidiaries, it is subject to state insurance holding company statutes, as well as certain other laws, of each of its insurance subsidiaries’ states of domicile. All holding company statutes, as well as other laws, require disclosure and, in some instances, prior approval of certain transactions between an insurance company and an affiliate. The holding company statutes and other laws also require, among other things, prior approval for acquiring control of a domestic insurer and the payment of extraordinary dividends or distributions.
Insurance Regulations Concerning Change of Control. Many state insurance regulatory laws contain provisions that require prior approval by state agencies of any change in control of an insurance company that is domiciled, or, in some cases, having substantial business in a state such that the insurance company is deemed to be commercially domiciled in that state.
The laws of many states also contain provisions requiring pre-notification to state agencies prior to any change in control of a non-domestic insurance company admitted to transact business in that state. While these pre-notification statutes do not authorize the state agency to disapprove the change of control, they do authorize issuance of cease-and-desist orders with respect to the non-domestic insurer if it is determined that some conditions, such as undue market concentration, would result from the acquisition.
Any transactions that would constitute a change in control of any of TRV’s insurance subsidiaries would generally require prior approval by the insurance departments of the states in which the insurance subsidiaries are domiciled or commercially domiciled. Pre-acquisition notification may also be required in those states that have adopted pre-acquisition notification provisions and in which such insurance subsidiaries are admitted to transact business.
As described above, one of TRV’s insurance subsidiaries and its operations at Lloyd’s are domiciled in the U.K. and one of its insurance subsidiaries is domiciled in the Republic of Ireland. Insurers in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland are subject to change of control restrictions, including approval of the PRA and FCA and of the Central Bank of Ireland, respectively. TRV’s insurance subsidiaries domiciled in, or authorized to conduct insurance business in, Canada are also subject to regulatory change of control restrictions, including approval of OSFI. TRV’s Brazilian joint venture is subject to regulatory change of control and other share transfer restrictions, including approval of the Superintendência de Seguros Privados (SUSEP).
These requirements may deter, delay or prevent transactions affecting the control of or the ownership of common stock, including transactions that could be advantageous to TRV’s shareholders.
Insurance Intermediaries
The Company has domestic and international subsidiaries which act as insurance intermediaries, i.e., agents, brokers, and managing general underwriters. These entities are regulated by state, provincial, and international regulatory and self-regulatory bodies focused on market conduct and other matters.
Regulatory Developments
The state insurance regulatory framework has been under continuing scrutiny, and some state legislatures have considered or enacted laws that may alter or increase state authority to regulate insurance companies and insurance holding companies. Further, the NAIC and state insurance regulators continually re-examine existing laws and regulations, specifically focusing on modifications to holding company statutes, regulations, interpretations of existing laws, and the development of new laws and regulations.
As part of these changes, insurance holding company regulations were amended to require insurers who are part of a holding company system to file an enterprise risk report to provide the lead insurance regulator with a summary of the company’s
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, including the material risks within the insurance holding company system that could pose risk to the insurance entities within the holding company system. Insurers having premium volume above certain thresholds, including the Company, are also required to perform at least annually a self-assessment of their current and future risks, including their likely future solvency position (known as an own risk and solvency assessment, or ORSA) and file a confidential report with the insurer’s lead insurance regulator. The requirement for an insurer to conduct an ORSA is intended to foster an effective level of ERM for all insurers within a holding company system and to provide a group-wide perspective on risks and capital as a supplement to the legal entity view. ORSA is now required in the United States, the U.K., Europe and Canada and is in various stages of implementation in other jurisdictions, and included in the IAIS standards. It is possible that, as a result of ORSA and the manner in which it may be used by insurance regulators, the Company’s states of domicile or other regulatory bodies may require changes in its ERM process (e.g., prescribe the use of specific models or the application of certain assumptions or scenarios in the Company’s models) that have the effect of limiting the Company’s ability to write certain risks, limit its risk appetite, or reduce its capital management flexibility. See “Item 1—Business—Enterprise Risk Management” for further discussion of the Company’s ERM.
For additional information concerning regulations applicable to the Company, including cyber regulations, see “Item 1A—Risk Factors—Our businesses are heavily regulated by the states and countries in which we conduct business, including licensing, market conduct and financial supervision, and changes in regulation, including changes in tax regulation, may reduce our profitability and limit our growth” and “Item 1A—Risk Factors—If we experience difficulties with technology, data and network security (including as a result of cyber attacks), outsourcing relationships or cloud-based technology, our ability to conduct our business could be negatively impacted.”
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
The Company’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) activities involve both the identification and assessment of a broad range of risks and the execution of coordinated strategies to effectively manage these risks. Since certain risks can be correlated with other risks, an event or a series of events can impact multiple areas of the Company simultaneously and have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position and/or liquidity. This requires an entity-wide view of risk and an understanding of the potential impact on all aspects of the Company’s operations. It also requires the Company to manage its risk-taking to be within its risk appetite in a prudent and balanced effort to create and preserve value for all of the Company’s stakeholders. ERM also includes an evaluation of the Company’s risk capital needs, which takes into account regulatory requirements, financial strength and credit rating considerations, in addition to economic and other factors. ERM at the Company is an integral part of its business operations. All risk owners across all functions, all corporate leaders and the Board of Directors are engaged in ERM. ERM involves risk-based analytics, as well as reporting and feedback throughout the enterprise in support of the Company’s long-term financial strategies and objectives.
The Company uses various analyses and methods, including proprietary and third-party modeling processes, to make underwriting and reinsurance decisions designed to manage its exposure to catastrophic events. In addition to catastrophe modeling and analysis, the Company also models and analyzes its exposure to other extreme events. The Company also utilizes proprietary and third-party modeling processes to evaluate capital adequacy. These analytical techniques are an integral component of the Company’s ERM process and further support the Company’s long-term financial strategies and objectives.
In addition to the day-to-day ERM activities within the Company’s operations, key internal risk management functions include, among others, the Management and Operating Committees (comprised of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and the other most senior members of management); the Enterprise, Segment and Function (including Catastrophe, Cyber, etc.) Risk Committees of management; the Executive Crisis Management Team; the Sustainability Committee; and the Credit Committee. A senior executive team comprised of the Chief Risk Officer and the Enterprise Chief Underwriting Officer oversees the ERM process. The mission of this team is to facilitate risk assessment and to collaborate in implementing effective risk management strategies throughout the Company. Another strategic ERM objective of this team includes working across the Company to enhance effective and realistic risk modeling capabilities as part of the Company’s overall effort to understand and manage its portfolio of risks to be within its risk appetite. Board oversight of ERM is provided by the Risk Committee of the Board of Directors, which reviews the strategies, processes and controls pertaining to the Company’s insurance operations and oversees the implementation, execution and performance of the Company’s ERM program. The Risk Committee of the Board of Directors meets with senior management at least four times a year to discuss ERM activities and provides a report to the full Board of Directors after each such meeting.
The Company’s ERM efforts build upon the foundation of an effective internal control environment. ERM expands the internal control objectives of effective and efficient operations, reliable financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, to foster, lead and support an integrated, risk-based culture within the Company that focuses on value creation and preservation. However, the Company can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that these objectives will be met.
Further, the design of any risk management or control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. As a result, the possibility of material financial loss remains in spite of the Company’s significant and comprehensive ERM efforts. An investor should carefully consider the risks and all of the other information set forth in this annual report, including the discussions included in “Item 1A—Risk Factors,” “Item 7A—Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” and “Item 8—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
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