Horace Mann Educators Corporation has announced that it expects first-quarter 2023 core EPS in the range of $0.21 to $0.23, despite an unusually high number of weather events throughout the quarter, including two severe storms in the Midwest in late March. This led to catastrophe losses to be well ahead of the first quarter of 2022.
The company’s catastrophe losses for the first quarter of 2023 are expected to be in the range of $22 million to $23 million, pretax. This contributes to about 15 points to the first-quarter combined ratio, compared to $7.3 million, or 4.8 points, in the previous year’s first quarter.
In total, there were 23 events designated as catastrophes by Property Claims Services (PCS) in this year’s first quarter, compared to 11 events in the first quarter of 2022. The company expects a full-year catastrophe loss will represent about 10 points on the full-year combined ratio.
Horace Mann President and CEO Marita Zuraitis said, “Horace Mann claims representatives responded quickly and compassionately to policyholders affected by the storms. I’m proud of our team for delivering on our promise to help educators when they need it most.”
“We remain confident that we will increase our share of the education market as we grow our increasingly diversified business over the next several years,” added Zuraitis.
Despite the outsized catastrophe losses, the first-quarter results of the company confirm that it remains on pace toward its business objectives for this year. It expects 2023 core EPS in the range of $2.00 to $2.30.
In 2024, the company believes it will return to a double-digit return on equity as core EPS approaches $4, driven by profitable growth.
Horace Mann plans to release its first-quarter 2023 results on May 2, after the market closes.
