AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP INC (AFG) FY 2023 MD&A

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

OBJECTIVE

The objective of Management’s Discussion and Analysis is to provide a discussion and analysis of the financial statements and other statistical data that management believes will enhance the understanding of AFG’s financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of operations. The tables and narrative that follow are presented in a manner that is consistent with the information that AFG’s management uses to make operational decisions and allocate capital resources. They are provided to demonstrate the nature of the transactions and events that could impact AFG’s financial results. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements beginning on page F-1.

OVERVIEW

Financial Condition

AFG is organized as a holding company with almost all of its operations being conducted by subsidiaries. AFG, however, has continuing cash needs for administrative expenses, the payment of principal and interest on borrowings, shareholder dividends, and taxes. Therefore, certain analyses are most meaningfully presented on a parent only basis while others are best done on a total enterprise basis. In addition, because its businesses are financial in nature, AFG does not prepare its consolidated financial statements using a current-noncurrent format. Consequently, certain traditional ratios and financial analysis tests are not meaningful.

Results of Operations

Through the operations of its subsidiaries, AFG is engaged primarily in property and casualty insurance, focusing on specialized commercial products for businesses. AFG’s former annuity operations are reported as discontinued operations.

AFG reported net earnings of $263 million ($3.13 per share, diluted) for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $276 million ($3.24 per share, diluted) in the fourth quarter of 2022. The year-over-year decrease was due primarily to lower returns on AFG’s alternative investment portfolio (partnerships and similar investments and AFG-managed CLOs).

Full year 2023 net earnings were $852 million ($10.05 per share, diluted) compared to $898 million ($10.53 per share, diluted) in 2022. The year-over-year decrease was due primarily to lower returns on AFG’s alternative investment portfolio when compared to the strong performance of this portfolio in the prior year period and lower property and casualty underwriting profit. These items were partially offset by the impact of higher yields on fixed maturity investments, higher balances of invested assets and lower net realized losses on securities.

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Sale of the Annuity Business

In May 2021, AFG sold its annuity business, including Great American Life Insurance Company and its two insurance subsidiaries, Annuity Investors Life Insurance Company and Manhattan National Life Insurance Company to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (“MassMutual”). Total proceeds from the sale were $3.57 billion and AFG realized an after-tax gain on the sale of $656 million.

Outlook

AFG’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows are impacted by the economic, legal and regulatory environment. Economic inflation, social inflation, supply chain disruption, labor shortages, banking system instability and other economic conditions may impact premium levels, loss cost trends and investment returns. Management believes that AFG’s strong financial position and current liquidity and capital at its subsidiaries will give AFG the flexibility to continue to effectively address and respond to the ongoing uncertainties presented by the macro-economic environment and the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel. AFG’s insurance subsidiaries continue to have capital at or in excess of the levels required by ratings agencies in order to maintain their current ratings, and the parent company does not have any near-term debt maturities.

Management expects continued premium growth and strong underwriting results in the ongoing favorable property and casualty insurance market. In addition, the deployment of cash during the elevated interest rate environment (since early 2022) will continue to have a positive impact on investment income on fixed maturity investments in 2024.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Significant accounting policies are summarized in Note A — “Accounting Policies” to the financial statements. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that can have a significant effect on amounts reported in the financial statements. As more information becomes known, these estimates and assumptions change and, thus, impact amounts reported in the future. The areas where management believes the degree of judgment required to determine amounts recorded in the financial statements is most significant are as follows:

•the valuation of investments, including the determination of impairment allowances,

•the establishment of insurance reserves, especially asbestos and environmental-related reserves,

•the recoverability of reinsurance, and

•the establishment of asbestos and environmental liabilities of former railroad and manufacturing operations.

See “Liquidity and Capital Resources — Uncertainties” for a discussion of insurance reserves, recoverables from reinsurers and contingencies related to American Premier’s former operations and “Liquidity and Capital Resources — Investments” for a discussion of the allowance for credit losses (impairments) on investments.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Ratios

AFG’s debt to total capital ratio on a consolidated basis is shown below (dollars in millions). Management intends to maintain the ratio of debt to capital at or below 30% and intends to maintain the capital of its significant insurance subsidiaries at or above levels currently indicated by rating agencies as appropriate for the current ratings.

The ratio of debt to total capital is a non-GAAP measure that management believes is useful for investors, analysts and ratings agencies to evaluate AFG’s financial strength and liquidity and to provide insight into how AFG finances its operations. In addition, maintaining a ratio of debt, excluding subordinated debt and debt secured by real estate (if any), to total capital of 35% or lower is a financial covenant in AFG’s bank credit facility. The ratio is calculated by dividing the principal amount of AFG’s long-term debt by its total capital, which includes long-term debt and shareholders’ equity (excluding unrealized gains (losses) related to fixed maturity investments).

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The NAIC’s model law for risk-based capital (“RBC”) applies to property and casualty companies. RBC formulas determine the amount of capital that an insurance company needs so that it has an acceptable expectation of not becoming financially impaired. At December 31, 2023, the capital ratios of all AFG insurance companies exceeded the RBC requirements.

Condensed Consolidated Cash Flows

AFG’s principal sources of cash include insurance premiums, income from its investment portfolio and proceeds from the maturities, redemptions and sales of investments. Insurance premiums in excess of acquisition expenses and operating costs are invested until they are needed to meet policyholder obligations or made available to the parent company through dividends to cover debt obligations and corporate expenses, and to provide returns to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. Cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities as detailed in AFG’s Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows are shown below (in millions):

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities   AFG’s property and casualty insurance operations typically produce positive net operating cash flows as premiums collected and investment income exceed policy acquisition costs, claims payments and operating expenses. AFG’s net cash provided by operating activities is impacted by the level and timing of property and casualty premiums, claim and expense payments and recoveries from reinsurers. AFG’s discontinued annuity operations, which were sold in May 2021, typically produced positive net operating cash flows as investment income exceeded acquisition costs and operating expenses. Interest credited on annuity policyholder funds is a non-cash increase in AFG’s annuity benefits accumulated liability and annuity premiums, benefits and withdrawals are considered financing activities due to the deposit-type nature of annuities. Cash flows provided by operating activities also include the activity of AFG’s managed investment entities (collateralized loan obligations (“CLO”)) other than those activities included in investing or financing activities. The changes in the assets and liabilities of the managed investment entities included in operating activities increased cash flows from operating activities by $305 million in 2023 and reduced cash flows from operating activities by $183 million in 2022 and $144 million in 2021, resulting in a $488 million increase in cash flows from operating activities in 2023 compared to 2022 and a $39 million decrease in cash flows from operating activities in 2022 compared to 2021. As discussed in Note A — “Accounting Policies — Managed Investment Entities” to the financial statements, AFG has no right to use the CLO assets and no obligation to pay the CLO liabilities and such assets and liabilities are shown separately in AFG’s Balance Sheet. Excluding the impact of the managed investment entities, net cash provided by operating activities was $1.67 billion, $1.34 billion and $1.86 billion in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities   AFG’s investing activities consist primarily of the investment of funds provided by its property and casualty businesses and, prior to the May 2021 sale, its discontinued annuity operations. Investing activities also include the purchase and disposal of managed investment entity investments, which are presented separately in AFG’s Balance Sheet. Net investment activity in the managed investment entities was a $762 million source of cash in 2023 compared to a $180 million use of cash in 2022, resulting in a $942 million increase in net cash provided by investing activities in 2023 compared to 2022. See Note A — “Accounting Policies — Managed Investment Entities” and Note H — “Managed Investment Entities” to the financial statements. Investing activities for 2023 include the July 2023 acquisition of Crop Risk Services (“CRS”) for $234 million in cash. Excluding the acquisition of CRS and the activity of the managed investment entities, investing activities were a $114 million use of cash in 2023 compared to $871 million in 2022, reflecting the opportunistic investment of cash on hand in the property and casualty operations during the rising interest rate environment in 2022.

Net cash used in investing activities was $1.05 billion in 2022 compared to $436 million in 2021, an increase of $615 million. Cash proceeds from the sale of the annuity operations in excess of cash and cash equivalents held in the annuity subsidiaries that were sold was a $1.51 billion source of cash provided by investing activities in 2021. Investing activities for 2021 also include the December 2021 acquisition of Verikai for $120 million in cash. Net investment activity in the managed investment entities was a $180 million use of cash in 2022 compared to $43 million in 2021, resulting in a $137 million increase in net cash used in investing activities in 2022 compared to 2021. Excluding the impact of the May 2021 sale of the annuity business ($1.51 billion source of cash), the acquisition of Verikai and the activity of the managed

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investment entities, net cash used in investing activities was $871 million in 2022 compared to $1.78 billion in 2021, a decrease of $912 million as the opportunistic investment of cash on hand in the property and casualty operations during the rising interest rate environment in 2022 was more than offset by the absence of investing activities from the disposed annuity operations.

Net Cash Used In Financing Activities   AFG’s financing activities consist primarily of issuances and retirements of long-term debt, issuances and repurchases of common stock, dividend payments and, prior to the sale of the annuity business, transactions with annuity policyholders. Net cash used in financing activities was $2.03 billion in 2023 compared to $1.36 billion in 2022, an increase of $670 million. AFG paid cash dividends totaling $684 million in 2023 compared to $1.21 billion in 2022, resulting in a $529 million decrease in net cash used in financing activities in 2023 compared to 2022. Debt retirements were a $21 million use of cash in 2023 compared to $477 million in 2022, a decrease of $456 million. In 2023, AFG repurchased $213 million of its Common Stock compared to $11 million in 2022, resulting in a $202 million increase in net cash used in financing activities in 2023 compared to 2022. Financing activities also include issuances and retirements of managed investment entity liabilities, which are nonrecourse to AFG and presented separately in AFG’s Balance Sheet. Retirements of managed investment entity liabilities exceeded issuances by $1.13 billion in 2023 compared to issuances exceeding retirements by $324 million in 2022, resulting in a $1.45 billion increase in net cash used in financing activities in 2023 compared to 2022. See Note A — “Accounting Policies — Managed Investment Entities” and Note H — “Managed Investment Entities” to the financial statements.

Net cash used in financing activities was $1.36 billion in 2022 compared to $1.96 billion in 2021, a decrease in net cash used in financing activities of $596 million. Debt retirements were a $477 million use of cash in 2022 compared to no debt retirements in 2021. In 2022, AFG repurchased $11 million of its Common Stock compared to $319 million in 2021, resulting in a $308 million decrease in net cash used in financing activities in 2022 compared to 2021. AFG paid cash dividends totaling $1.21 billion in 2022 compared to $2.37 billion in 2021, resulting in a net $1.16 billion decrease in net cash used in financing activities in 2022 compared to 2021. Net annuity receipts exceeded annuity surrenders, benefits, withdrawals and transfers by $477 million in 2021 through the May 31, 2021 effective date of the sale, resulting in a $477 million decrease in net cash used in financing activities in 2022 compared to 2021. Issuances of managed investment entity liabilities exceeded retirements by $324 million in 2022 compared to $193 million in 2021, resulting in a $131 million increase in net cash provided by financing activities in 2022 compared to 2021.

Parent and Subsidiary Liquidity

Parent Holding Company Liquidity   Management believes AFG has sufficient resources to meet its liquidity requirements. If funds generated from operations, including dividends, tax payments and borrowings from subsidiaries, are insufficient to meet fixed charges in any period, AFG would be required to utilize parent company cash and investments or to generate cash through borrowings, sales of other assets, or similar transactions.

AFG’s capital and liquidity was significantly enhanced as a result of the 2021 sale of its annuity business to MassMutual for proceeds of $3.57 billion. By the end of the second quarter of 2022, AFG had deployed the proceeds from this sale primarily through special cash dividends, share repurchases, debt retirements and the purchase of Verikai. AFG’s ongoing operations continue to generate significant excess capital for future returns of capital to shareholders in the form of regular and special cash dividends and through opportunistic share repurchases or to be deployed into its property and casualty businesses as management identifies the potential for profitable organic growth, and opportunities to expand through acquisitions of established businesses or start-ups that meet target return thresholds.

During 2023, AFG repurchased 1,872,544 shares of its Common Stock for $213 million and paid special cash dividends totaling $466 million ($4.00 per share in February and $1.50 per share in November). In addition, on February 6, 2024, AFG declared a special cash dividend of $2.50 per share (aggregate of approximately $210 million) payable on February 28, 2024.

AFG may, at any time and from time to time, seek to retire or purchase its outstanding debt through cash purchases or exchanges for equity or debt, in open-market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. Such repurchases or exchanges, if any, will be upon such terms and at such prices as management may determine, and will depend on prevailing market conditions, AFG’s liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors. During 2023, AFG repurchased $23 million principal amount of its senior notes for $21 million cash.

During 2022, AFG repurchased 89,368 shares of its Common Stock for $11 million and paid special cash dividends totaling $1.02 billion ($2.00 per share in March, $8.00 per share in May and $2.00 per share in November). In 2022, AFG repurchased $472 million principal amount of its senior notes for $477 million cash.

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During 2021, AFG repurchased 2,777,684 shares of its Common Stock for $319 million and paid special cash dividends totaling $2.21 billion ($14.00 per share in June, $2.00 per share in August, $4.00 per share in October, $4.00 per share in November and $2.00 per share in December).

In December 2021, AFG acquired Verikai, Inc., a machine learning and artificial intelligence company that utilizes a predictive risk tool to assess insurance risk, for $120 million using cash on hand at the parent.

All debentures and notes issued by AFG are rated investment grade by two nationally recognized rating agencies. AFG maintains a shelf registration statement under which it can offer additional equity or debt securities. The shelf registration provides AFG with flexibility to access the capital markets from time to time as market and other conditions permit.

At December 31, 2023, AFG (parent) held approximately $485 million in cash and investments. Management believes that AFG’s cash balances are held at stable banking institutions, although the amounts of many of these deposits are in excess of federally insured balances. In June 2023, AFG replaced its existing credit facility with a new five-year, $450 million revolving credit facility, which expires in June 2028. Amounts borrowed under this agreement bear interest at rates ranging from 1.00% to 1.75% (based on AFG’s credit rating, currently 1.25%) over a SOFR-based floating rate. There were no borrowings under AFG’s credit facilities, or under any other parent company short-term borrowing arrangements, during 2023 or 2022.

Under a tax allocation agreement with AFG, all 80% (or more) owned U.S. subsidiaries generally pay taxes to (or recover taxes from) AFG based on each subsidiary’s contribution to amounts due under AFG’s consolidated tax return.

Subsidiary Liquidity   The liquidity requirements of AFG’s insurance subsidiaries relate primarily to the policyholder claims and underwriting expenses and payments of dividends and taxes to AFG. Historically, cash flows from premiums and investment income have generally provided more than sufficient funds to meet these requirements. Funds received in excess of cash requirements are generally invested in marketable securities. In addition, the insurance subsidiaries generally hold a significant amount of highly liquid, short duration investments.

For statutory accounting purposes, equity securities of non-affiliates are generally carried at fair value. At December 31, 2023, AFG’s insurance companies owned publicly traded equity securities with a fair value of $1.02 billion. Decreases in market prices could adversely affect the insurance group’s capital, potentially impacting the amount of dividends available or necessitating a capital contribution. Conversely, increases in market prices could have a favorable impact on the group’s dividend-paying capability.

Property and casualty reserves for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses were $13.09 billion at December 31, 2023 and include case reserves and claims incurred but not reported (“IBNR”). The ultimate amount to be paid to settle reserves is an estimate, subject to significant uncertainty. Actual payments to settle claims cannot be determined until a settlement is reached with the claimant. Final claim settlements may vary significantly from estimated amounts. See “Uncertainties — Property and Casualty Insurance Reserves” below. The timing of future payments for the next twelve months and beyond could vary materially from historical payment patterns due to, among other things, changes in claim reporting and payment patterns and large unanticipated settlements.

AFG believes its insurance subsidiaries maintain sufficient liquidity to pay claims and underwriting expenses. In addition, these subsidiaries have sufficient capital to meet commitments in the event of unforeseen events such as reserve deficiencies, inadequate premium rates or reinsurer insolvencies. Even in the current uncertain economic environment, management believes that the capital levels in AFG’s insurance subsidiaries are adequate to maintain its business and rating agency ratings. Nonetheless, changes in statutory accounting rules, significant declines in the fair value of the insurance subsidiaries’ investment portfolios or significant ratings downgrades on these investments, could create a need for additional capital.

Condensed Parent Only Cash Flows

AFG’s parent holding company only condensed cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities are shown below (in millions):

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Parent Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities   Parent holding company cash flows from operating activities consist primarily of dividends and tax payments received from AFG’s insurance subsidiaries, reduced by tax payments to the IRS and holding company interest and other expenses. Parent holding company net cash provided by operating activities was $719 million in 2023 compared to $327 million in 2022 and $833 million in 2021. The $392 million increase in net cash provided by operating activities in 2023 as compared to 2022 and the $506 million decrease in net cash provided by operating activities in 2022 as compared to 2021 were due primarily to higher cash dividends received from subsidiaries in 2023 and 2021.

Parent Net Cash Provided by Investing Activities   Parent holding company investing activities consist of capital contributions to and returns of capital from subsidiaries and parent company investment activity. Parent holding company net cash provided by investing activities was $225 million in 2023, $992 million in 2022 and $2.17 billion in 2021. The $225 million in net cash provided by investing activities in 2023 is lower than the $992 million in net cash provided by investing activities in 2022 due to the increase in capital contributions to subsidiaries to fund the purchase of CRS in July 2023 and lower balances of invested assets. The $992 million in net cash provided by investing activities in 2022 is substantially lower than the $2.17 billion in net cash provided by investing activities in 2021 due to proceeds of $3.57 billion related to the May 2021 sale of the annuity business partially offset by net purchases of fixed maturity investments of $1.19 billion in 2021 and the $120 million purchase of Verikai in December 2021.

Parent Net Cash Used in Financing Activities   Parent company financing activities consist primarily of the issuance and retirement of long-term debt, repurchases of AFG Common Stock, dividends to shareholders, and, to a lesser extent, proceeds from employee stock option exercises. Significant long-term debt and common stock transactions are discussed above under “Parent Holding Company Liquidity.” Parent holding company net cash used in financing activities was $901 million in 2023 compared to $1.68 billion in 2022 and $2.63 billion in 2021. The $782 million decrease in net cash used in financing activities in 2023 as compared to 2022 reflects lower dividends paid to shareholders (due primarily to special dividends of $5.50 per share in 2023 compared to special dividends of $12.00 per share in 2022) and lower net retirements of long-term debt in 2023 compared to 2022. The $943 million decrease in net cash used in financing activities in 2022 as compared to 2021 reflects lower dividends paid to shareholders (due primarily to special dividends of $12.00 per share in 2022 compared to special dividends of $26.00 per share in 2021), partially offset by the impact of net retirements of long-term debt in 2022.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

See Note P — “Additional Information — Financial Instruments — Unfunded Commitments” to the financial statements.

Investments

AFG attempts to optimize investment income while building the value of its portfolio, placing emphasis upon total long-term performance.

AFG’s investment portfolio at December 31, 2023, contained $10.38 billion in fixed maturity securities classified as available for sale and carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and $57 million in fixed maturities classified as trading with holding gains and losses included in net investment income. In addition, AFG’s investment portfolio includes $571 million in equity securities carried at fair value with holding gains and losses included in realized gains (losses) on securities and $447 million in equity securities carried at fair value with holding gains and losses included in net investment income.

Unrealized gains and losses on AFG’s fixed maturity securities are included in shareholders’ equity after adjustments for deferred income taxes.

Fixed income investment funds are generally invested in securities with intermediate-term maturities with an objective of optimizing total return while allowing flexibility to react to changes in market conditions. At December 31, 2023, the average life of AFG’s fixed maturities was about 4.3 years.

Fair values for AFG’s portfolio are determined by AFG’s internal investment professionals using data from nationally recognized pricing services, non-binding broker quotes and other market information. Fair values of equity securities are generally based on published closing prices. For AFG’s fixed maturity portfolio, approximately 89% was priced using pricing services at December 31, 2023 and 5% was priced using non-binding broker quotes. When prices obtained for the same security vary, AFG’s internal investment professionals select the price they believe is most indicative of an exit price.

The pricing services use a variety of observable inputs to estimate fair value of fixed maturities that do not trade on a daily basis. Based upon information provided by the pricing services, these inputs include, but are not limited to, recent reported trades, benchmark yields, issuer spreads, bids or offers, reference data, and measures of volatility. Included in

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the pricing of mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) are estimates of the rate of future prepayments and defaults of principal over the remaining life of the underlying collateral. Due to the lack of transparency in the process that brokers use to develop prices, valuations that are based on brokers’ prices are classified as Level 3 in the GAAP hierarchy unless the price can be corroborated, for example, by comparison to similar securities priced using observable inputs.

Valuation techniques utilized by pricing services and prices obtained from external sources are reviewed by AFG’s internal investment professionals who are familiar with the securities being priced and the markets in which they trade to ensure the fair value determination is representative of an exit price. To validate the appropriateness of the prices obtained, these investment managers consider widely published indices (as benchmarks), recent trades, changes in interest rates, general economic conditions and the credit quality of the specific issuers. In addition, AFG communicates directly with pricing services regarding the methods and assumptions used in pricing, including verifying, on a test basis, the inputs used by the services to value specific securities.

In general, the fair value of AFG’s fixed maturity investments is inversely correlated to changes in interest rates. The following table demonstrates the sensitivity of such fair values to reasonably likely changes in interest rates by illustrating the estimated effect on AFG’s fixed maturity portfolio that an immediate increase of 100 basis points in the interest rate yield curve would have had at December 31, 2023 (dollars in millions). Effects of increases or decreases from the 100 basis points illustrated would be approximately proportional.

Approximately 94% of the fixed maturities held by AFG at December 31, 2023, were rated “investment grade” (credit rating of AAA to BBB) by nationally recognized rating agencies, 3% were rated “non-investment grade” and 3% were not rated. Investment grade securities generally bear lower yields and lower degrees of risk than those that are unrated and non-investment grade. Management believes that the high-quality investment portfolio should generate a stable and predictable investment return.

Municipal bonds represented approximately 9% of AFG’s fixed maturity portfolio at December 31, 2023. AFG’s municipal bond portfolio is high quality, with over 99% of the securities rated investment grade at that date. The portfolio is well diversified across the states of issuance and individual issuers. At December 31, 2023, approximately 94% of the municipal bond portfolio was held in revenue bonds, with the remaining 6% held in general obligation bonds.

AFG has less than $100 million of direct exposure to office commercial real estate through property ownership, mortgages or equity method investments. AFG’s fixed maturity portfolio includes securities (the majority of which are AAA-rated) with a carrying value of approximately $600 million that have minimal exposure to office commercial real estate.

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Summarized information for the unrealized gains and losses recorded in AFG’s Balance Sheet at December 31, 2023, is shown in the following table (dollars in millions). Approximately $252 million of available for sale fixed maturity securities had no unrealized gains or losses at December 31, 2023.

The table below sets forth the scheduled maturities of AFG’s available for sale fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2023, based on their fair values. Securities with sinking funds are reported at average maturity. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because certain securities may be called or prepaid by the issuers.

The table below (dollars in millions) summarizes the unrealized gains and losses on fixed maturity securities by dollar amount:

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The following table (dollars in millions) summarizes the unrealized losses for all securities with unrealized losses by issuer quality and the length of time those securities have been in an unrealized loss position:

To evaluate fixed maturities for expected credit losses (impairment), management considers the following:

a)whether the unrealized loss is credit-driven or a result of changes in market interest rates,

b)the extent to which fair value is less than cost basis,

c)cash flow projections received from independent sources,

d)historical operating, balance sheet and cash flow data contained in issuer SEC filings and news releases,

e)near-term prospects for improvement in the issuer and/or its industry,

f)third-party research and communications with industry specialists,

g)financial models and forecasts,

h)the continuity of interest payments, maintenance of investment grade ratings and hybrid nature of certain investments,

i)discussions with issuer management, and

j)ability and intent to hold the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for anticipated recovery in fair value.

Based on its analysis of the factors listed above, management believes AFG will recover its cost basis (net of any allowance) in the fixed maturity securities with unrealized losses and that AFG has the ability to hold the securities until they recover in value and had no intent to sell them at December 31, 2023. Although AFG has the ability to continue holding its fixed maturity investments with unrealized losses, its intent to hold them may change due to deterioration in the issuers’ creditworthiness, decisions to lessen exposure to a particular issuer or industry, asset/liability management decisions, market movements, changes in views about appropriate asset allocation or the desire to offset taxable realized gains. Should AFG’s ability or intent change regarding a particular security, a charge for impairment would likely be required. While it is not possible to accurately predict if or when a specific security will become impaired, increases in the allowance for credit losses could be material to results of operations in future periods. Significant declines in the fair value of AFG’s investment portfolio could have a significant adverse effect on AFG’s liquidity. For information on AFG’s realized gains (losses) on securities, see “Results of Operations — Realized Gains (Losses) on Securities.”

Uncertainties

As more fully explained in the following paragraphs, management believes that the areas posing the greatest risk of material loss are the adequacy of its insurance reserves and contingencies arising out of its former railroad and manufacturing operations.

Property and Casualty Insurance Reserves   Estimating the liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses (“LAE”) is inherently judgmental and is influenced by factors that are subject to significant variation. Determining the liability is a complex process incorporating input from many areas of the Company including actuarial, underwriting, pricing, claims and operations management.

The estimates of liabilities for unpaid claims and for expenses of investigation and adjustment of unpaid claims are based upon: (i) the accumulation of case estimates for losses reported prior to the close of the accounting periods on direct business written (“case reserves”); (ii) estimates received from ceding reinsurers and insurance pools and associations; (iii) estimates of claims incurred but not reported (including possible development on known claims); (iv) estimates (based on experience) of expense for investigating and adjusting claims; and (v) the current state of law and coverage litigation.

The process used to determine the total reserve for liabilities involves estimating the ultimate incurred losses and LAE, adjusted for amounts already paid on the claims. The IBNR reserve is derived by estimating the ultimate unpaid reserve

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liability and subtracting case reserves for loss and LAE. See Note O — “Insurance — Property and Casualty Insurance Reserves” to the financial statements for a discussion of the factors considered and actuarial methods used in determining management’s best estimate of the ultimate liability for unpaid losses and LAE.

The following table shows (in millions) the breakdown of AFG’s property and casualty insurance reserves between case reserves, IBNR reserves and LAE reserves (estimated amounts required to adjust, record and settle claims, other than the claim payments themselves) at December 31, 2023 and gross written premiums for the year ended December 31, 2023.

While current factors and reasonably likely changes in variable factors are considered in estimating the liability for unpaid losses and LAE, there is no method or system that can eliminate the risk of actual ultimate results differing from such estimates.

Following is a discussion of certain critical variables affecting the estimation of loss reserves of the more significant long-tail lines of business (asbestos and environmental liabilities are separately discussed below). Many other variables may also impact ultimate claim costs.

An important assumption underlying reserve estimates is that the cost trends implicitly built into development patterns will continue into the future. However, future results could vary due to an unexpected change in the underlying cost trends. This unexpected change could arise from a variety of sources including a general increase in economic inflation, social inflation, new medical technologies, or other factors such as those listed below in connection with AFG’s largest lines of business. It is not possible to isolate and measure the potential impact of just one of these variables, and future cost trends could be partially impacted by several such variables. However, it is reasonable to address the sensitivity of the reserves to potential impact from changes in these variables by measuring the effect of a possible overall 1% change in future cost trends that may be caused by one or more variables. Utilizing the effect of a 1% change in overall cost trends enables changes greater than 1% to be estimated by extrapolation. Each additional 1% change in the cost trend would increase the effect on net earnings by an amount slightly (about 5%) greater than the effect of the previous 1%. For example, if a 1% change in cost trends in a line of business would change net earnings by $20 million, a 2% change would change net earnings by approximately $41 million.

The estimated cumulative adverse impact that a 1% change in cost trends in AFG’s more significant long-tail lines of property and casualty business (exceeding 5% of total reserves) would have on net earnings is shown below (in millions).

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The judgments and uncertainties surrounding management’s reserve estimation process and the potential for reasonably possible variability in management’s most recent reserve estimates may also be viewed by looking at how recent historical estimates of reserves have developed. The following table shows (dollars in millions) what the impact on AFG’s net earnings would be on the more significant lines of business if the December 31, 2023, reserves (net of reinsurance) were to develop at the same rate as the average development of the most recent five years.

(a)Adverse (favorable), net of tax effect.

(b)Excludes asbestos and environmental liabilities.

The following discussion describes key assumptions and important variables that affect the estimate of the reserve for loss and LAE of the more significant lines of business and explains what caused them to change from assumptions used in the preceding period.

Other Liability — Occurrence

This long-tail line of business consists of coverages protecting the insured against legal liability resulting from negligence, carelessness, or a failure to act causing property damage or personal injury to others. Some of the important variables affecting estimation of loss reserves for other liability — occurrence include:

•Litigious climate

•Unpredictability of judicial decisions regarding coverage issues

•Magnitude of jury awards

•Outside counsel costs

•Timing of claims reporting

AFG recorded adverse prior year reserve development of $96 million in 2023, $109 million in 2022 and $39 million in 2021 related to its other liability — occurrence coverage due primarily to continued claim severity increases in excess and umbrella liability coverages.

While management applies the actuarial methods discussed in Note O — “Insurance — Property and Casualty Insurance Reserves” to the financial statements, more judgment is involved in arriving at the final reserve to be held. For recent accident years, more weight is given to the Bornhuetter-Ferguson method.

Workers’ Compensation

This long-tail line of business provides coverage to employees who may be injured in the course of employment. Some of the important variables affecting estimation of loss reserves for workers’ compensation include:

•Legislative actions and regulatory and legal interpretations

•Future medical cost inflation

•Economic conditions

•Frequency of reopening claims previously closed

•Advances in medical equipment and processes

•Pace and intensity of employee rehabilitation

•Changes in the use of pharmaceutical drugs

•Changes in mortality trends for permanently injured workers

Approximately 26% and 25% of AFG’s workers’ compensation reserves at December 31, 2023 relate to policies written in Florida and California, respectively.

AFG recorded favorable prior year reserve development of $116 million in 2023, $189 million in 2022 and $169 million in 2021, related to its workers’ compensation coverage due to lower than anticipated medical severity.

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Other Liability — Claims Made

This long-tail line of business consists mostly of directors’ and officers’ liability (“D&O”). Some of the important variables affecting estimation of loss reserves for other liability — claims made include:

•Litigious climate

•Economic conditions

•Variability of stock prices

•Magnitude of jury awards

The general state of the economy and the variability of the stock price of the insured can affect the frequency and severity of shareholder class action suits and other situations that trigger coverage under D&O policies. For example, from 2008 to 2010, economic conditions led to higher frequency of claims, particularly in the D&O policies for small account and not-for-profit organizations. After peaking in 2010, claim frequency decreased and stabilized to near pre-2008 levels until dropping sharply during the pandemic-related shutdowns. Post-pandemic, frequency has increased slightly but has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.

AFG recorded favorable prior year reserve development of $33 million in 2023, $24 million in 2022 and $2 million in 2021 on its D&O business as claim frequency and severity were less than expected across several prior accident years.

Commercial Auto/Truck Liability/Medical

This line of business is a mix of coverage protecting the insured against legal liability for property damage or personal injury to others arising from the operation of commercial motor vehicles. The property damage liability exposure is usually short-tail with relatively prompt reporting and settlement of claims. The bodily injury and medical payments exposures are longer-tailed; although the claim reporting is relatively prompt, the final settlement can take longer to achieve. Some of the important variables affecting estimation of loss reserves for commercial auto/truck liability/medical are similar to other liability — occurrence and include:

•Magnitude of jury awards

•Unpredictability of judicial decisions regarding coverage issues

•Litigious climate and trends

•Change in frequency of severe accidents

•Health care costs and utilization of medical services by injured parties

AFG recorded adverse prior year reserve development of $29 million in 2023, $32 million in 2022 and $7 million in 2021 for this line of business due to higher than anticipated severity.

Recoverables from Reinsurers and Availability of Reinsurance   AFG is subject to credit risk with respect to its reinsurers, as reinsurance contracts do not relieve AFG of its liability to policyholders. To mitigate this risk, substantially all reinsurance is ceded to companies rated “A” or better by S&P or is secured by “funds withheld” or other collateral.

The availability and cost of reinsurance are subject to prevailing market conditions, which are beyond AFG’s control and which may affect AFG’s level of business and profitability. Although the cost of certain reinsurance programs may increase, management believes that AFG will be able to maintain adequate reinsurance coverage at acceptable rates without a material adverse effect on AFG’s results of operations. AFG’s gross and net combined ratios are shown in the table below.

See Item 1 — Business — “Property and Casualty Insurance Segment — Reinsurance” for more information on AFG’s reinsurance programs. For additional information on the effect of reinsurance on AFG’s historical results of operations see Note O — “Insurance — Reinsurance” to the financial statements.

The following table illustrates the effect that purchasing property and casualty reinsurance has had on AFG’s combined ratio over the last three years.

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Asbestos and Environmental-related (“A&E”) Insurance Reserves   Asbestos and environmental reserves of the property and casualty group consisted of the following (in millions):

Asbestos reserves include claims asserting alleged injuries and damages from exposure to asbestos. Environmental reserves include claims relating to polluted sites.

Asbestos claims against manufacturers, distributors or installers of asbestos products were presented under the products liability section of their policies, which typically had aggregate limits that capped an insurer’s liability. In addition, asbestos claims are being presented as “non-products” claims, such as those by installers of asbestos products and by property owners or operators who allegedly had asbestos on their property, under the premises or operations section of their policies. Unlike products exposures, these non-products exposures typically had no aggregate limits, creating greater exposure for insurers. Further, in an effort to seek additional insurance coverage, some insureds with installation activities who have substantially eroded their products coverage are presenting new asbestos claims as non-products operations claims or attempting to reclassify previously settled products claims as non-products claims to restore a portion of previously exhausted products aggregate limits.

Approximately 47% of AFG’s net asbestos reserves relate to policies written directly by AFG subsidiaries. Claims from these policies generally are product-oriented claims with only a limited amount of non-products exposures and are dominated by small to mid-sized commercial entities that are mostly regional policyholders with few national target defendants. The remainder is assumed reinsurance business that includes exposures from 1954 to 1983. The asbestos and environmental assumed claims are ceded by various insurance companies under reinsurance treaties. A majority of the individual assumed claims have exposures of less than $100,000 to AFG. Asbestos losses assumed include some of the industry known manufacturers, distributors and installers. Pollution losses include industry known insured names and sites.

Establishing reserves for A&E claims relating to policies and participations in reinsurance treaties and former operations is subject to uncertainties that are significantly greater than those presented by other types of claims. For this group of claims, traditional actuarial techniques that rely on historical loss development trends cannot be used and a range of reasonably possible losses cannot be estimated. Case reserves and expense reserves are established by the claims department as specific policies are identified. In addition to the case reserves established for known claims, management establishes additional reserves for claims not yet known or reported and for possible development on known claims. These additional reserves are management’s best estimate based on periodic comprehensive studies and internal reviews adjusted for payments and identifiable changes, supplemented by management’s review of industry information about such claims, with due consideration to individual claim situations.

Management believes that estimating the ultimate liability for asbestos claims presents a unique and difficult challenge to the insurance industry due to, among other things, inconsistent court decisions, an increase in bankruptcy filings as a result of asbestos-related liabilities, novel theories of coverage, and judicial interpretations that often expand theories of recovery and broaden the scope of coverage. Environmental claims likewise present challenges in prediction, due to uncertainty regarding the interpretation of insurance policies, complexities regarding multi-party involvements at sites, evolving cleanup standards and protracted time periods required to assess the level of cleanup required at contaminated sites.

The following factors could impact AFG’s A&E reserves and payments:

•There is interest at the state level to attempt to legislatively address asbestos liabilities and the manner in which asbestos claims are resolved. These developments are fluid and could result in piecemeal state-by-state solutions.

•The manner by which bankruptcy courts are addressing asbestos liabilities is in flux.

•AFG’s insureds may make claims alleging significant non-products exposures.

While management believes that AFG’s reserves for A&E claims are a reasonable estimate of ultimate liability for such claims, actual results may vary materially from the amounts currently recorded due to the difficulty in predicting the number of future claims, the impact of bankruptcy filings and unresolved issues such as whether coverage exists, whether

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policies are subject to aggregate limits on coverage, how claims are to be allocated among triggered policies and implicated years and whether claimants who exhibit no signs of illness will be successful in pursuing their claims. A 1% variation in loss cost trends, caused by any of the factors previously described, would change net earnings by approximately $30 million.

AFG tracks its A&E claims by policyholder. The following table shows, by type of claim, the number of policyholders that did not receive any payments in the calendar year separate from policyholders that did receive a payment. Policyholder counts represent policies written by AFG subsidiaries and do not include assumed reinsurance.

Amounts paid (net of reinsurance recoveries) for asbestos and environmental claims, including LAE, were as follows (in millions):

The survival ratio is a measure often used by industry analysts to compare A&E reserves’ strength among companies. This ratio is typically calculated by dividing reserves for A&E exposures by the three-year average of paid losses, and therefore measures the number of years that it would take to pay off current reserves based on recent average payments. Because this ratio can be significantly impacted by a number of factors such as loss payout variability, caution should be exercised in attempting to determine reserve adequacy based simply on the survival ratio. At December 31, 2023, the property and casualty insurance segment’s three-year survival ratios compare favorably with industry survival ratios published by A.M. Best (as of December 31, 2022, and adjusted for several large portfolio transfers) as detailed in the following table:

During the third quarter of 2023, AFG completed an in-depth internal review of its asbestos and environmental exposures relating to the run-off operations of its property and casualty insurance segment. In addition to its ongoing internal monitoring of asbestos and environmental exposures, AFG has historically conducted periodic comprehensive external studies of its asbestos and environmental reserves with the aid of specialty actuarial, engineering and consulting firms and outside counsel, with an in-depth internal review during all other years.

During the 2023 internal review, no new trends were identified and recent claims activity was generally consistent with AFG’s expectations resulting from its in-depth internal reviews in 2022 and 2021 and most recent external study in 2020. As a result, the 2023 review resulted in no net change to AFG’s property and casualty insurance segment’s asbestos and environmental reserves.

Over the past few years, the focus of AFG’s asbestos claims litigation has shifted to smaller companies and companies with ancillary exposures. AFG’s insureds with these exposures have been the driver of the property and casualty segment’s asbestos reserve increases in recent years. AFG is seeing modestly increasing estimates for indemnity and defense compared to prior studies on certain specific open claims. AFG has updated its view of legal defense costs on open environmental claims as well as a number of claims and sites where the estimated investigation and remediation costs have increased.

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Contingencies related to Subsidiaries’ Former Operations   The A&E reviews and external study discussed above also encompassed reserves for various environmental and occupational injury and disease claims and other contingencies arising out of the railroad operations disposed of by American Premier’s predecessor and certain manufacturing operations disposed of by American Premier and its subsidiaries and by Great American Financial Resources, Inc. AFG recorded a $15 million pretax non-core special charge to increase liabilities for those operations as a result of the 2023 internal review. Liabilities for claims and contingencies arising from these former railroad and manufacturing operations totaled $101 million at December 31, 2023. For a discussion of the uncertainties in determining the ultimate liability, see Note N — “Contingencies” to the financial statements.

MANAGED INVESTMENT ENTITIES

Accounting standards require AFG to consolidate its investments in collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) entities that it manages and owns an interest in (in the form of debt). See Note A — “Accounting Policies — Managed Investment Entities” and Note H — “Managed Investment Entities” to the financial statements. The effect of consolidating these entities is shown in the tables below (in millions). The “Before CLO Consolidation” columns include AFG’s investment and earnings in the CLOs on an unconsolidated basis.

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CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET

(*)Elimination of the fair value of AFG’s investment in CLOs and related accrued interest.

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CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF EARNINGS

(a)Includes income of $9 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and less than $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, representing the change in fair value of AFG’s CLO investments and $4 million and $5 million of income in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 2022, respectively, in CLO management fees earned.

(b)Elimination of the change in fair value of AFG’s investments in the CLOs, including $11 million and $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 2022, respectively, in distributions recorded as interest expense by the CLOs.

(c)Elimination of management fees earned by AFG.

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CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF EARNINGS - CONTINUED

(a)Includes income of $27 million in 2023 and a loss of $10 million in 2022, representing the change in fair value of AFG’s CLO investments and $16 million and $17 million of income in 2023 and 2022, respectively, in CLO management fees earned.

(b)Elimination of the change in fair value of AFG’s investments in the CLOs, including $29 million and $18 million in 2023 and 2022, respectively, in distributions recorded as interest expense by the CLOs.

(c)Elimination of management fees earned by AFG.

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CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF EARNINGS - CONTINUED

(a)Includes income of $20 million representing the change in fair value of AFG’s CLO investments and $16 million of income in CLO management fees earned.

(b)Elimination of the change in fair value of AFG’s investments in the CLOs, including $12 million in distributions recorded as interest expense by the CLOs.

(c)Elimination of management fees earned by AFG.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

General

AFG’s net earnings, determined in accordance with GAAP, include certain items that may not be indicative of its ongoing core operations. In addition to discontinued operations, core net operating earnings excludes realized gains (losses) on securities because such gains and losses are influenced significantly by financial markets, interest rates and the timing of sales. In addition, special charges related to coverage that AFG no longer writes, such as asbestos and environmental exposures, are excluded from core earnings.

In May 2021, AFG sold its Annuity business to MassMutual. Through the effective date of the sale, the results of its annuity segment and run-off life and long-term care operations are reported as discontinued operations.

AFG recorded $914 million in non-core net earnings from the discontinued annuity operations in 2021, which includes a $656 million after-tax gain on the sale. See “Discontinued Annuity Operations” below for details of the impact of the discontinued annuity operations on AFG’s net earnings for 2021.

In December 2020, AFG sold GAI Holding Bermuda and its subsidiaries, the legal entities that owned AFG’s Lloyd’s Managing Agency, Neon Underwriting Ltd., thereby exiting the Lloyd’s of London Insurance market. In 2021, AFG recognized a non-core after-tax gain of $3 million related to contingent consideration received from the sale of Neon.

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The following table (in millions, except per share amounts) identifies non-core items and reconciles net earnings to core net operating earnings, a non-GAAP financial measure. AFG believes core net operating earnings is a useful tool for investors and analysts in analyzing ongoing operating trends and for management to evaluate financial performance against historical results because it believes this provides a more comparable measure of its continuing business.

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Net earnings were $263 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $276 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 reflecting lower core net operating earnings partially offset by higher net realized gains on securities in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. Core net operating earnings for the fourth quarter of 2023 decreased $17 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 due primarily to lower returns on AFG’s alternative investment portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 and lower underwriting profit, partially offset by higher investment income outside of alternative investments. Net realized gains on securities of $25 million and $21 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 2022, respectively, resulted primarily from the change in fair value of equity securities that were still held at the balance sheet date.

Net earnings were $852 million for the full-year of 2023 compared to $898 million in 2022 reflecting lower core net operating earnings and a special A&E charge recorded in the third quarter of 2023, partially offset by lower net realized losses on securities in 2023 compared to 2022. Core net operating earnings for 2023 decreased $98 million compared to 2022 reflecting lower returns on AFG’s alternative investment portfolio when compared to the strong performance of this portfolio in 2022 and lower underwriting profit, partially offset by higher investment income outside of alternative investments. Net realized losses on securities of $28 million in 2023 and $92 million in 2022 include $2 million and $75 million, respectively, of after-tax losses from the change in fair value of equity securities that were still held at the balance sheet date.

Net earnings were $898 million for the full-year of 2022 compared to $2.00 billion in 2021 reflecting net earnings from the discontinued annuity operations in 2021 and net realized losses on securities in 2022 compared to net realized gains on securities in 2021. The discontinued annuity operations includes an after-tax gain on the sale of the annuity subsidiaries of $656 million in 2021. Core net operating earnings were comparable in 2022 and 2021 as higher underwriting profit and higher investment income outside of alternative investments were offset by lower returns on AFG’s alternative investment portfolio compared to the very strong performance of this portfolio in 2021. Realized gains (losses) on securities in 2022 and 2021 resulted primarily from the change in fair value of equity securities that were still held at the balance sheet date.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND 2022

Segmented Statement of Earnings

Subsequent to the sale of its annuity operations, AFG reports its operations as two segments: (i) Property and casualty insurance (“P&C”) and (ii) Other, which includes holding company costs and income and expenses related to the managed investment entities (“MIEs”).

AFG’s net earnings, determined in accordance with GAAP, include certain items that may not be indicative of its ongoing core operations. The following tables for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 identify such items by segment and reconcile net earnings to core net operating earnings, a non-GAAP financial measure that AFG believes is a useful tool for investors and analysts in analyzing ongoing operating trends (in millions):

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(*)See the reconciliation of core earnings to GAAP net earnings under “Results of Operations — General” for details on the tax impacts of these reconciling items.

Property and Casualty Insurance Segment — Results of Operations

Performance measures such as underwriting profit or loss and related combined ratios are often used by property and casualty insurers to help users of their financial statements better understand the company’s performance. Underwriting profitability is measured by the combined ratio, which is a sum of the ratios of losses and loss adjustment expenses, and commissions and other underwriting expenses to premiums. A combined ratio under 100% indicates an underwriting profit. The combined ratio does not reflect net investment income, other income, other expenses or federal income taxes.

AFG’s property and casualty insurance operations contributed $357 million in pretax earnings in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $363 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease of $6 million (2%). Lower underwriting profits in the Specialty casualty and Property and transportation sub-segments and lower investment income from alternative investments were partially offset by higher underwriting profit in the Specialty financial sub-segment and higher net investment income outside of alternative investments.

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The following table details AFG’s earnings before income taxes from its property and casualty insurance operations for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (dollars in millions):

Starting in 1986, AFG’s statutory combined ratio has been better than the U.S. industry average for 36 of the 38 years. Management believes that AFG’s insurance operations have performed better than the industry as a result of its specialty niche focus, product line diversification, stringent underwriting discipline and alignment of compensation incentives.

AFG reports the underwriting performance of its Specialty property and casualty insurance business in the following sub-segments: (i) Property and transportation, (ii) Specialty casualty and (iii) Specialty financial.

To understand the overall profitability of particular lines, the timing of claims payments and the related impact of investment income must be considered. Certain “short-tail” lines of business (primarily property coverages) generally have quick loss payouts, which reduce the time funds are held, thereby limiting investment income earned thereon. In contrast, “long-tail” lines of business (primarily liability coverages and workers’ compensation) generally have payouts that are either structured over many years or take many years to settle, thereby significantly increasing investment income earned on related premiums received.

Gross Written Premiums

Gross written premiums (“GWP”) for AFG’s property and casualty insurance segment were $1.99 billion for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $1.85 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of $147 million (8%). Detail of AFG’s property and casualty gross written premiums is shown below (dollars in millions):

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Reinsurance Premiums Ceded

Reinsurance premiums ceded (“Ceded”) for AFG’s property and casualty insurance segment were 27% of gross written premiums for both the fourth quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2022. Detail of AFG’s property and casualty reinsurance premiums ceded is shown below (dollars in millions):

Net Written Premiums

Net written premiums (“NWP”) for AFG’s property and casualty insurance segment were $1.45 billion for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $1.34 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of $107 million (8%). Detail of AFG’s property and casualty net written premiums is shown below (dollars in millions):

Net Earned Premiums

Net earned premiums (“NEP”) for AFG’s property and casualty insurance segment were $1.73 billion for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $1.62 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of $109 million (7%). Detail of AFG’s property and casualty net earned premiums is shown below (dollars in millions):

Gross written premiums for the fourth quarter of 2023 increased $147 million (8%) compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 reflecting a combination of new business opportunities, increased exposures and a good renewal rate environment. Overall average renewal rates increased approximately 6% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Excluding overall rate decreases in the workers’ compensation businesses, renewal rates increased approximately 7%.

Property and transportation Gross written premiums increased $22 million (4%) in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. This increase was due primarily to slightly higher crop premium related to the CRS acquisition, which was partially offset by the timing of renewals in several of the transportation businesses. Average renewal rates increased 7% for this group in the fourth quarter of 2023. Reinsurance premiums ceded as a percentage of gross written premiums increased 2 percentage points for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 reflecting growth in alternative risk transfer products in the transportation businesses and higher premiums in the crop operations, both of which cede a higher percentage of premiums than some of the other businesses in the Property and transportation sub-segment.

Specialty casualty Gross written premiums increased $62 million (6%) in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. New business opportunities and increased exposures in the excess and surplus operations and

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increased exposures from payroll growth in the workers’ compensation businesses led to higher year-over-year premiums, with nearly all of the businesses in this group reporting growth in the quarter. This growth was partially offset by lower premiums in the executive liability business. Average renewal rates for this group increased approximately 4% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Excluding rate decreases in the workers’ compensation business, renewal rates for this group increased approximately 7%. Reinsurance premiums ceded as a percentage of gross written premiums were comparable in the fourth quarters of 2023 and 2022.

Specialty financial Gross written premiums increased $63 million (27%) in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 due primarily to growth in the financial institutions business. Average renewal rates for this group increased approximately 9% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Reinsurance premiums ceded as a percentage of gross written premiums increased 1 percentage point in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 reflecting the favorable impact of lower than previously estimated reinstatement premiums related to Hurricane Ian recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Other specialty The amounts shown as reinsurance premiums ceded represent business assumed by AFG’s internal reinsurance program from the operations that make up AFG’s other Specialty property and casualty insurance sub-segments. Reinsurance premiums assumed increased $8 million (13%) in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 reflecting an increase in premiums retained, primarily from businesses in the Specialty casualty sub-segment.

Combined Ratio

Performance measures such as the combined ratio are often used by property and casualty insurers to help users of their financial statements better understand the company’s performance. The combined ratio is the sum of the loss and loss adjustment expenses (“LAE”) and underwriting expense ratios. These ratios are calculated by dividing each of the respective expenses by net earned premiums. The table below (dollars in millions) details the components of the combined ratio for AFG’s property and casualty insurance segment:

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The Specialty property and casualty insurance operations generated an underwriting profit of $212 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $217 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease of $5 million (2%). Higher underwriting profit in the Specialty financial sub-segment was more than offset by lower underwriting profits in the Specialty casualty and Property and transportation sub-segments. Overall catastrophe losses were $25 million (1.4 points on the combined ratio), including $1 million in net reinstatement premiums in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to catastrophe losses of $11 million (0.9 points), including a $13 million favorable impact in the fourth quarter of 2022 from lower than previously estimated reinstatement premiums related to Hurricane Ian.

Property and transportation Underwriting profit for this group was $67 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $68 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease of $1 million (1%). Below average underwriting profitability in the crop insurance operations was largely offset by higher year-over-year underwriting profits in the property and inland marine and the non-crop agricultural businesses. Catastrophe losses for this group were $5 million (0.6 points on the combined ratio), including $2 million in net reinstatement premiums in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to catastrophe losses of $7 million (1.0 points), including a $1 million favorable impact from lower than previously estimated net reinstatement premiums in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Specialty casualty Underwriting profit for this group was $114 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $128 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease of $14 million (11%). Higher year-over-year underwriting profits in the workers’ compensation and executive liability businesses were more than offset by lower underwriting profit in the excess and surplus business. Catastrophe losses were $8 million (1.1 points on the combined ratio), including a $1 million favorable impact from lower than previously estimated net reinstatement premiums in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to catastrophe losses of $7 million (1.1 points), including a $1 million favorable impact from net reinstatement premiums in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Specialty financial Underwriting profit for this group was $45 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $33 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of $12 million (36%). This increase reflects higher year-over-year underwriting profit in the financial institutions business. Catastrophe losses were $4 million (2.0 points on the combined ratio) in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to a favorable impact of $3 million (1.9 points), including a $10 million favorable impact from the change in estimated reinstatement premiums related to Hurricane Ian in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Other specialty This group reported an underwriting loss of $14 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of $2 million (17%), reflecting higher losses in the business assumed by AFG’s internal reinsurance program from the operations that make up AFG’s other Specialty sub-segments in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. This group reported catastrophe losses of $8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to less than $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Aggregate Aggregate underwriting results for AFG’s property and casualty insurance segment include adverse prior year reserve development of $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and net favorable prior year reserve development of $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 related to business outside of the Specialty group that AFG no longer writes.

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Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses

AFG’s overall loss and LAE ratio was 60.8% for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to 60.7% for the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 0.1 percentage points. The components of AFG’s property and casualty losses and LAE amounts and ratio are detailed below (dollars in millions):