The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc.

The Hartford reported second-quarter core earnings of $945 million, or $3.42 per diluted share, and a trailing 12-month core earnings ROE of 18.7%. Book value per share excluding AOCI was $78.91, up 7% from year-end and 15% from a year ago. Net investment income was $800 million, up $142 million, or 22%, from the second quarter of 2025. Business insurance core earnings were $605 million with written premium growth of 5% and an underlying combined ratio of 89.3; small business grew 7% with an 86.5 ratio, middle and large grew 4% with a 95.3 ratio, and global specialty grew 4% with an 85.8 ratio. Personal insurance core earnings were $128 million with an underlying combined ratio of 86.3 and written premium down 7%; auto premium declined 10% and home was flat. Employee benefits core earnings were $139 million with a 7.4% margin. The company said it expects full-year 2026 net investment income to increase, supported by growth in invested assets, with overall portfolio yields broadly in line with 2025. Management also said it expects to increase quarterly repurchases to $475 million through the rest of 2026.

Christopher Swift said Hartford delivered another strong quarter reflecting the strength of its franchise, distribution relationships, and customer experience. He emphasized that the company is well positioned across P&C and employee benefits, highlighted the Hartford Funds sale as a strategic monetization of a noncore investment, and pointed to the new $4.2 billion repurchase authorization as evidence of strong capital generation and expected transaction proceeds. His tone was confident and optimistic, but he also acknowledged rising competition in some areas, especially personal insurance and parts of middle/large commercial.

Beth Costello said the quarter benefited from strong underwriting and investment results, with core earnings of $945 million, EPS of $3.42, and book value per share excluding AOCI of $78.91. She noted net investment income of $800 million, up $142 million year over year, excluding limited partnerships with an annualized portfolio yield of 4.7% before tax and LP returns of 7.6% before tax. On capital, she said the new $4.2 billion repurchase authorization reflects both expected Hartford Funds proceeds and business growth, and she reminded investors the prior authorization had about $650 million remaining at June 30. She also said the company bought back 3.4 million shares for $450 million in the quarter and plans quarterly repurchases of $475 million for the rest of 2026.

Analysts focused heavily on reserve development, especially the adverse development in general liability and commercial auto and the favorable workers’ comp development. Management said the reserve changes were modest relative to the reserve base, driven by elevated large losses in excess and umbrella, higher frequency and severity in commercial auto, and that they did not add to accident year 2025. Questions also centered on disability trends, where management said the 74.8% loss ratio was still within long-term expectations, with higher incidents in short-tail disability and some higher PFML utilization, but no fundamental change to the business. Later questions addressed pricing and competition in commercial lines and personal lines; management said pricing remains solid in core commercial segments, but middle/large competition increased in the quarter, while direct personal lines face continued headwinds into 2027.