Universal Insurance Holdings, a Florida-domiciled and expansive primary insurance company, has reported a net income available to common stockholders of $66.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, a substantial rise from the $6 million reported in the same period last year.
The company’s adjusted net income also experienced growth, increasing to $63.3 million from $7.2 million in the prior year quarter.
According to Universal, the higher adjusted net income mostly stems from a lower net loss ratio and higher net premiums earned and net investment income.
CEO Stephen J. Donaghy credited the strong performance to a stabilising Florida insurance market, driven by recent legislative changes.
“We had an outstanding quarter and I am proud of the progress we have made in 2025,” Donaghy said. “We’re continuing to see the benefits of Florida’s legislative reforms, which have stabilized the market, benefiting all stakeholders.”
He added: “Our capital position is robust and we believe our aggregate reserves are more than adequate. We are well underway negotiating and placing our 2026 reinsurance program with 90% of our first event catastrophe tower already placed, along with meaningful additional multi-year capacity secured for the 2027 hurricane season.”
Universal also reported total revenue of $407.9 million for Q4 2025, up 6% from the prior year quarter and core revenue was $403.6 million, up 4.4% from the prior year quarter.
According to the firm, higher net premiums earned and net investment income were the main drivers of the core revenue increase.
Direct premiums written were $483.7 million, up 2.7% from the prior year quarter driven by 18.2% growth in other states, partly offset by a 3.1% decrease in Florida.
Overall, growth mostly reflects higher policies in force and inflation adjustments across Universal’s multi-state footprint.
Direct premiums earned totalled $538 million, up 3.6% from the prior year quarter. The increase stems from direct premiums written growth over the past twelve months.
The ceded premium ratio in Q4 2025 decreased to 32.4% from 32.9% in Q4 2024. This reduction was mainly due to higher reinsurance expenditure incurred during the prior year.
Universal reported $363.4 million in net premiums earned for the quarter, a 4.3% increase from Q4 2024. This growth was primarily attributable to higher direct premiums earned and a lower ceded premium ratio, as described above.
The combined ratio in Q4 2024 saw significant improvement, going down 20.4 pts to 87.5% from the 107.9% CoR reported in Q4 2024.
Net investment income stood at $19 million, up from $15.6 million in the prior year quarter. The increase primarily stems from higher fixed income reinvestment yields and higher invested assets.
During the fourth quarter, Universal repurchased approximately 210 thousand shares at an aggregate cost of $6.9 million. On January 7, 2026, a new $20 million share repurchase program was announced, effective through early 2028.
Additionally, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 16 cents per share. The dividend is payable on March 12, 2026, to shareholders of record as of March, 2026.
