Old Republic International Soars in Q1 2025 with 21% Revenue Growth and Improved Profitability

Old Republic International delivered an impressive performance in the first quarter of 2025, posting $252.7 million of consolidated pretax operating income - a significant increase from $231.5 million in the same period last year.

"We're pleased to report another upbeat story of growth and profitability," said Craig Smiddy, President and CEO of Old Republic International, during the company's Q1 2025 earnings conference call. "Our continued commitment to conservative reserving practices has yielded favorable prior-year loss reserve development in both Specialty Insurance and Title Insurance."

The title insurance business grew premiums and fees by 11% in the first quarter, producing $4.3 million of pretax operating income - a notable increase from $2.3 million last year. Despite higher mortgage interest rates and a tight real estate market, the company's title insurance segment remained resilient.

Specialty Insurance experienced even more remarkable growth, with net premiums earned increasing by 13% in the first quarter. The business produced $260 million of pretax operating income - up from $220 million last year - and boasted an improved combined ratio of 89.8%, compared to 90.3% in the same period last year.

Frank Sodaro, Chief Financial Officer, highlighted the company's solid financial position during the conference call. "We reported net operating income of $202 million for the quarter, representing a per-share increase of 21% over last year," he said. Net investment income rose by 4%, driven by higher yields on corporate bonds and a smaller invested asset base resulting from returning excess capital to shareholders.

The value of Old Republic's total investment portfolio increased by nearly $200 million in the quarter, with its equity portfolio - comprising high-quality value stocks - up by approximately $60 million. Loss reserves were also favorably developed, leading to a benefit in the consolidated loss ratio of 2.6 percentage points.

In his presentation, Sodaro noted that workers' compensation experienced strong favorable development, while commercial auto and property demonstrated considerably higher favorable development compared to last year. Liability had a very small amount of unfavorable development, contrary to a more meaningful level of unfavorable development in the same period last year."