Financial services holding company Ambac has posted a net loss of $16 million and an adjusted net income of $10 million for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Included in the company’s Q423 results is Everspan, the organisation’s specialty program insurer, which produced its second consecutive quarterly pre-tax profit and wrote gross premium written (GPW) of $91 million, up 76% from the fourth quarter of 2022.
At the same time, Everspan also generated net premium written (NPW) of $36.7 million in the fourth quarter, representing a substantial increase of 269% compared to the prior year period.
The company noted that NPW growth outpaced GPW due to the impact of an assumed reinsurance transaction closed in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Elsewhere, net premiums earned of $24.9 million in Q4 were up 341% over the prior year quarter, reflecting NPW growth and the effects of assumed reinsurance transactions.
Moving forward, Everspan’s loss and loss expense ratio for Q423 was 67.4% compared to 65.1% for Q422.
Everspan also posted a combined ratio of 100.3% for Q4, compared to 124.3% from the prior year quarter.
Meanwhile, for 2023, Everspan posted $273.3 million in GPW, a solid increase from 2022’s $146.4 million.
NPW for 2023 sat at $79.8 million, compared to $28.6 million from 2022.
Additionally, net premiums earned for 2023 sat at $51.9 million, compared to the prior year’s $13.9 million.
Everspan also posted a combined ratio of 106.5% for the year, a 50 percentage point improvement over the prior year.
While, the firm’s loss and loss expense ratio for 2023 was 70.7% compared to 65.4% for 2022.
Claude LeBlanc, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the results: “I am pleased to report that for 2023 our specialty P&C platform exceeded our targets and generated over a half billion dollars of premium production, a 79% increase over 2022. Moreover, Everspan produced its second consecutive quarterly profit and generated positive net income in 2023. Everspan’s profitability was supported by improved underwriting results as it continued to gain scale, posting a combined ratio of 106.5% for the year, a 50 percentage point improvement over the prior year. Overall, we remain focused on building the premier destination for MGAs and program partners and see significant runway ahead.”
Adding: “Regarding our Legacy Financial Guarantee Business, working with AAC’s regulator, we finalized the capital model and revised stipulation and order for AAC. In addition, the strategic review we announced and launched last quarter is proceeding on plan and we will update the market once we have something definitive to report. Overall Ambac made significant progress in 2023 advancing all strategic priorities across our businesses, and we look forward to building on that momentum in 2024.”
