first quarter 2022 net income per diluted share of 415 up 45 and return on equity of 150 first quarter 2022 core income per diluted share of 422 up 55 and core return on equity of 155 board of directors declares 6 increase in regular quarterly cash dividend to 093 per share   first quarter net income of 1018 billion and core income of 1037 billion   consolidated combined ratio of 913 and underlying combined ratio of 912   record net written premiums of 8367 billion up 11 compared to the prior year quarter   net written premium growth in all three segments compared to the prior year quarter business insurance up 9 bond  specialty insurance up 22 and personal insurance up 12   total capital returned to shareholders of 773 million including 559 million of share repurchases   book value per share of 10640 down 5 from march 31 2021 adjusted book value per share of 11219 up 11 from march 31 2021 the travelers companies inc today reported net income of 1018 billion or 415 per diluted share for the quarter ended march 31 2022 compared to 733 million or 287 per diluted share in the prior year quarter core income in the current quarter was 1037 billion or 422 per diluted share compared to 699 million or 273 per diluted share in the prior year quarter core income increased primarily due to lower catastrophe losses partially offset by lower net favorable prior year reserve development and lower net investment income net realized investment losses in the current quarter were 23 million pretax 19 million aftertax compared to net realized investment gains of 44 million pretax 34 million aftertax in the prior year quarter per diluted share amounts benefited from the impact of share repurchases we are off to a terrific start in 2022 with strong contributions to our results from both underwriting and investments said alan schnitzer chairman and chief executive officer core income for the quarter was 10 billion or 422 per diluted share generating core return on equity of 155 these results were driven by net earned premiums of 80 billion which were 9 higher than in the prior year period and an excellent combined ratio of 913 underlying underwriting income in our commercial business segments was particularly strong our highquality investment portfolio generated aftertax net investment income of 539 million these results along with our strong balance sheet enabled us to return 773 million of excess capital to our shareholders this quarter including nearly 560 million of share repurchases in recognition of our strong financial position and confidence in the outlook for our business i am pleased to share that our board of directors declared a 6 increase in our quarterly cash dividend to 093 per share marking 18 consecutive years of dividend increases with a compound annual growth rate of 9 over that period our bestinclass marketplace execution produced 11 growth in net written premiums this quarter to a record 84 billion with each of our three segments contributing in business insurance net written premiums grew by 9 with renewal premium change of 91 near alltime highs and record retention of 87 in addition new business was up 17 year over year in bond  specialty insurance net written premiums increased by 22 driven by renewal premium change of 120 continued strong retention and 12 growth in new business in our management liability business as well as terrific production in our surety business in personal insurance renewal premium change was higher in both auto and homeowners contributing to net written premium growth of 12 the significant innovation and technology investments we have been making for some time are driving our performance today and transforming travelers into the insurance company of the future we are innovating on top of a foundation of excellence to ensure our continued success through competitive advantages that are relevant differentiating and difficult to replicate with that and our talent advantage we are confident in our ability to continue to create shareholder value over time first quarter 2022 results  all comparisons vs first quarter 2021 unless noted otherwise net income of 1018 billion increased 285 million due to higher core income partially offset by net realized investment losses compared to net realized investment gains in the prior year quarter core income of 1037 billion increased 338 million primarily due to lower catastrophe losses partially offset by lower net favorable prior year reserve development and lower net investment income the underlying underwriting gain ie excluding net prior year reserve development and catastrophe losses benefited from higher business volumes and a 47 million benefit relating to the resolution of prior year income tax matters net realized investment losses were 23 million pretax 19 million aftertax compared to net realized investment gains of 44 million pretax 34 million aftertax in the prior year quarter   the combined ratio of 913 improved 53 points due to lower catastrophe losses 93 points partially offset by lower net favorable prior year reserve development 23 points and a higher underlying combined ratio 17 points   the underlying combined ratio of 912 increased 17 points see below for further details by segment   net favorable prior year reserve development occurred in all three segments see below for further details by segment catastrophe losses primarily resulted from wind storms in multiple states net investment income of 637 million pretax 539 million aftertax decreased 9 income from the nonfixed income investment portfolio decreased from the prior year quarter primarily due to lower private equity partnership returns as compared to very strong returns in the prior year quarter nonfixed income returns are generally reported on a onequarter lagged basis and directionally follow the broader equity markets income from the fixed income investment portfolio increased over the prior year quarter primarily due to growth in fixed maturity investments partially offset by lower interest rates net written premiums of 8367 billion increased 11 see below for further details by segment shareholders equity of 25531 billion decreased 12 from yearend 2021 primarily due to net unrealized investment losses compared to net unrealized investment gains at yearend 2021 resulting from higher interest rates common share repurchases and dividends to shareholders partially offset by net income of 1018 billion net unrealized investment losses included in shareholders equity were 1770 billion pretax 1391 billion aftertax compared to net unrealized investment gains of 3060 billion pretax 2415 billion aftertax at yearend 2021 book value per share of 10640 decreased 5 from march 31 2021 and decreased 11 from yearend 2021 adjusted book value per share of 11219 which excludes net unrealized investment gains losses increased 11 over march 31 2021 and 2 over yearend 2021 the company repurchased 33 million shares during the first quarter at an average price of 17207 per share for a total of 559 million at march 31 2022 the company had 3505 billion of capacity remaining under its share repurchase authorization approved by the board of directors at the end of the quarter statutory capital and surplus was 24168 billion and the ratio of debttocapital was 222 the ratio of debttocapital excluding aftertax net unrealized investment gains losses included in shareholders equity was 213 within the companys target range of 15 to 25 the board of directors declared a 6 increase in the regular quarterly dividend to 093 per share the dividend is payable on june 30 2022 to shareholders of record at the close of business on june 10 2022 first quarter 2022 results  all comparisons vs first quarter 2021 unless noted otherwise segment income for business insurance was 669 million aftertax an increase of 352 million segment income increased primarily due to lower catastrophe losses and also a higher underlying underwriting gain partially offset by lower net investment income and lower net favorable prior year reserve development the underlying underwriting gain benefited from higher business volumes   the combined ratio of 909 improved 126 points due to lower catastrophe losses 114 points and a lower underlying combined ratio 19 points partially offset by lower net favorable prior year reserve development 07 points   the underlying combined ratio of 918 improved 19 points reflecting improvements of 08 points in the loss ratio and 11 points in the expense ratio   net favorable prior year reserve development was primarily driven by better than expected loss experience in the domestic operations workers compensation product line for multiple accident years net prior year reserve development also included an increase in environmental reserves net written premiums of 4502 billion increased 9 reflecting strong renewal premium change and retention as well as higher levels of new business first quarter 2022 results  all comparisons vs first quarter 2021 unless noted otherwise segment income for bond  specialty insurance was 217 million aftertax an increase of 80 million segment income increased primarily due to a higher underlying underwriting gain lower catastrophe losses and higher net favorable prior year reserve development the underlying underwriting gain benefited from higher business volumes the current quarter also benefited by 24 million relating to the resolution of prior year income tax matters   the combined ratio of 780 improved 72 points due to lower catastrophe losses 30 points higher net favorable prior year reserve development 22 points and a lower underlying combined ratio 20 points   the underlying combined ratio improved by 20 points to a very strong 822   net favorable prior year reserve development was primarily driven by better than expected loss experience in the domestic operations fidelity and surety product lines for recent accident years partially offset by higher than expected loss experience in the domestic operations general liability product line for management liability coverages for multiple accident years net written premiums of 882 million increased 22 reflecting strong renewal premium change retention and new business in management liability and strong production in surety first quarter 2022 results  all comparisons vs first quarter 2021 unless noted otherwise segment income for personal insurance was 225 million aftertax a decrease of 89 million segment income decreased primarily due to a lower underlying underwriting gain and lower net favorable prior year reserve development partially offset by lower catastrophe losses the underlying underwriting gain benefited from higher business volumes the current quarter also benefited by 20 million relating to the resolution of prior year income tax matters   the combined ratio of 953 increased 50 points due to a higher underlying combined ratio 74 points and lower net favorable prior year reserve development 58 points partially offset by lower catastrophe losses 82 points   the underlying combined ratio of 928 increased 74 points driven primarily by a comparison to a low level of loss activity in the prior year quarter in the automobile product line and elevated severity in the current quarter in both the automobile and homeowners and other product lines partially offset by a lower expense ratio   net favorable prior year reserve development was not significant in the quarter net written premiums of 2983 billion increased 12 domestic automobile net written premiums increased 9 driven by strong retention and renewal premium change of 31 domestic homeowners and other net written premiums increased 17 driven by strong retention and renewal premium change of 123 the information in this press release should be read in conjunction with the financial supplement that is available on our website at wwwtravelerscom travelers management will discuss the contents of this release and other relevant topics via webcast at 9 am eastern 8 am central on tuesday april 19 2022 investors can access the call via webcast at httpinvestortravelerscom or by dialing 18448951976 within the united states and 16476895389 outside the united states prior to the webcast a slide presentation pertaining to the quarterly earnings will be available on the companys website following the live event replays will be available via webcast for one year at httpinvestortravelerscom and by telephone for 30 days by dialing 18005858367 within the united states or 14166214642 outside the united states all callers should use conference id 1450817 the travelers companies inc trv is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto home and business a component of the dow jones industrial average travelers has approximately 30000 employees and generated revenues of approximately 35 billion in 2021 for more information visit wwwtravelerscom travelers may use its website andor social media outlets such as facebook and twitter as distribution channels of material company information financial and other important information regarding the company is routinely accessible through and posted on our website at httpinvestortravelerscom our facebook page at httpswwwfacebookcomtravelers and our twitter account travelers at httpstwittercomtravelers in addition you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about travelers when you enroll your email address by visiting the email notifications section at httpinvestortravelerscom travelers is organized into the following reportable business segments business insurance  business insurance offers a broad array of property and casualty insurance products and services to its customers primarily in the united states as well as in canada the united kingdom the republic of ireland and throughout other parts of the world as a corporate member of lloyds bond  specialty insurance  bond  specialty insurance offers surety fidelity management liability professional liability and other property and casualty coverages and related risk management services to its customers primarily in the united states and certain surety and specialty insurance products in canada the united kingdom and the republic of ireland as well as brazil through a joint venture in each case utilizing various degrees of financiallybased underwriting approaches personal insurance  personal insurance offers a broad range of property and casualty insurance products and services covering individuals personal risks primarily in the united states as well as in canada the primary products of automobile and homeowners insurance are complemented by a broad suite of related coverages this press release contains and management may make certain forwardlooking statements within the meaning of the private securities litigation reform act of 1995 all statements other than statements of historical facts may be forwardlooking statements words such as may will should likely anticipates expects intends plans projects believes views estimates and similar expressions are used to identify these forwardlooking statements these statements include among other things the companys statements about   the companys outlook the impact of trends on its business and its future results of operations and financial condition   the impact of covid19 and related economic conditions   the impact of legislative or regulatory actions or court decisions taken in response to covid19 or otherwise   the sufficiency of the companys asbestos and other reserves   the impact of emerging claims issues as well as other insurance and noninsurance litigation   the impact of investment economic and underwriting market conditions including interest rates and inflation   strategic and operational initiatives to improve profitability and competitiveness   the impact of developments in the tort environment and   the impact of developments in the geopolitical environment the company cautions investors that such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the companys control that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied or projected by the forwardlooking information and statements some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ include but are not limited to the following   actual claims may exceed the companys claims and claim adjustment expense reserves or the estimated level of claims and claim adjustment expense reserves may increase including as a result of among other things changes in the legaltort regulatory and economic environments including increased inflation   the companys potential exposure to asbestos and environmental claims and related litigation   the company is exposed to and may face adverse developments involving mass tort claims and   the effects of emerging claim and coverage issues on the companys business are uncertain and court decisions or legislative changes that take place after the company issues its policies can result in an unexpected increase in the number of claims   a period of financial market disruption or an economic downturn   the companys investment portfolio is subject to credit and interest rate risk and may suffer reduced or low returns or material realized or unrealized losses   the company is exposed to credit risk related to reinsurance and structured settlements and reinsurance coverage may not be available to the company   the company is exposed to credit risk in certain of its insurance operations and with respect to certain guarantee or indemnification arrangements that it has with third parties   a downgrade in the companys claimspaying and financial strength ratings and   the companys insurance subsidiaries may be unable to pay dividends to the companys holding company in sufficient amounts   the ongoing impact of covid19 and related risks including with respect to revenues claims and claim adjustment expenses general and administrative expenses investments inflation adverse legislative andor regulatory action operational disruptions and heightened cyber security risks   the intense competition that the company faces including with respect to attracting and retaining employees and the impact of innovation technological change and changing customer preferences on the insurance industry and the markets in which it operates   disruptions to the companys relationships with its independent agents and brokers or the companys inability to manage effectively a changing distribution landscape   the companys efforts to develop new products or services expand in targeted markets improve business processes and workflows or make acquisitions may not be successful and may create enhanced risks   the companys pricing and capital models may provide materially different indications than actual results   loss of or significant restrictions on the use of particular types of underwriting criteria such as credit scoring or other data or methodologies in the pricing and underwriting of the companys products and   the company is subject to additional risks associated with its business outside the united states   as a result of cyber attacks the risk of which could be exacerbated by geopolitical tensions or otherwise the company may experience difficulties with technology data and network security or outsourcing relationships   the companys dependence on effective information technology systems and on continuing to develop and implement improvements in technology and   the company may be unable to protect and enforce its own intellectual property or may be subject to claims for infringing the intellectual property of others   changes in regulation including higher tax rates and   the companys compliance controls may not be effective in addition the companys share repurchase plans depend on a variety of factors including the companys financial position earnings share price catastrophe losses maintaining capital levels appropriate for the companys business operations changes in levels of written premiums funding of the companys qualified pension plan capital requirements of the companys operating subsidiaries legal requirements regulatory constraints other investment opportunities including mergers and acquisitions and related financings market conditions changes in tax laws and other factors our forwardlooking statements speak only as of the date of this press release or as of the date they are made and we undertake no obligation to update forwardlooking statements for a more detailed discussion of these factors see the information under the captions risk factors managements discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations and forward looking statements in the quarterly report on form 10q filed with the securities and exchange commission sec on april 19 2022 and in our most recent annual report on form 10k filed with the sec on february 17 2022 in each case as updated by our periodic filings with the sec glossary of financial measures and reconciliations of gaap measures to nongaap measures the following measures are used by the companys management to evaluate financial performance against historical results to establish performance targets on a consolidated basis and for other reasons as discussed below in some cases these measures are considered nongaap financial measures under applicable sec rules because they are not displayed as separate line items in the consolidated financial statements or are not required to be disclosed in the notes to financial statements or in some cases include or exclude certain items not ordinarily included or excluded in the most comparable gaap financial measure reconciliations of these measures to the most comparable gaap measures also follow in the opinion of the companys management a discussion of these measures provides investors financial analysts rating agencies and other financial statement users with a better understanding of the significant factors that comprise the companys periodic results of operations and how management evaluates the companys financial performance some of these measures exclude net realized investment gains losses net of tax andor net unrealized investment gains losses net of tax included in shareholders equity which can be significantly impacted by both discretionary and other economic factors and are not necessarily indicative of operating trends other companies may calculate these measures differently and therefore their measures may not be comparable to those used by the companys management reconciliation of net income to core income and certain other nongaap measures core income loss is consolidated net income loss excluding the aftertax impact of net realized investment gains losses discontinued operations the effect of a change in tax laws and tax rates at enactment and cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles when applicable segment income loss is determined in the same manner as core income loss on a segment basis management uses segment income loss to analyze each segments performance and as a tool in making business decisions financial statement users also consider core income loss when analyzing the results and trends of insurance companies core income loss per share is core income loss on a per common share basis reconciliation of shareholders equity to adjusted shareholders equity and calculation of return on equity and core return on equity adjusted shareholders equity is shareholders equity excluding net unrealized investment gains losses net of tax included in shareholders equity net realized investment gains losses net of tax for the period presented the effect of a change in tax laws and tax rates at enactment excluding the portion related to net unrealized investment gains losses preferred stock and discontinued operations return on equity is the ratio of annualized net income loss less preferred dividends to average shareholders equity for the periods presented core return on equity is the ratio of annualized core income loss less preferred dividends to adjusted average shareholders equity for the periods presented in the opinion of the companys management these are important indicators of how well management creates value for its shareholders through its operating activities and its capital management average shareholders equity is a the sum of total shareholders equity excluding preferred stock at the beginning and end of each of the quarters for the period presented divided by b the number of quarters in the period presented times two adjusted average shareholders equity is a the sum of total adjusted shareholders equity at the beginning and end of each of the quarters for the period presented divided by b the number of quarters in the period presented times two reconciliation of pretax underwriting gain excluding certain items to net income underwriting gain loss is net earned premiums and fee income less claims and claim adjustment expenses and insurancerelated expenses in the opinion of the companys management it is important to measure the profitability of each segment excluding the results of investing activities which are managed separately from the insurance business this measure is used to assess each segments business performance and as a tool in making business decisions pretax underwriting gain excluding the impact of catastrophes and net favorable unfavorable prior year loss reserve development is the underwriting gain adjusted to exclude claims and claim adjustment expenses reinstatement premiums and assessments related to catastrophes and loss reserve development related to time periods prior to the current year in the opinion of the companys management this measure is meaningful to users of the financial statements to understand the companys periodic earnings and the variability of earnings caused by the unpredictable nature ie the timing and amount of catastrophes and loss reserve development this measure is also referred to as underlying underwriting gain underlying underwriting margin or underlying underwriting income a catastrophe is a severe loss designated a catastrophe by internationally recognized organizations that track and report on insured losses resulting from catastrophic events such as property claim services pcs for events in the united states and canada catastrophes can be caused by various natural events including among others hurricanes tornadoes and other windstorms earthquakes hail wildfires severe winter weather floods tsunamis volcanic eruptions and other naturallyoccurring events such as solar flares catastrophes can also be manmade such as terrorist attacks and other intentionally destructive acts including those involving nuclear biological chemical and radiological events cyber events explosions and destruction of infrastructure each catastrophe has unique characteristics and catastrophes are not predictable as to timing or amount their effects are included in net and core income and claims and claim adjustment expense reserves upon occurrence a catastrophe may result in the payment of reinsurance reinstatement premiums and assessments from various pools the companys threshold for disclosing catastrophes is primarily determined at the reportable segment level if a threshold for one segment or a combination thereof is exceeded and the other segments have losses from the same event losses from the event are identified as catastrophe losses in the segment results and for the consolidated results of the company additionally an aggregate threshold is applied for international business across all reportable segments the threshold for 2022 ranges from 20 million to 30 million of losses before reinsurance and taxes net favorable unfavorable prior year loss reserve development is the increase or decrease in incurred claims and claim adjustment expenses as a result of the reestimation of claims and claim adjustment expense reserves at successive valuation dates for a given group of claims which may be related to one or more prior years in the opinion of the companys management a discussion of loss reserve development is meaningful to users of the financial statements as it allows them to assess the impact between prior and current year development on incurred claims and claim adjustment expenses net and core income loss and changes in claims and claim adjustment expense reserve levels from period to period combined ratio for statutory accounting practices sap the combined ratio is the sum of the sap loss and lae ratio and the sap underwriting expense ratio as defined in the statutory financial statements required by insurance regulators the combined ratio as used in this earnings release is the equivalent of and is calculated in the same manner as the sap combined ratio except that the sap underwriting expense ratio is based on net written premiums and the underwriting expense ratio as used in this earnings release is based on net earned premiums for sap the loss and lae ratio is the ratio of incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses less certain administrative services fee income to net earned premiums as defined in the statutory financial statements required by insurance regulators the loss and lae ratio as used in this earnings release is calculated in the same manner as the sap ratio for sap the underwriting expense ratio is the ratio of underwriting expenses incurred including commissions paid less certain administrative services fee income and billing and policy fees and other to net written premiums as defined in the statutory financial statements required by insurance regulators the underwriting expense ratio as used in this earnings release is the ratio of underwriting expenses including the amortization of deferred acquisition costs less certain administrative services fee income billing and policy fees and other to net earned premiums the combined ratio loss and lae ratio and underwriting expense ratio are used as indicators of the companys underwriting discipline efficiency in acquiring and servicing its business and overall underwriting profitability a combined ratio under 100 generally indicates an underwriting profit a combined ratio over 100 generally indicates an underwriting loss underlying combined ratio represents the combined ratio excluding the impact of net prior year reserve development and catastrophes the underlying combined ratio is an indicator of the companys underwriting discipline and underwriting profitability for the current accident year other companies method of computing similarly titled measures may not be comparable to the companys method of computing these ratios reconciliation of book value per share and shareholders equity to certain nongaap measures book value per share is total common shareholders equity divided by the number of common shares outstanding adjusted book value per share is total common shareholders equity excluding net unrealized investment gains and losses net of tax included in shareholders equity divided by the number of common shares outstanding in the opinion of the companys management adjusted book value per share is useful in an analysis of a property casualty companys book value per share as it removes the effect of changing prices on invested assets ie net unrealized investment gains losses net of tax which do not have an equivalent impact on unpaid claims and claim adjustment expense reserves tangible book value per share is adjusted book value per share excluding the aftertax value of goodwill and other intangible assets divided by the number of common shares outstanding in the opinion of the companys management tangible book value per share is useful in an analysis of a property casualty companys book value on a nominal basis as it removes certain effects of purchase accounting ie goodwill and other intangible assets in addition to the effect of changing prices on invested assets reconciliation of total capitalization to total capitalization excluding net unrealized investment gains losses net of tax total capitalization is the sum of total shareholders equity and debt debttocapital ratio excluding net unrealized gain loss on investments net of tax included in shareholders equity is the ratio of debt to total capitalization excluding the aftertax impact of net unrealized investment gains and losses included in shareholders equity in the opinion of the companys management the debttocapital ratio is useful in an analysis of the companys financial leverage gross written premiums reflect the direct and assumed contractually determined amounts charged to policyholders for the effective period of the contract based on the terms and conditions of the insurance contract net written premiums reflect gross written premiums less premiums ceded to reinsurers for business insurance and bond  specialty insurance retention is the amount of premium available for renewal that was retained excluding rate and exposure changes for personal insurance retention is the ratio of the expected number of renewal policies that will be retained throughout the annual policy period to the number of available renewal base policies for all of the segments renewal rate change represents the estimated change in average premium on policies that renew excluding exposure changes exposure is the measure of risk used in the pricing of an insurance product the change in exposure is the amount of change in premium on policies that renew attributable to the change in portfolio risk renewal premium change represents the estimated change in average premium on policies that renew including rate and exposure changes new business is the amount of written premium related to new policyholders and additional products sold to existing policyholders these are operating statistics which are in part dependent on the use of estimates and are therefore subject to change for business insurance retention renewal premium change and new business exclude national accounts for bond  specialty insurance retention renewal premium change and new business exclude surety and other products that are generally sold on a nonrecurring project specific basis for each of the segments production statistics referred to herein are domestic only unless otherwise indicated statutory capital and surplus represents the excess of an insurance companys admitted assets over its liabilities including loss reserves as determined in accordance with statutory accounting practices holding company liquidity is the total funds available at the holding company level to fund general corporate purposes primarily the payment of shareholder dividends and debt service these funds consist of total cash shortterm invested assets and other readily marketable securities held by the holding company for a glossary of other financial terms used in this press release we refer you to the companys most recent annual report on form 10k filed with the sec on february 17 2022 and subsequent periodic filings with the sec