Please stand by. We're about to begin. Good day, welcome to the 2017 RLI Corp. Annual Shareholders Meeting. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Mr. Jonathan Michael, RLI Corp. Chairman and CEO. Please go ahead.
Thank you, everybody, welcome to the 52nd annual RLI shareholders meeting. I think many of you know me, but for those who don't or who are listening over the internet, I'm Jon Michael, Chairman and CEO of RLI, it's my pleasure to welcome you to this annual meeting. Thank you for your interest and attendance. Before we start, I'll read our company's disclaimer. Maybe not all of that, but I'll read this. During this annual shareholders meeting, we may make comments that reflect our intentions, beliefs, and expectations for the future of RLI. As with any forward-looking statements, these comments are subject to certain risk factors, which could cause our actual results to differ materially. For a more comprehensive list of these factors in the text of our forward-looking statement disclaimer, please refer to our various SEC filings, including our 2016 Form 10-K and annual report.
I'd like to begin the meeting by welcoming all of the RLI employees throughout the country listening to our broadcast. Those RLI employees that are here, thanks to your efforts, we were able to deliver, once again, outstanding results in 2016. I'm grateful for your continued commitment to the company and happy that you've joined today. At this time, I'd like to call the meeting to order and introduce our board. As I call your name, please stand to be recognized. Kaj Ahlmann, Barb Allen, Mike Angelina, John Baily, Calvin Butler, Director Nominee Dave Duclos, Jordan Graham, Lynn McFeatters, Bob Restrepo, Jim Scanlan, and Mike Stone. I'd also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge two of our valued associates who've made lasting contributions to your company over the years.
Directors Chuck Linke and Bob Viets are retiring from the board today, which happened immediately following the board meeting that we had earlier today, we honored both Chuck and Bob at that board meeting. Chuck had a 30-plus-year career at the U of I, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and has been a Professor Emeritus of Finance since 1998. Since 1981, Chuck has also been the CEO of Economics Et Cetera, a consulting firm specializing in financial economics. Chuck was appointed to our board in 2003, he served as the Chairman of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee for eight years and as your Lead Director for five years. During his tenure, he served as a member of the board's Finance & Investment Committee for 13 years and has served on the Strategy and Executive Resources Committees.
Bob, on the other hand, joined Central Illinois Light Company, CILCO, in 1973. While serving as their Chief Financial Officer, he led a restructuring of that company, whereby CILCO became a wholly owned subsidiary of CILCORP, and Bob served as the President and CEO of CILCORP from 1988 through 1999. Bob is President of ROV Consultants, providing consulting services to regulated energy and communications businesses. Bob was appointed to the board in 1993. He served on our Executive Resources Committee for 17 years, seven of which he was chairman. He has been a member of the Audit Committee for nearly 24 years. He served on the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee for seven. Chuck and Bob's advice and counsel during their tenure was extremely valuable to the success of RLI.
As a result of the honor that they bestowed upon the company by their dedication, I express my sincere appreciation and gratitude for their many years of service, commitment, and leadership. Thank you both. I almost didn't recognize Chuck without that yellow shirt on today. Also in attendance today are our members of the company's home office executive team and various other company product group and claim VPs. They are pictured here. Other guests today, company founder Jerry Stephens and his wife, Helen. Always good to have you back. You look great. Representing KPMG are Lindsay Hammer and Kevin Strutz. Will Williams and other representatives from DVI are here as well. The business agenda for the meeting is described in the notice and proxy statement related to the meeting, copies of which were distributed to all shareholders in advance of the meeting.
The formal meeting will be conducted first, after which our President and COO, Craig Kliethermes, will make a few remarks about our operation. After Craig's presentation, we will be available to answer your questions. Dean Stevenson, our Corporate Secretary, has reported to me the required notice of the meeting was mailed on time, and that a certified list of shareholders is available for inspection should any meeting attendees want to review it. As noted in the proxy statement previously provided to all shareholders of record, the record date for voting at this meeting was March 6, 2017. Tom Brown, our CFO, will serve as the Inspector of the election, and his report, along with the proxies, will be filed in the minutes of the meeting. Jordan Graham and Barbara Allen were designated by the board to act as proxies for today's meeting, and Mr. Graham will report the voting results.
We have 96.5% of the outstanding shares represented here today in person or by proxy, and therefore, a quorum is present, and we may conduct the meeting. As indicated in the proxy, there are six proposals to be acted upon today. Proposal one is the election of 12 directors of the company. Proposals two through four, approval of the minutes of the company's restated articles of incorporation to allow for the removal of directors without cause and conform the personal liability provision to the language of the governing Illinois statute and to update the director election and registered agent provisions. Proposal five is a non-binding advisory vote regarding adding or approving the executive compensation of the named executive officers, NEOs, in the company's proxy statement. Proposal six is to ratify the selection of KPMG as the company's independent registered public accounting firms.
Each of these proposals is more fully described in the proxy statement, and each is recommended by the board. I'd like to take the opportunity to welcome our newest board members, Bob Restrepo, Calvin Butler, and our newest nominee, Dave Duclos. Bob was appointed in July 2016, Calvin in October of 2016, and Dave will be elected today. These new directors bring a wealth of executive management experience and industry knowledge and expertise to the RLI board. Mr. Graham, would you please present the results of the voting?
Mr. Chairman, the voting results are as follows. With respect to proposal one, the election of directors, a majority of the votes cast have been voted for the election of each of the 12 nominees. With respect to proposals two through four, the approval of the amendments to the company's restated articles of incorporation, each proposal received approval of a majority of the votes cast. With respect to proposal number five, the non-binding advisory vote on the compensation of the company's named executive officers, also known as say on pay, as described in the 2017 proxy statement, the proposals received approval of a majority of the votes cast. With respect to proposal six, the approval of the ratification of KPMG LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of the company for fiscal 2017, the proposal receives approval of the majority of the votes cast.
Thank you, Mr. Graham. Based on the report of the Inspector of the election, each person nominated for election as a director has been elected to serve as a director until the 2018 annual meeting. The amendments to the company's restated articles of incorporation and compensation of our named NEOs have been approved. The Audit Committee selection of KPMG LLP as independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2017 has been ratified. These actions will be recorded as stated in the minutes of the meeting. This concludes the formal meeting. I declare this part of the meeting adjourned. Craig will bring you up to date on the company's progress. Craig?
Thank you, Jon. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of all of us at RLI, I want to thank you for investing in our company. Our talented team has worked diligently over the past year to earn our customers' business and investors' confidence. I'm pleased to report that 2016 was another strong year for our company. RLI's focus on profitable underwriting governs our approach to pricing risk selection and provides a solid foundation to enable success through all market cycles. Although competition in 2016 remained fierce and technology continues to accelerate the pace of industry change, our customer focus and disciplined underwriting philosophy delivered results. Highlights of our financial accomplishments during the year follow. We posted underwriting income of $76.1 million, resulting in an 89.5 combined ratio, which marked our 12th consecutive year of achieving a combined ratio below 90 and our 21st consecutive year below 100.
Shareholder equity was $824 million at year-end. While relatively flat from the prior year, we still delivered returns and value to our shareholders through a special cash dividend of $2 per share, which, combined with ordinary dividends, allowed us to return $122 million to our shareholders in 2016. Our investment portfolio performed well, producing a total return of 5.7% in 2016, which was driven heavily by positive gains in our equity portfolio. In addition to achieving profitable bottom-line results, we succeeded in growing our top line. Gross premiums written grew 2% in 2016, fueled by growth in our casualty and surety product segment, which were up 8% and 2% respectively. Taking a deeper look at our annual segment results, our casualty segment grew top line and achieved a 92 combined ratio.
We continue to see growth in both established and newer casualty products within our portfolio. In addition, we anticipate that the new underwriters and products we've added will enhance future segment growth. Our surety business ended the year with exceptional underwriting results, leading to a 77.8 combined ratio. Strong underwriting performances within the energy, commercial, and miscellaneous divisions bolstered surety divisional results. We see more opportunity within our surety business. However, continued success will require heightened discipline in our risk selection to offset growing competition and infrequent but severe losses that are commonly seen in this segment. The property segment posted solid underwriting results as well, delivering a 91.6 combined ratio despite adverse market conditions. These headwinds, combined with the impact of Hurricane Matthew in the fourth quarter, challenged property premium growth and underwriting margins during the year.
The property market remains the most competitive of our three core product segments. As a result, we anticipate that our property products will represent a smaller portion of our overall portfolio in 2017. Equally important to our financial results were the strides we made in delivering great products and services to our customers while positioning RLI for the future through strategic investments in our people, product offerings, and technology. I want to thank all of our RLI associates for our performance in 2016 and congratulate them on their achievements. Turning to the first quarter of 2017, we're off to a solid start to the year, given unfavorable market conditions. We achieved underwriting income of $13.1 million, resulting in a 92.9 combined ratio.
Gross premiums written were down 1% in the quarter, reflecting a challenging market and the recent pruning of a few underperforming products from our portfolio, namely our property treaty reinsurance and recreational vehicle business. Investment income for the quarter fell 2.7% compared to the same period in 2016. The investment portfolio's total return was 1.8% for the quarter. We aim to outperform regardless of market conditions and remain relentlessly focused on the things that will enable future success, including meeting customer needs through superior products and exceptional service, attracting and retaining the best talent in the industry, maintaining our hallmark underwriting discipline, scaling our new product initiatives, and investing in new products where it makes sense. On May 8th, 1987, RLI joined the most influential and dynamic corporations in the nation by becoming listed for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange.
Since its listing on the exchange 30 years ago, RLI has grown significantly from a contact lens insurer with an emerging specialty property and casualty business and $14 million in earnings to a diversified specialty insurer with $115 million in earnings. While our company and products have evolved over the time, we've remained steadfast in our commitment to prudently manage our capital, to protect policyholders and reward shareholders. A review of our track record validates the value of investing in RLI. We've delivered profitable underwriting results for 21 consecutive years and beaten the industry average combined ratio by 18 points over the last decade. We paid regular dividends for 163 consecutive quarters and consistently increased regular dividends in each of the last 41 years.
Over the past 10 years, we've delivered a 10-year annualized total return of 15% to shareholders, a return that has significantly outpaced that of the S&P 500 and S&P 500 P&C Insurance Index. Looking forward, we are optimistic about the future. RLI continues to be well-positioned for the long-term success given our niche expertise and diversified product footprint. Our businesses are competitive and agile. Our underwriters and associates are owners, and their actions are aligned with the interest of our customers and our shareholders. These factors will allow us to continue differentiating RLI in the markets we serve and delivering solid underwriting results to our shareholders. Thank you for your confidence and continued investment in RLI. Now I'll turn it back over to John for some closing remarks.
Thanks, Craig. Craig just mentioned shareholder returns, so I'd like to announce that earlier today, your board approved a second quarter cash dividend of $0.21 a share. That's a $0.01 increase over the previous quarter. With that dividend, RLI will have raised and paid dividends for 42 consecutive years, a record that few companies can match. That was always Jerry's philosophy to begin slowly and pay a small dividend and then increase it every year, I think that has proven a very smart way to handle dividends indeed. Thank you everyone here in the room, on the phone, and online today. We will end the broadcast at this point