Employers Holdings, Inc. (EIG)

Employers Holdings earned $29.1 million in the second quarter of 2026, close to the $29.7 million of a year earlier 2.

The company sold less insurance, as gross premiums written, the premiums customers agreed to pay, fell to $163.4 million from $203.3 million 2.

The company says this reflects pricing and underwriting actions, begun in 2025, to return to historical underwriting margins 2.

Insurance itself still lost money: the combined ratio, where anything over 100 percent means an underwriting loss, was 105.8 percent 12.

On 29 July 2026 the board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share 3.

The business began as a state fund 1. In 1999 the Nevada State Industrial Insurance System handed its old claims to outside insurers under a retroactive 100 percent reinsurance agreement called the LPT Agreement 1.

On 1 January 2000 the company took over the fund's assets, liabilities and operations, and its shares were first offered to the public in January 2007 1.

Net income was $118.1 million in 2023 and $118.6 million in 2024 1.

Those years were helped by favorable reserve development, meaning old claims cost less than first estimated: $44.9 million in 2023 and $18.4 million in 2024 1.

In 2025 the picture turned, as prior-year claims cost $39.6 million more than first estimated 1.

Losses and LAE, the cost of claims and handling them, rose 27.5 percent in 2025 1.

Net income fell to $10.8 million, and the combined ratio reached 110.9 percent against 97.9 percent in 2024 1.

The company met this with pricing and underwriting actions that cut new business, and gross premiums written slipped 2.6 percent in 2025 1.

What it sells

Employers Holdings is a holding company whose subsidiaries sell workers' compensation insurance to small and mid-sized businesses in lower hazard industries 1.

This cover pays medical bills and lost wages when an employee is hurt at work 1.

In February 2026 it launched an excess workers' compensation product for self-insured enterprises, and it wrote its first such policy in June 2026 12.

Premiums are also invested before claims are paid, and net investment income was $116.7 million in 2025 1.

Where and how it sells

California is the largest market, with 47 percent of trailing twelve month gross written premiums 2.

It operates across the U.S. except North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming, which are served exclusively by state funds 1.

It sells through insurance agencies and brokers and directly to customers 1.

It had 127,601 policies in force at 30 June 2026, down from 134,421 a year earlier 2.

People, rivals and problems

Michael Pedraja, executive vice president and chief financial officer, signed the July 2026 results report 3.

The company had 623 full-time employees at the end of 2025 1.

It competes with other specialty workers' compensation carriers, state agencies, multi-line insurers, professional employer organizations, self-insurance funds and state insurance pools, and many are larger 1.

Its main problem is underwriting: the loss on insurance was $23.0 million in the first half of 2026 against $14.6 million in the first half of 2025 2.

The umbrella, in words

Employers Holdings is the parent of five insurers, each rated A (Excellent) by AM Best 1.

They are Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, Employers Compensation Insurance Company, Employers Preferred Insurance Company, Employers Assurance Company and Cerity Insurance Company 1.

The first is domiciled in Nevada, the second in California, the third and fourth in Florida and the fifth in New York 1.

The 1999 reinsurance deal on the old state fund's claims still shows as a deferred gain of $88.0 million at the end of 2025 1.

It leased 29,120 square feet of office space in three states as of 1 February 2026, including its Reno headquarters 1.

The company said it expected underwriting of its excess workers' compensation product to begin in 2026 1.

Its quarterly report says the pricing and underwriting actions that began in 2025 continue in 2026, aimed at returning to historical underwriting margins 2.

It also said it is pursuing ways to diversify its risk by geography and economic sector, expand its risk appetite and broaden its products 1.

The quarterly report shows $113.0 million of repurchase authorization remaining under the 2026 program, with future repurchases at the board's discretion 2.

No clue on file points to a new direction yet.