RLI CORP Segments Disclosure
11. | OPERATING SEGMENT INFORMATION |
The Company’s insurance operations are managed and reported in three operating segments: property, casualty and surety. The casualty portion of our business consists largely of commercial excess, personal umbrella, general liability, transportation and management liability coverages, as well as package business and other specialty coverages, such as professional liability and workers’ compensation for office-based professionals. We also assume a limited amount of risks through quota share and excess of loss reinsurance agreements. The casualty business is subject to a higher level of risk when estimating losses and related loss reserves because the ultimate settlement of a casualty claim may take several years to fully develop.
Our property segment is comprised primarily of commercial fire, hurricane, earthquake, difference in conditions and marine coverages. We also offer homeowners’ coverages in Hawaii. Property insurance results are subject to the variability introduced by perils such as earthquakes, fires, hurricanes and other storms. Our major catastrophe exposure is to losses caused by windstorms, affecting commercial properties in coastal regions of the United States, and earthquakes, primarily on the West Coast. We limit our net aggregate exposure to a catastrophic event by managing the total policy limits written in a particular region, purchasing reinsurance and maintaining policy terms and conditions throughout all insurance cycles. We also use computer-assisted modeling techniques to provide estimates that help the Company carefully manage the concentration of risks exposed to catastrophic events.
The surety segment specializes in writing small to medium-sized contract surety coverages, including payment and performance bonds. We offer a variety of commercial surety bonds for medium to large-sized businesses across a broad spectrum of industries, including the financial, healthcare, energy and renewable energy industries. We also offer a variety of transactional bonds, including but not limited to license and permit, notary and court bonds. Often, our surety coverages involve a statutory requirement for bonds. While these bonds typically maintain a relatively low loss ratio, losses may fluctuate due to adverse economic conditions affecting the financial viability of our insureds. The contract surety product guarantees commercial contractors’ contractual obligations for a specific construction project. Generally, losses occur due to the deterioration of a contractor’s financial condition.
The Company’s chief operating decision maker (CODM) is the chief executive officer. The Company’s CODM assesses the segments’ performance by using earnings before income taxes (underwriting income) and the combined ratio. Underwriting income and combined ratio are analyzed at the segment level and influence how resources are allocated. Decisions are made based on what is likely to provide the best long-term return to the Company.
The accounting policies of the reporting segments are the same as those described in note 1 to the consolidated financial statements. Expense allocations are based on assumptions primarily related to direct costs, net premiums earned, as well as the level of support required for the products within each segment. Amortization of deferred acquisition costs represents the recognition of commission and premium taxes over the life of insurance polices, in proportion to premium revenue recognized. The other policy acquisition costs line item includes other expenses associated with underwriting, but that cannot be specifically associated with the successful acquisition of a policy, including, but not limited to, employment costs for underwriters and underwriting support as well as costs for policy acquisition systems. Insurance operating expenses reflect allocated costs from various support departments, such as corporate technology, accounting, human resources and facilities, among others.
Net investment income consists of the interest and dividend income streams from our investments in fixed income and equity securities. Interest expense represents the cost of debt and lines of credit. General corporate expenses include director and shareholder relation costs and other compensation-related expenses incurred for the benefit of the corporation, but not attributable to the operations of our insurance segments. Investee earnings primarily represents our 23 percent share in earnings of Prime Holdings Insurance Services, Inc., a privately held insurance company which specializes in hard-to-place risks. Assets, and the revenues and expenses associated with investing and financing activities, are not managed at the segment level and therefore are not allocated to segments.
All segment revenues are from external customers and all long-lived assets are held domestically. We have no material foreign operations or customer concentrations and have no intersegment revenues.
The following table summarizes revenues by major product type within each operating segment:
NET PREMIUMS EARNED
Year ended December 31, | |||||||||
(in thousands) |
| 2025 |
| 2024 |
| 2023 | |||
CASUALTY | |||||||||
Commercial excess and personal umbrella | $ | 447,361 | $ | 354,847 | $ | 286,178 | |||
Commercial transportation | 123,413 | 120,650 | 103,719 | ||||||
General liability | 110,891 | 104,423 | 103,066 | ||||||
Professional services | 108,090 | 103,794 | 99,596 | ||||||
Small commercial | 79,064 | 78,308 | 72,920 | ||||||
Executive products | 22,942 | 23,555 | 24,687 | ||||||
Other casualty | 62,220 | 67,260 | 68,180 | ||||||
Total | $ | 953,981 | $ | 852,837 | $ | 758,346 | |||
PROPERTY | |||||||||
Commercial property | $ | 301,659 | $ | 345,554 | $ | 244,798 | |||
Marine | 158,904 | 145,706 | 129,428 | ||||||
Other property | 51,841 | 40,124 | 27,304 | ||||||
Total | $ | 512,404 | $ | 531,384 | $ | 401,530 | |||
SURETY | |||||||||
Transactional | $ | 52,418 | $ | 49,460 | $ | 47,983 | |||
Commercial | 50,690 | 48,533 | 49,707 | ||||||
Contract | 44,853 | 44,192 | 36,740 | ||||||
Total | $ | 147,961 | $ | 142,185 | $ | 134,430 | |||
Grand total | $ | 1,614,346 | $ | 1,526,406 | $ | 1,294,306 | |||
The following tables present our operating results by segment, as evaluated by the CODM.
Year ended December 31, 2025 | ||||||||||||
(in thousands) | Casualty | Property | Surety | Total | ||||||||
Revenue | ||||||||||||
Net premiums earned | $ | 953,981 | $ | 512,404 | $ | 147,961 | $ | 1,614,346 | ||||
Net investment income | - | - | - | 159,739 | ||||||||
Net realized gains | - | - | - | 65,116 | ||||||||
Net unrealized gains on equity securities | - | - | - | 43,247 | ||||||||
Consolidated revenue | $ | 953,981 | $ | 512,404 | $ | 147,961 | $ | 1,882,448 | ||||
Less: Expenses | ||||||||||||
Losses and settlement expenses | $ | 595,178 | $ | 120,146 | $ | 10,631 | ||||||
Amortization of deferred acquisition costs | 184,818 | 105,864 | 51,311 | |||||||||
Other policy acquisition costs | 90,671 | 33,218 | 42,505 | |||||||||
Insurance operating expenses | 67,447 | 34,051 | 14,317 | |||||||||
Segment earnings before income taxes | $ | 15,867 | $ | 219,125 | $ | 29,197 | $ | 264,189 | ||||
Depreciation and amortization expense | $ | 6,185 | $ | 2,089 | $ | 1,423 | ||||||
Year ended December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||
(in thousands) | Casualty | Property | Surety | Total | ||||||||
Revenue | ||||||||||||
Net premiums earned | $ | 852,837 | $ | 531,384 | $ | 142,185 | $ | 1,526,406 | ||||
Net investment income | - | - | - | 142,278 | ||||||||
Net realized gains | - | - | - | 19,966 | ||||||||
Net unrealized gains on equity securities | - | - | - | 81,734 | ||||||||
Consolidated revenue | $ | 852,837 | $ | 531,384 | $ | 142,185 | $ | 1,770,384 | ||||
Less: Expenses | ||||||||||||
Losses and settlement expenses | $ | 524,490 | $ | 198,806 | $ | 15,957 | ||||||
Amortization of deferred acquisition costs | 161,532 | 108,235 | 48,254 | |||||||||
Other policy acquisition costs | 83,987 | 22,936 | 39,096 | |||||||||
Insurance operating expenses | 65,040 | 33,871 | 13,549 | |||||||||
Segment earnings before income taxes | $ | 17,788 | $ | 167,536 | $ | 25,329 | $ | 210,653 | ||||
Depreciation and amortization expense | $ | 5,705 | $ | 1,924 | $ | 991 | ||||||
Year ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||
(in thousands) | Casualty | Property | Surety | Total | ||||||||
Revenue | ||||||||||||
Net premiums earned | $ | 758,346 | $ | 401,530 | $ | 134,430 | $ | 1,294,306 | ||||
Net investment income | - | - | - | 120,383 | ||||||||
Net realized gains | - | - | - | 32,518 | ||||||||
Net unrealized gains on equity securities | - | - | - | 64,787 | ||||||||
Consolidated revenue | $ | 758,346 | $ | 401,530 | $ | 134,430 | $ | 1,511,994 | ||||
Less Expenses | ||||||||||||
Losses and settlement expenses | $ | 418,032 | $ | 172,062 | $ | 14,319 | ||||||
Amortization of deferred acquisition costs | 138,968 | 94,173 | 42,754 | |||||||||
Other policy acquisition costs | 82,621 | 22,171 | 37,638 | |||||||||
Insurance operating expenses | 59,246 | 26,808 | 12,329 | |||||||||
Segment earnings before income taxes | $ | 59,479 | $ | 86,316 | $ | 27,390 | $ | 173,185 | ||||
Depreciation and amortization expense | $ | 5,991 | $ | 1,807 | $ | 1,648 | ||||||
The following table reconciles segment earnings before income taxes to earnings before income taxes.
Year ended December 31, | |||||||||
(in thousands) |
| 2025 |
| 2024 |
| 2023 | |||
Reconciliation of earnings before income taxes | |||||||||
Segment earnings before income taxes | $ | 264,189 | $ | 210,653 | $ | 173,185 | |||
Net investment income | 159,739 | 142,278 | 120,383 | ||||||
Net realized gains | 65,116 | 19,966 | 32,518 | ||||||
Net unrealized gains on equity securities | 43,247 | 81,734 | 64,787 | ||||||
Interest expense on debt | (5,358) | (6,331) | (7,301) | ||||||
General corporate expenses | (17,028) | (15,880) | (15,917) | ||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated investees | (3,924) | (4,869) | 9,610 | ||||||
Earnings before income taxes | $ | 505,981 | $ | 427,551 | $ | 377,265 | |||
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 20, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 21, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 23, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 24, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 18, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 19, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 21, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 22, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Feb 23, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Feb 24, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 26, 2016 | |
About Segments Disclosures
Segment disclosures break a company into its reportable operating units, revealing revenue, profit, and asset allocation that consolidated financial statements obscure. Under ASC 280, segments must match how the chief operating decision maker views the business, providing a window into internal management structure and resource allocation priorities.
Key signals: compare segment margins to identify which units drive profitability and which destroy value. Watch for changes in the number of reportable segments — segment aggregation or disaggregation often coincides with strategic shifts or attempts to obscure declining performance. Intersegment elimination patterns reveal internal pricing practices. The reconciliation between segment totals and consolidated figures exposes corporate overhead allocation and unallocated items. Geographic revenue concentration highlights regulatory and currency exposure. Compare segment-level capital expenditure against segment revenue to assess where management is investing for future growth versus harvesting existing assets.