All right. Well, welcome, friends. I'm Steve Johnston, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Officer here at Cincinnati Financial Corporation, and it's an honor to be with you at our annual meeting of shareholders. I'd like to formally call the meeting to order. As we move on to the business of the meeting, if any shareholder wishes to turn in your proxy, please raise your hand, and one of the inspectors of election will collect it. Also, any registered shareholder wishing to vote in person, may come forward to see the inspectors of election here to my left, who will facilitate, Brandon over there, who will facilitate voting in person. Thank you. I will now ask Lisa Love, Chief Legal Officer, Executive Vice President, and Corporate Secretary, to read the notice of meeting.
The notice of the annual meeting of shareholders was mailed to those persons who were shareholders of record of the company on March 6, 2024. That notice provided that the annual meeting be held at 9:30 A.M. on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the Cincinnati Financial Corporation headquarters, and that the items of the business to be considered at the meeting would be: electing 14 directors for one-year terms, voting on a non-binding proposal to approve compensation for the company's named executive officers, approving the Cincinnati Financial Corporation 2024 Stock Compensation Plan , ratifying the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2024, and transacting such other business as may properly come before the meeting.
I will include a copy of the notice along with the minutes of the meeting in the company records.
Thank you, Lisa. Let me now introduce the inspectors of election. Brandon McIntosh, Cincinnati Insurance, Assistant Vice President and Manager of Shareholder Services. Give a wave, Brandon. And Allison Azenne from Alliance Advisors is with us virtually. Alliance supports the company with proxy solicitation and vote tabulation services. Inspectors, please tabulate the shares represented in person or by proxy at the meeting.
While the inspectors tabulate the shares, let me make some introductions. Let's start with the introduction of our director nominees. Please hold your applause until we recognize them all. Directors, please stand and remain standing as your name is called. Thomas J. Aaron, Nancy C. Benacci, Linda W. Clement-Holmes, Dirk J. Debbink, Jill P. Meyer, David P. Osborn, Gretchen W. Schar, Charles O. Schiff, Douglas S. Skidmore, Stephen M. Spray, John F. Steele, Jr., Larry R. Webb, Cheng-Sheng Peter Wu , and I also will be standing for reelection today.
Let's thank all of the directors on behalf of the shareholders. Next, let me introduce the corporate officers here today with Lisa and me. Steve Spray, President, please stand. Mike Sewell, Chief Financial Officer. Steve Solorio , Chief Investment Officer and Executive Vice President. Let's give them a nice hand. Lisa Love was up here a little bit earlier. I'd like to pause and just share a little bit about Lisa. She is retiring. It'll be 43 years she's been with us in July. She worked six years through college and high school at all of her breaks, so really about 50 years with the company. Lisa's played an integral role in the development of strong governance practices and continues to guide the company and its subsidiaries.
She's also played the role of mentor and coach to many, including myself, and her leadership and wisdom will be missed. Lisa, please stand and be welcomed. We wish you a long and happy retirement. You deserve it. Next, I'd like to recognize the many other company officers and associates in attending today. Would you all please stand? I really appreciate you being out in such force. You're, you're such a, you're just so great for the company. I'd like to take a minute and welcome some other special guests to the meeting today. From Cincinnati Global Underwriting, we have Derek Eales. Derek? There he is at the back there. Cincinnati Global Underwriting, where Derek is from, is, we acquired in 2019, based in London, England. CGU writes for Lloyd's of London, Syndicate 318.
And Derek, thank you so much for making the trip and being with us. From Deloitte & Touche, our independent registered public accounting firm, we have David Freitas, Matt Brackman, Patrick Roberts, Jeanette Edwards, and Colin Mohler. Let's give them a hand. All right, now, in terms of retired directors and officers, and I hope I get everybody. If I don't, I will make sure to ask if I missed anybody. So, Ken Stecher, Chairman of the Board. Ken? Tony and Catherine Woods. Catherine wasn't on the board, but she was so instrumental. She gets right, you know? That's right. And, and, Greg Baer and, and Janie. Yeah, Janie, both of you. Janie, you can stand, too. All right, Janie's gonna stay seated, but, you know, they're also parents of associates and agents that represent us today, so huge contributors.
Okay, now, in terms of retirees, and maybe we'll hold our applause until everyone stands. Dave Helmers, Mark Mueller, Brent Billman. Brent sent me the nicest letter in the world the other day. Danny Jones. Good. Have I missed anybody? Let's give them a hand. All right, now, we have first-timers, and I think, I'll ask them to stand, and we'll applause once at the end as well. Michaela Gann and Keith. Yep, there you are. All right. Jake McLean, Skyler Burdette, Leticia Campbell, Brian Anderson, Cedric Hubbard, Stephanie Miller, Brian Henderson, Lisa Adams, Abby and Andrew Jump. There they are. And I have to be kind of special with this. They're, they're my daughter and son-in-law, and then two grandchildren here, Jack and Laney. Stan Palmway. We have Jacob Hemphill, 12 years old. Jacob, good. And, Isla Chamberlain.
Where is she? Okay, so Isla and Laney Ty is the youngest at three years old. Let's give everybody a hand. All right. Have I missed anybody in those categories? All right. Well done, Betsy. She goes all through the hall, comes up with a handwritten note and never misses anybody. Okay, so thank you, and thanks to all of you for attending. At this time, the inspectors may be ready with proxies. Mr. McIntosh, how many shares are represented at today's meeting?
Mr. Chairman, we, the undersigned, inspectors of election, duly appointed to act at the annual meeting of shareholders of Cincinnati Financial Corporation, held on the fourth day of May 2024, respectfully report as follows: number of shares represented in person, 0. Number of shares represented by proxy, 133,598,151. Total number of shares represented, 133,598,151. That is 85.3% of the shares outstanding. Respectfully submitted, Brandon McIntosh and Allison Azenne.
Thank you, Brandon. We have a quorum present, and the meeting may proceed. Is there a motion to waive the reading of the minutes from the last shareholder meeting of May 6, 2023? Thank you, Lisa. Is there a second? Thank you, Betsy. Any discussion? All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Motion carried, and we're all lucky for that, right? Thank you very much. We have 4 items of business to present this year before our inspectors tally the votes. I'd like to also note that the polls remain open for each matter to be voted on at this meeting. The first is the election of directors. To nominate the slate of directors listed in the proxy, I call on Dennis McDaniel, Cincinnati Insurance Vice President and Investor Relations Officer.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I hereby nominate Thomas J. Aaron, Nancy C. Benacci, Linda W. Clement-Holmes, Dirk J. Debbink, Stephen J. Johnston, Jill P. Meyer, David P. Osborn, Gretchen W. Schar, Charles O. Schiff, Douglas S. Skidmore, Stephen M. Spray, John F. Steele, Jr., Larry R. Webb, and Cheng-Sheng Peter Wu , for election as directors of the company to hold office until the date of their annual meeting of shareholders in 2025, and until their successors are elected and seated.
Thank you, Dennis. Are there any other nominations? Seeing none, I declare the nominations closed. The second order of business is voting on a non-binding proposal to approve the compensation for the company's named executive officers. To present the proposal, I call on Betsy E. Ertel, Cincinnati Insurance Company Vice President, Corporate Communications.
Mr. Chairman, I propose that shareholders approve the following resolution: Resolved, that the company's shareholders approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers as disclosed in the company's proxy statement for the Cincinnati Financial Corporation 2024 Annual Shareholder Meeting, pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the SEC, including the compensation discussion and analysis, the 2023 summary compensation table, and the other related tables and narrative disclosure.
Thank you, Betsy. Is there any discussion at this time? The third order of business is to approve the Cincinnati Financial Corporation 2024 Stock Compensation Plan . To present the proposal, I call on Tom Hogan, Cincinnati Insurance Associate General Counsel and Senior Vice President.
Mr. Chairman, I propose that shareholders approve the adoption of the Cincinnati Financial Corporation 2024 Stock Compensation Plan .
Thank you, Tom. Is there any discussion on this one at this time? Okay, the final order of business is to ratify the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2024. To present the proposal, I call on Kelly Robeck, Cincinnati Insurance Senior Financial Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis.
Mr. Chairman, I propose that shareholders ratify the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2024.
Thank you, Kelly. Is there any discussion at this time? Again, I would invite any shareholder who wants to vote in person to come and see the inspectors of election, or raise your hand and we'll come to you and receive your vote. Seeing and hearing none, the polls are now closed for each matter voted on at this meeting. While the inspectors of election are tallying the votes, we will talk about the company's 2023 performance and trends that may affect 2024 and beyond. You'll have an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the meeting, so please let us know if you want to hear more on any subject at that time. This time, I would like to talk a little bit about the safe harbor statement, so nobody falls asleep.
As we begin, let me remind you that some of the matters we will discuss are forward-looking and may involve certain risks and uncertainties. You may refer to various filings with the SEC for factors that could cause results to differ materially from those discussed. You can find reconciliation for non-GAAP measures in our most recent quarterly earnings news release, which is available at cinfin.com/investors. At this time, I would like to ask Steve Spray to join me. Let's give Steve a big hand. All right! As we previously announced, this is my last shareholder meeting as CEO. Effective at our board meeting, immediately following this shareholder meeting, President Steve Spray will take the reins of the company, adding the role of Chief Executive Officer. As I mentioned before, Steve is the right person to build on our decade of profitable growth.
He understands the importance of our agency-centered strategy, the unique advantages it brings, and I'm confident in his abilities to bring innovative ideas together with the hallmarks of Cincinnati Insurance to create opportunities for shareholders, agents, and associates. I look forward to continuing to work with him as chairman of the board. Let's give him another hand. All right, I'm going to move on to the slide that I start almost every meeting with, and this, I think, is the perfect visual for our vision and our strategy. Our vision is to be the best company serving independent agents, so not just the best insurance company, the best company serving independent agents. The pyramid is perfect. It places the agents at the top of the pyramid, supported by overwhelming claim service, empowered field representatives and field associates, and of course, our headquarters support. We're very financially strong.
We have now over $12.6 billion in GAAP equity , supporting about $8 billion in written premium volume. And then, of course, ethical behavior. We put the whole strategy, the whole vision on a foundation of ethical behavior, try to execute on the golden rule and treat people the way that we would want to.
Thanks, Steve. These next few slides that I'm going to talk about cover, we really look at as a report card on how we're executing on the vision and strategy that Steve laid out. First one is net written premiums, and you can see here on the slide, last 5 years, Cincinnati Insurance is depicted by the dark blue bars, our tough peer group, green, and then the industry by the gray bars. Over the last 5 years, we've grown a compounded annual growth rate of just right at 10%, about a time and a half the industry average. As you can see, starting off the first quarter of 2024, we're off to a strong start on net written premiums as well. Most importantly, we're doing it profitably. Stephanie, if you could forward that one for me. Thank you very much.
One thing I've learned over the years is that everything good happens with a company when you have a modest underwriting profit. You can invest back into the business, into your associates. You get more confidence in taking on risks. You can send money to the investment department, grow your balance sheet, pay industry-leading compensation to your agents for sending us their best business, and then continue to increase the dividend that we pay to shareholders. combined ratio underwriting profit is paramount to everything we do, and I assure you, it's going to be a focus as we go forward. We've got quite a streak going here. You can see it on the slide for the last 5 years. We've actually got 12 years in a row of combined ratios under 100.
Underwriting profit, off to a good start here in 2023, excuse me, 2024 as well, at 93.6. So a key component, I want to thank all the associates, and we've got agents in the room. Thanks for your effort on that as well. All right, I think everyone knows, but if not, I want to cover it, is that we've always had an agency strategy, not a product strategy. We appoint the most professional agents in the business, do business with as few as possible as well. Our strategy is to be as important to each agency as we can, be an inch wide and a mile deep.
As you can see here on the slide, we try to be as important and contribute to the success of each of those agencies, whether it be multi-peril, multi-line, commercial lines, management liability and surety , machinery and equipment. In personal lines, we've become a premier market, not only for middle market personal lines, but private client as well. Our E&S company that helps agents place business with accounts in their community that are a little tougher risk to place, so have a solution for the local client. Our life insurance company, adding value to the agents and the associates, or excuse me, the policyholders in their community. Then we've added Cincinnati Global. Steve introduced Derek, our Lloyd's syndicate, and along with Cincinnati Re.
So we get a real broad, diversification of revenue across agencies by all these different business segments and classes of business. We also, as an added benefit, we get geographical diversification across the country. So this is something that we will continue to grow. You can see it's all grown nicely over time. Like Steve said, a little over $8 billion, at the end of 2023. So we'll continue to add, continue to grow that. We'll continue to add, more opportunities and more products and more services for our agencies.
That profitable growth, and puts us in a great position to be able to invest, and invest we do. It grows the balance sheet. This slide shows the growth over five years of both our statutory surplus and our GAAP equity. The blue bars are our statutory surplus . They've grown by over $2 billion as we over this period of time, or nearly $2 billion. The GAAP equity has grown by actually 28% as we move across the five years, and we're up to $12.654 billion. Great growth in the balance sheet that puts us in a great position to continue to grow. It also puts us in a great position to pay dividends, and this slide shows the increase in the dividend over time.
As you may know, we've increased our dividend, not just paid one, increased our dividend for 63 years in a row. Actually, the board of directors earlier this year increased the dividend by 8% to $0.81 a quarter, which sets the stage for a 64th year. We've paid over this period of time to shareholders over $2 billion in dividends. As we add the dividends to everything else, it, it adds up to our primary financial metric, the value creation ratio, which is the growth in our book value plus the dividend contributions. We show this with the blue bars on an annual basis for 5 years in the first quarter of this year, but we also show in the green boxes what it's been on a 5-year average, ending at that accounting date. This is very important.
It really drives our stock price and is our primary financial metric. There is some volatility, as you can see in the, with the bars on a year-to-year basis, but every one of the five years on a five-year average, ending at that year, is above our target of 10%. And we're off to a great start here in 2024, up 5.9% in the first quarter.
We look at this slide, and really, we think it depicts a validation of both our long-term strategy and short-term goals. What we're showing you here is that a $1 invested at the end of 1987 in the S&P 500 or in Cincinnati Financial. As you can see, over that time, the S&P has performed very well, but look what that same dollar invested in Cincinnati Financial would've returned over double what the S&P did over that same time frame. Steve just mentioned our VCR. It's depicted in the gray line there. As he mentioned, it's really the growth in our book value, adding back dividends to shareholders. It's our primary financial metric we use as a company.
I think you can see why it's the primary financial metric and how it tracks with our stock price over time. With that, I just want to add one more comment before I sit down. I know for me personally, and I know I can speak on behalf of everyone at Cincinnati Insurance Company, just how much we appreciate Steve Johnston, his leadership, his mentorship, and his coaching over the last 13 years. Steve, thank you very much.
Yeah.
Much appreciated. How about a round of applause?
Thank you. Thank you very much. I really appreciate that. It's just been an honor to serve all of you and the shareholders of Cincinnati Financial Corporation. I will say, and no one can do this job by themselves, so I'd like to give a special thank you to my wife, Debbie. She's been with me every step of the way. So thank you, and thank you, Steve.
Absolutely.
As we move on, before we hear from the inspectors of election, I'd like to remind shareholders of the service of our stock register, transfer agent, and dividend disbursing agent, Equiniti Trust Company, and what they can provide. Equiniti can help shareholders of record convert paper certificates to electronic book entry. Holding your shares electronically eliminates the risk and expense of paper certificates being misplaced or destroyed. Equiniti can also help you enroll in dividend reinvestment plans, compounding your returns over time. If you'd like more information, please either contact our shareholder services department or visit Equiniti at www.shareowneronline.com. Inspectors, do you have the preliminary voting results?
Mr. Chairman, we, the undersigned inspectors of election, duly appointed to act at the annual meeting of shareholders of Cincinnati Financial Corporation, held on the fourth day of May 2024, hereby submit a preliminary report on the results of the voting. For the first proposal, the election of directors, each of this year's nominees received votes for their election of a majority of the shares present or represented and entitled to vote at the meeting. For the non-binding advisory Say on Pay vote, approximately 95% of the shares present or represented and entitled to vote at the meeting were voted in favor of the non-binding resolution to approve the compensation for the company's Named Executive Officers.
For the third proposal, approximately 96% of shares present or represented and entitled to vote at the meeting were voted in favor of adopting the Cincinnati Financial 2024 Stock Compensation Plan. For the final proposal, approximately 96% of the shares present or represented and entitled to vote at the meeting were voted in favor of ratifying the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2024. Respectfully submitted, Brandon McIntosh and Allison Azenne.
Thank you, Brandon. It appears all directors have been elected, all proposals have passed, and the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company's independent registered public accounting firm has been ratified. The inspectors of election will furnish the corporate secretary with a written report of the final vote count with respect to the matters voted on today, to be included in the minutes of the meeting. We'll announce final results once they are certified early next week. At this time, I'd like to ask Steve Spray to join me again as we welcome any questions. Please come to the two microphones that we've set up to share your comment or ask a question. So that we can keep the meeting on schedule and allow everyone to speak who wishes to, please keep your comments or questions to two minutes or less.
Okay, seeing none, I want to do one last recognition. I saw former director, Allen Weiler , and his wife, Bobby, come in here. Would you two stand and please be recognized? Unless there's any other business for today's meeting, I request a motion to adjourn. Is there a second? Well, we're ready to adjourn. Let's go. We stand adjourned. Thank you very much for your presence today. We look forward to seeing you again next year.