Old Republic International Corp. (NYSE:ORI) is a 100+ year old insurance underwriter focused on commercial casualty lines and title insurance. We originally invested in the company after earnings suffered due to (1) higher losses in its workers’ compensation line of business due to medical cost inflation and poorly underwritten policies, and (2) the title insurance segment declined against difficult comparisons relative to the 2012-2013 refinancing boom. The stock performed well for us in 2015 as the company returned to more traditional workers’ comp loss ratios by shifting its book of business to more risk sharing with insureds and away from more competitive coastal geographies, and as the title business enjoyed close to double digit growth in premiums. We continue to hold shares in Old Republic due to its 4% dividend yield and steady results, but have reduced our position due to significant stock price appreciation.
From Meridian Contrarian Fund Semi-Annual Shareholder Letter 2016.
