Good afternoon, and welcome to the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders for The Hartford. I would now like to introduce Chairman and CEO, Christopher Swift.
Good afternoon, fellow shareholders. I am Christopher Swift, Chairman and CEO. On behalf of the board of directors, executive leadership team, and employees of The Hartford, welcome to our 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Terence Shields, the company's corporate secretary, is the secretary of today's meeting. John Holdwa, a representative of Broadridge, is the inspector of election. He has already taken his oath and reported that we have a quorum for the meeting. The annual meeting of the shareholders of The Hartford is now convened. To begin, let me introduce the members of the board, each of whom, in addition to myself, is standing for re-election. Thomas Bartlett, Larry D. De Shon, Carlos Dominguez, Trevor Fetter, Donna James, Annette Rippert, Teresa Wynn Roseborough, Virginia Ruesterholz, Matthew E. Winter, and Kathleen Winters. Thank you for your advice, counsel, and wisdom.
In addition to the board, members of The Hartford's executive leadership team and representatives of Deloitte & Touche, the company's independent auditor, are on the line with me today. At this time, I'll ask Terence to preside over the business portion of this meeting. Following that, I will make some brief remarks regarding the past year and what I believe is an exciting future.
Thank you, Chris. Today, shareholders are asked to vote on four proposals, the details of which were included in the proxy statement. We have not received advance notice of any director nominations other than those included in the proxy statement, nor any additional proposals for consideration at this meeting, as required by our bylaws. Therefore, director nominations are closed, and no other proposals can be presented today. Online voting and the ability to submit questions opened on April 9th. If you have already voted your proxy, please do not vote again unless you would like to change your vote. If you want to vote or ask a question now, click the Vote Here or Ask a Question button at the bottom of your screen. Online voting will remain open while I list the four items for your consideration. The question tool will remain open through the end of Chris's remarks.
The first item to be acted upon is a vote on each of the 11 director candidates. The second item is the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2026. The third item is a management proposal to approve on a non-binding advisory basis the compensation of the named executive officers as disclosed in the proxy statement. The fourth and final item is a shareholder proposal that the company adopt written consent rights for shareholders. This proposal was submitted by Mr. John Chevedden, who will now be presenting this proposal. Mr. Chevedden, please proceed.
Hello, this is John Chevedden. Proposal 4, shareholder right to act by written consent. Shareholders request the Board of Directors take the necessary steps to permit written consent by the shareholders entitled to cast the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize an action at a meeting at which all shareholders entitled to vote thereon were present at voting, without any discrimination or restriction based on length of stock ownership. Hartford shareholders have a particular need for the right to act by written consent because it's considerably more difficult than necessary for Hartford shareholders to call for a special shareholder meeting. According to state law, Hartford shareholders can have the right to act by written consent and the right to call for a special shareholder meeting. Both rights allow shareholders to take action between annual meetings.
Shame on Hartford for suggesting that its shareholders limit themselves to one shareholder right when Hartford shareholders are entitled to two shareholder rights under state law. It's especially important for Hartford shareholders to have a right to act by written consent because Hartford shareholders only have an unattainable right to call for a special shareholder meeting. Hartford requires the backing of 25% of all shares outstanding to call for a special shareholder meeting. The reason that 25% figure is too high is that shareholders at more than 100 companies have voted on a shareholder proposal for a right to call a special shareholder meeting, not 1 of these companies have ever claimed that a special shareholder meeting ever took place at a company that had the 25% requirement.
Companies like the 25% requirement because they know the 25% requirement is a safe requirement for management entrenchment, and a special shareholder meeting will never take place. Hartford made it even more difficult for its shareholders to call for a special shareholder meeting by excluding a substantial block of shares from calling for a special shareholder meeting. More than 100 companies have voted on a shareholder right to call a special shareholder meeting, and not one of these companies have ever claimed that a special shareholder meeting ever actually took place at a company that excluded a substantial block of shares. It could take 40% of the remaining Hartford shares to call for a special shareholder meeting.
It's important to adopt a shareholder right to act by written consent because the current The Hartford right to call for a special shareholder meeting is unattainable for two separate reasons, which equal negative redundancy against an important shareholder right. Please vote yes, shareholder right to act by written consent, proposal 4.
Thank you, Mr. Chevedden. The board recommends a vote against this proposal for the reasons explained in the proxy statement. As all shareholders have been given an opportunity to vote, I now declare voting closed. I have received the preliminary tabulation report from Broadridge, and based on that report, I declare as follows. First, each director nominee received more for votes than against votes. Therefore, all nominees were elected as directors of the company. Second, the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2026 received the majority of the votes cast. Third, shareholders approved on an advisory basis the 2025 compensation of the company's named executive officers. Finally, the shareholder proposal that the company adopt written consent rights for shareholders failed to receive a majority of the votes cast.
Please note that the final voting results of today's meeting will be reported on Form 8-K, which we intend to file within four business days of this meeting. That concludes the business portion of the meeting. Just a few comments before I turn the meeting back to Chris. Please note the information on the slide that is now being presented. Chris will be making some statements that should be considered forward-looking. Our actual results could differ materially for a number of reasons, including due to risks and uncertainties described in our 2025 annual report on Form 10-K and other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Chris will now provide some brief remarks regarding the past year and The Hartford's future.
Thank you, Terence. Let me briefly review The Hartford's accomplishments in 2025, building on momentum established over the past few years and now extending into 2026. For a more comprehensive discussion of our performance and strategy, I encourage you to read my annual letter to shareholders. 2025 was an outstanding year for The Hartford, reflecting the strength of our strategy, disciplined execution, and the impact of ongoing investments in innovation. We delivered excellent financial results, including core earnings of $3.8 billion and a core earnings return on equity of 19.4%, driven by strong performance across each of our businesses. Business insurance produced robust written premium growth with excellent underlying margins. Employee benefits delivered an outstanding core earnings margin above our long-term target. Personal insurance reached key milestones, with auto returning to targeted profitability.
The investment portfolio continued to generate strong net investment income, supported by attractive yields and a diversified high-quality portfolio. Over the past decade, we have modernized our technology platforms, data, and infrastructure. Building on that foundation, we are increasingly applying AI across underwriting, claims, and operations to enhance decision-making, efficiency, and the overall customer experience. These investments are increasingly embedded in how we underwrite, serve customers, and partner with agents and brokers. Our One Hartford approach brings the organization together as a unified team, enabling stronger collaboration across business insurance and, increasingly, the broader enterprise to meet a wide range of customer needs. This strategic alignment, combined with consistent execution, continues to resonate with agents and brokers. We are advancing underwriting capabilities to drive faster, better, and more consistent underwriting decisions while delivering superior agent, broker, and customer experiences.
For more than 215 years, we have successfully navigated cycles of profound change, evolving our capabilities to accelerate progress and transformation. This legacy positions us to adapt to what lies ahead and capitalize on emerging opportunities. Even against a backdrop of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, our foundation is strong, reflecting who we are at our core. An underwriting company that consistently delivers with discipline and innovates with purpose. With solid fundamentals, a durable investment portfolio, and a strong balance sheet, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering superior returns for our shareholders. With that, we would be happy to address your questions. Terence, please share the questions that we have received.
Thanks, Chris. Just one question. Please provide your thoughts on The Hartford's first quarter 2026 earnings, which fell short of Wall Street estimates. Financial analysts from firms like Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have pointed to a softening property and casualty market, noting that pricing pressures and rising loss costs could squeeze margins.
Well, yeah, thank you for the question. I would say overall, I thought we got off to a great first quarter start. If I look at all our key metrics that really talk to the underlying fundamentals, like underlying combined ratio, top line growth, written premium growth, investment results, I was pleased across the board. I think maybe what is a little challenging in certain areas was that our catastrophes, primarily due to winter storms, were elevated outside of a normal or expected range, but not terribly. We did settle some legacy liabilities for a religious institution that required a $70 million charge. Other than that, I thought that it was a really good start. The market is competitive, which really requires disciplined execution, focusing on margins and not necessarily the top line. That's what I would say, Terence.
Great. Thanks, Chris. No further questions.
Okay. Thank you. If there are no further questions, I would like to conclude and thank you for your interest and continued support. It is an exciting time at The Hartford for our employees, customers, distribution partners, and all stakeholders. We are well-positioned to sustain our momentum, achieving profitable growth with industry-leading ROEs in 2025 and beyond. Thank you again for joining us today.
That concludes our meeting today. You may now disconnect.