Sheboygan-based property and casualty insurer Acuity said it generated record profits in 2018.
The insurer reported a 93.5 combined ratio, which is more than 8 points better than its competitors in the property/casualty industry, the company said. It’s the eighth consecutive year that Acuity has earned a combined ratio of less than 100.
Acuity also reported generating net income of more than $200 million for the first time in its history in 2018.
The company also continued to add to policyholders’ surplus, ending 2018 at a record $2 billion. Assets increased to $4.46 billion.
“Acuity is a consistent source of strength for our independent agent partners and the hundreds of thousands of individuals, families, businesses, and workers who depend on us to be there when disaster strikes,” said Ben Salzmann, president and chief executive officer of Acuity. “Our continued strong performance reflects the hard work of everyone at Acuity and confirms that we are doing things right—pricing products fairly and accurately, maintaining underwriting discipline, and operating at a high level of efficiency.”
Acuity operates in 27 states and insures more than 100,000 businesses, including 300,000 commercial vehicles, and nearly a half million homes and private passenger autos. It has more than 1,300 employees.
In October 2017, the company completed a $170 million expansion of its corporate headquarters, doubling the total building space to a total of 1.2 million square feet. The larger headquarters positions Acuity for staffing increases and business growth in the years ahead, the company said.
The company has said it plans in 2019 to hire more than 160 employees, about 90 percent of whom will be located in the company’s Sheboygan corporate headquarters.
In 2018, the company had revenue of $1.54 billion, up from $1.44 billion in 2017. The company’s 7.2 percent increase in written premium was the highest in four years. With $255 million in new business premium, Acuity finished 2018 with more than $1.5 billion in total written premium for the first time in its history.
In personal lines, Acuity said it surpassed $400 million in written premium for the first time in 2018.
