International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC) executives highlighted what they described as an “outstanding” year in 2025, marked by strong underwriting and investment performance, book value growth, and continued capital returns to shareholders, during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings call.
Capital returns and book value growth
Executive Chairman Wasef Jabsheh said the company grew book value by roughly 14% in 2025 and returned more than $108 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. He also announced a special dividend, noting it was the third consecutive year IGI has declared a special dividend in addition to regular quarterly dividends.
President and CEO Waleed Jabsheh said the year’s performance was supported by disciplined underwriting and a strategy built around cycle management, technical expertise in core regions, long-term focus, and insider ownership alignment.
2025 underwriting results and profitability
For 2025, management reported more than $161 million in underwriting income and a combined ratio just under 86%. Return on average equity was cited at 18.6%, while book value per share increased nearly 14% to $16.91.
Fourth-quarter results reflected a combined ratio of 82%, which included 18.1 points of accident-year catastrophe losses and 5.2 points of favorable reserve development. Management compared that to the prior-year quarter combined ratio of 77.8%, which included 6 points of accident-year catastrophe losses and 2.3 points of favorable reserve development. Management also noted the prior-year quarter benefited from about 18.3 points of foreign currency revaluation.
For the full year, management said the 2025 combined ratio included 14.5 points of accident-year catastrophe losses and just under 8 points of favorable reserve development, and was negatively impacted by about 6 points of negative currency revaluation. That compared to a 2024 combined ratio of 79.9%, which included 9 points of accident-year catastrophe losses, 7.7 points of favorable reserve development, and just under 2 points of positive currency revaluation.
Management also provided an FX-neutral comparison, stating that on that basis, the combined ratio was 79.9% for 2025 compared with 81.8% for 2024.
Premium trends and the impact of a non-renewed binder
On the top line, management reiterated that gross premiums written declined due to the previously disclosed non-renewal of a large professional indemnity (PI) binder within the long-tail portfolio. Gross premiums written in the fourth quarter fell by $33.4 million, or just over 19%, and full-year gross premiums written also decreased by $33.4 million, equivalent to about 4.8 percentage points, management said.
Net premiums earned were $111.4 million in Q4 2025, down from $120.6 million in the prior-year period. For the full year, management reported net premiums earned of $453.8 million. Management also noted that full-year net premiums earned included $10.2 million of retainment premiums on loss-affected business, tied to its reinsurance approach.
The company emphasized that its reinsurance purchasing patterns shift with market conditions, including buying more facultative reinsurance in softer markets and retaining more risk in harder markets—an approach management said can distort combined ratio components even as it aims to manage volatility.
Earnings, expenses, investments, and balance sheet highlights
IGI reported net income of $32.3 million, or $0.76 per share, for Q4 2025, compared with $30.0 million, or $0.65 per share, in Q4 2024. For the full year, net income was $127.2 million, or $2.89 per share, compared with $135.0 million, or $2.98 per share, for 2024.
Management discussed higher general and administrative (G&A) expense ratios, attributing increases primarily to new hires, systems costs, and investments in business build-out and market visibility, as well as foreign exchange impacts from a stronger British pound against the U.S. dollar reporting currency. Management also said Q4 2024 benefited from a reclassification of expenses from G&A to acquisition costs, making year-over-year comparisons less “apples to apples.”
On the balance sheet, total assets were $2.1 billion and total investments and cash were $1.32 billion. Management said a little over 80% of the investment and cash portfolio was allocated to fixed income securities, producing $14.2 million in investment income in Q4 and just under $55 million for the full year, for a yield of about 4.2%. Duration was held at about 3.6 years.
In the fourth quarter, the company repurchased just under 344,000 common shares at an average price of $23.51. At year-end, it had about 4.65 million shares remaining under a 5 million-share repurchase authorization previously announced. Total equity ended the year at $710 million, compared with about $655 million at the end of 2024.
Market conditions and 2026 outlook
Management described an elevated level of competition across much of the market, with pressure most evident in property and energy lines, while noting that pricing remains “broadly adequate” in many of the lines IGI writes. The company cited client averages around 10% at 1/1.
In Q&A, management said it does not anticipate a near-term letdown in competitive pressure and characterized the competitive dynamic as largely driven by traditional capital, particularly larger carriers, rather than new alternative capital. Executives also said excess capital across the industry is contributing to competitive behavior, while emphasizing IGI’s preference to return capital when attractive underwriting opportunities do not require it.
By segment, management’s commentary included:
- Short tail: conditions “somewhat mixed,” with energy and parts of property tougher than a year ago, while construction/engineering and marine lines were described as holding up better; contingency was cited as a bright spot.
- Reinsurance: conditions “generally remain strong” with pricing more than adequate; management said an S&P rating upgrade has helped raise IGI’s profile and support deal flow.
- Long tail: continued as the most challenging area for several years; management said it is cautiously optimistic about leveling off in pricing declines in professional and financial lines, particularly in the UK-focused PI portfolio, and noted the company does not write long-tail U.S. business.
Looking to 2026, management emphasized a continued focus on discipline and consistency, and said it would not be unreasonable to expect some top-line contraction in certain areas where IGI chooses to walk away from business that does not meet profitability or coverage targets. Executives pointed to general aviation as an example where the book has been “virtually halved” over the last two years due to tough conditions.
Management also said it expects the runoff impact from the non-renewed PI binder to continue into Q1 and Q2, with efforts underway to replace it through new business, and indicated it expects a more stable—and potentially positive—trajectory for the long-tail portfolio once that runoff is complete.
About International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC)
International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC) is a global specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on underwriting a diverse portfolio of property and casualty risks. Headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda, the company provides tailored risk solutions across a broad range of industry sectors. IGIC operates within the excess and surplus lines market, leveraging specialized expertise to cover complex and hard-to-place risks that fall outside the scope of standard commercial insurance.
Founded in 1988, IGIC has grown its product offering to include marine, energy, aviation, construction, professional liability and credit & surety lines.
