RLI Corp

RLI Corp., founded in 1965, is a specialty insurer. It covers risks that fall outside standard insurers' guidelines. Examples include earthquake and wind damage to office and apartment buildings, long-haul trucking and contractors' liability. It runs three insurance companies, all based in Illinois: RLI Insurance Company, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company and Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company. It has no material foreign operations. It sells through wholesale and retail brokers, independent agents and partner insurers.

Like other insurers, RLI aims to collect more in premiums than it pays out in claims and expenses. It invests the premiums until claims come due. In 2025, 60% of the premiums it wrote ($1.2 billion) came from the specialty admitted market. These are policies from state-licensed insurers that must follow state rules on rates and policy wording. Another 39% ($783 million) came from excess and surplus lines. These cover hard-to-place risks, with more flexible terms and prices.

RLI reports three segments. Casualty, mostly liability coverage, earned $954 million in premiums in 2025, about 51% of total revenue of $1.88 billion. Its largest line is commercial excess and personal umbrella insurance, which pays claims above the limits of a primary policy. Property, which includes commercial property and marine, earned $512 million (27%). Surety earned $148 million (8%). Surety bonds guarantee that contractors and businesses will meet their obligations.

• In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $477.0M, down 6.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $81.0M (-35.0%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.88B (+6.3% year over year; +13.9% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 21.4% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $0.00 in buybacks and $1.12B in dividends.
• Regular dividend per share increased 6 years in a row.
• Special dividends in FY2022 are excluded from the streak.
• Regular dividends per share grew +22.0% a year over 5 years (FY2020–FY2025).
• Dividends took 59.9% of earnings and 39.7% of free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed +1.3% from Feb 2, 2022 to Oct 14, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

RLI’s market value went from $2.77B at the end of 2016 to $5.85B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.1 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 0%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 6 open-market purchases ($859K) and 0 sales ($0.00).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in RLI

1. Ten distributors produce nearly half of premiums. In 2025, ten producer entities, including brokers and partner insurers, brought in 49% of RLI's gross premiums written. Losing all or much of the business from any one of them could hurt results.
2. Four states supply over half of premiums. In 2025, Florida and California each produced 18% of direct premiums earned, Texas 11% and New York 9%. Trouble in any one, from market shifts to new regulations, could have an outsized effect.
3. Big jury awards and inflation raise claims. Inflation, delays and bigger jury verdicts can push claims above what RLI priced for. This matters for liability lines such as excess and umbrella coverage, its largest line at 28% of earned premiums.
4. Disasters can cause large, sudden losses. RLI insures commercial buildings against fire, wind and earthquake. Catastrophes can bring large, unpredictable losses. Reinsurance, the coverage insurers purchase to limit such losses, may become scarcer or costlier.
5. Bigger rivals and new capital pressure prices. RLI competes with larger, better-known insurers and with outside investors entering the market. When competition heats up, rivals may underprice risk. That makes it hard to grow without giving up profit on policies.
6. A ratings downgrade could cost it business. Brokers and policyholders look at financial strength ratings from AM Best, Standard & Poor's and Moody's when choosing an insurer. A downgrade could make it harder for RLI to win and keep business.

• Oct 21, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Oct 19, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Aug 13, 2026 Other company announcement
• Jul 28, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Jul 22, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jul 15, 2026 Executive or board change
• Jun 25, 2026 Executive or board change
• May 20, 2026 Shareholder vote results
• May 14, 2026 Other company announcement
• Apr 28, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement

RLI pays a regular dividend, and it has risen six years in a row. Adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split, dividends per share grew from $0.975 in fiscal 2020 to $2.63 in fiscal 2025, about 22% a year. The fiscal 2022 total of $4.02 included a special dividend. In fiscal 2025, dividends used about 60% of earnings and 40% of free cash flow, the cash left after running the business. RLI did not repurchase shares from fiscal 2021 through 2025, and its share count rose 1.3% between February 2022 and October 2026.

The shares have fallen hard at times. They dropped about 35% in the 2008 financial crisis and took 23 months to recover. They fell 27% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about four months. The worst drop in over 20 years, 43.5%, came within the three years to October 28, 2026. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.