Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) executives highlighted what they called an “exceptional” 2025 and outlined expectations for 2026 growth during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, emphasizing continued momentum in Global Lifestyle, sustained underlying strength in Global Housing, and a new strategic push into the home warranty market.
2025 performance and multi-year track record
President and CEO Keith Demmings said Assurant delivered its ninth consecutive year of profitable growth in 2025, supported by ongoing investment in innovation across its lifestyle and housing businesses. He said adjusted EBITDA grew 11% and adjusted earnings per share rose 12% in 2025, both excluding catastrophes. Including catastrophes, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS increased 16% and 19%, respectively.
Segment highlights: Lifestyle and Housing
In Global Lifestyle, Demmings said 2025 adjusted EBITDA grew at a mid-single-digit rate, with increased momentum in Connected Living and Global Automotive. He said the company is investing in technology, including artificial intelligence, to improve client outcomes, drive efficiencies, and enhance customer experience.
Connected Living adjusted EBITDA grew mid-single digits in 2025, Demmings said, adding that Assurant added nearly 2 million protected devices over the past year and now protects more than 66 million devices globally. He cited program expansion and strategic wins, including:
- A new device protection plan launched with Verizon’s Total Wireless.
- An expanded T-Mobile relationship through a multi-year reverse logistics agreement and the opening of a dedicated logistics facility.
- Expansion with Best Buy supporting Geek Squad Protection, with Assurant now servicing the “back book” of existing protection policies.
- Scaling in card benefits through a full year of partnership with Chase Card Services and a recent expansion in the U.K.
In Global Automotive, Demmings said the business also delivered mid-single-digit earnings growth in 2025, and Assurant now protects 57 million vehicles, nearly 2 million more than the prior year. He said the company expanded with dealer groups, third-party administrators, and OEMs, and added partnerships in heavy equipment while renewing lending partner agreements.
In Global Housing, Demmings said adjusted EBITDA grew double digits in 2025 excluding catastrophes, with segment earnings surpassing $1 billion, more than doubling since 2022. He said the segment achieved an underlying combined ratio of 80% excluding favorable prior-year reserve development.
Within lender-placed homeowners insurance, Demmings said enforced policies increased 5% year over year as the voluntary homeowners market hardened. He said Assurant renewed four major lender-placed partnerships representing more than 4 million loans tracked and sees opportunities to expand market position in 2026. In renters, he said Assurant increased policies 15% and cited differentiation from technology-enabled services including the Cover360 platform, as well as new portfolio onboarding and partnership renewals.
Fourth-quarter details and capital deployment
CFO Keith Meier said fourth-quarter Global Lifestyle adjusted EBITDA increased 2% year over year, but growth was impacted by an unfavorable $7 million “non-run-rate mobile inventory adjustment” in Connected Living. Excluding that item, he said Global Lifestyle underlying adjusted EBITDA grew 6% (or $11 million). Underlying Connected Living EBITDA growth was 7% (or $9 million), driven by global mobile device protection programs and modest growth in mobile trade-in programs.
Meier said Global Automotive adjusted EBITDA increased 3% in the quarter, aided by prior rate increases, enhancements to claims processes, and improved results in guaranteed asset protection (GAP) after the company reduced claims risk. He added that Global Lifestyle net earned premiums, fees, and other income rose 7%, driven by Connected Living growth and the launch of the Best Buy Geek Squad program.
In Global Housing, Meier said fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $276 million, including $9 million of reportable catastrophes. Excluding catastrophes, adjusted EBITDA increased 3% to $285 million, and after the effect of lower prior-period reserve development, underlying growth was 8%. He said results benefited from top-line growth in lender-placed insurance from higher enforced policies and average premiums, and specialty products including manufactured housing.
Meier said year-end liquidity was $887 million. In the quarter, Assurant returned $138 million to shareholders, including $94 million in share repurchases and $44 million in dividends. He said 2025 share repurchases totaled $300 million, and that the company repurchased an additional $30 million through Feb. 6 as it entered 2026. Meier also noted four small acquisitions completed during 2025, including the fourth-quarter acquisition of RL Circular Operations, a reverse logistics division of TIC Group in Australia and New Zealand, aimed at bolstering reverse logistics capabilities through AI-based technologies.
In November, Meier said Assurant increased its dividend by 10%, marking its 21st consecutive year of dividend increases.
2026 outlook: growth drivers, reserve development, and CAT assumptions
For 2026, Meier said adjusted EBITDA and EPS are expected to be consistent with 2025 levels excluding catastrophes, reflecting that 2025 results included $113 million of favorable prior-year reserve development. Excluding that impact, he said the company expects mid- to high-single-digit growth in adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS, excluding catastrophes. Meier said Assurant expects to generate over $130 million of EBITDA growth in 2026, overcoming the $113 million of prior-year development in 2025 and incremental investments for Assurant Home Warranty.
Management said Global Lifestyle is expected to lead underlying growth, with high-single-digit earnings expansion. Connected Living growth is expected to be driven by optimization of new programs, expansion with existing clients, and contributions from recently announced programs and capabilities. Global Automotive growth is expected to benefit from higher investment income, continued loss improvement, and global partnership growth.
In Global Housing, Meier said the company expects solid underlying growth excluding the 2025 favorable development. He emphasized that the 2026 outlook does not assume additional prior-year reserve development. In lender-placed, he said growth is expected to come from higher tracked loans from anticipated new client wins and continued hardening in the voluntary homeowners market, with potential quarterly fluctuations in placement rates due to client loan movements.
On catastrophes, Meier said Assurant is working through placement of its 2026 catastrophe reinsurance program, effective April 1, and expects a structure similar to 2025 with “robust coverage” at both the top and bottom ends. He said the company’s annual CAT load assumption for 2026 is estimated at $180 million to $185 million, with additional details expected on the May earnings call.
Home warranty expansion and corporate investments
Demmings said Assurant’s entrance into home warranty is intended to create a long-term growth vector, citing a recently signed long-term agreement with Compass International Holdings across six U.S. real estate brands: Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby’s, Corcoran Group, ERA, and Better Homes and Gardens. He said the rollout is national, integrated into the transaction “buy flow,” and generating sales daily, with broader growth expected as awareness builds.
Meier said corporate EBITDA loss is expected to be approximately $140 million in 2026, including incremental investments related to Assurant Home Warranty, which he called the company’s most substantial organic investment in 2026. In Q&A, management described the incremental home warranty investment as about $15 million to $20 million in 2026.
When asked about competition, management cited Frontdoor’s American Home Shield as the largest player and described the broader home warranty market as fragmented, with “10 or 20 different players,” and said the category could grow as customer trust improves.
Demmings also said the company is incorporating AI across the business to improve customer experience, increase efficiency, support more personalized products and service delivery, and, in some areas, drive revenue. Meier pointed to examples including AI in premium technical support, dealer tools in auto to help dealers sell better, and AI and robotics in device care centers to improve mobile trade-in and reverse logistics processing.
On capital return, Meier said Assurant expects 2026 share repurchases in a range of $250 million to $350 million, subject to M&A and market conditions, up from the prior year’s range. Management said it will continue to balance reinvestment for growth, potential acquisitions, and returning excess capital to shareholders.
About Assurant (NYSE:AIZ)
Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.
Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.
