Skyward Specialty Insurance Group reported net income of $42.1 million for the first quarter of 2025, up from $36.8 million in the same period of 2024.
The company’s adjusted operating income for the quarter was $37.3 million, compared to $31 million the year prior.
Gross written premiums rose 16.7% to $535.3 million from $458.6 million, driven by double-digit premium growth primarily from the agriculture and credit re/insurance, accident & health, and specialty programs divisions, partially offset by a decline in gross written premiums in the global property division.
Skyward Specialty’s net written premiums increased 19.6% to $343.3 million in Q1’25, up from $287.1 million.
Net earned premiums grew 27.1% to $300.4 million from $236.3 million.
The company posted a combined ratio of 90.5%, slightly up from 89.6% in Q1’24. This included a loss ratio of 62.4% (up from 60.9%) and an expense ratio of 28.1% (down slightly from 28.7%).
Skyward Specialty attributed the 1.5 point increase in the loss ratio to higher catastrophe losses, primarily from convective storms in the Midwest and the California wildfires. These were partially offset by improvements in the non-cat loss and LAE ratio, driven by a shift in business mix.
The 0.6 point improvement in the expense ratio reflected earnings leverage, partially offset by higher acquisition costs due to the same business mix shift.
Net investment income rose $1 million year over year to $19.3 million from $18.3 million, driven by increased income from its fixed income portfolio due to higher yields and a larger asset base.
Andrew Robinson, Chairman and CEO of Skyward Specialty, commented, “We delivered outstanding first quarter results, including adjusted operating income which increased over 20% to $37.3 million, which is the best in Company history, and we achieved annualized return on equity of 20.5%. We continued our consistent and strong record of growth in underwriting performance as gross written premiums increased by approximately 17%, and we delivered a 90.5% combined ratio inclusive of 2.2 points of catastrophe losses. Our strong growth this quarter highlights the strength of our diversified business portfolio, with our global agriculture unit and our accident & health division each having a breakout quarter; we have highlighted these two areas as part of our intentional strategy to grow in areas less exposed to the P&C market.
“As we look out to the remainder of the year, we remain confident that the strength of our diversified business portfolio, the power of our Rule Our Niche strategy, our investment in technology and talent, and our track record for consistent execution, positions us to continue to deliver strong financial results that create long-term value for our shareholders.”
