Travelers Posts Record-Breaking First Quarter as CEO Schnitzer Hails 'Excellent Start to 2026'
Travelers, a leading insurance company, has announced an outstanding performance for its first quarter of 2026. In a conference call held on April 16th, the company's executives revealed impressive financial results, driven by strong underwriting and investment performances.
"We're pleased to report an excellent start to 2026, with strong underwriting performance across all three segments and a strong result from our investment portfolio," said Alan Schnitzer, Chairman and CEO of Travelers. "Our high-quality investment portfolio continued to perform well, with after-tax net investment income increasing by 9% to $833 million."
The company's underwriting income for the quarter was $1.2 billion pre-tax, benefiting from strong levels of underlying underwriting income and favorable prior year development. Each of Travelers' three segments – Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance – generated attractive underlying and reported margins.
Travelers also continued to deliver on its key strategic initiatives during the quarter, including a focus on shareholder return. The company returned more than $2.2 billion of excess capital to shareholders, including approximately $2 billion of share repurchases. Despite this significant return of capital, adjusted book value per share was 16% higher than a year ago.
In recognition of its strong financial position and confidence in the outlook for its business, Travelers' board of directors declared a 14% increase in its quarterly cash dividend to $1.25 per diluted share. This marks the company's 22nd consecutive year of dividend increases, with a compound annual growth rate of 8% over that period.
"We're confident in our business and pleased to be able to return capital to shareholders while continuing to invest in our operations," said Schnitzer. "Our strong financial position enables us to do both."
Travelers' top-line performance was also impressive, with the company generating net written premiums of $10.3 billion for the quarter. In Business Insurance, the segment grew net written premiums to $5.8 billion, driven by growth in domestic net written premiums excluding the property line.
"Our disciplined marketplace execution across all three segments has enabled us to achieve strong results," said Schnitzer. "We're pleased with our performance and confident in our ability to deliver value to shareholders."
