WHITE MOUNTAINS INSURANCE GROUP, LTD. (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) FORM 10-K
White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (WTM) filed its annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. The company reported total revenues of $1.43 billion, a 4.5% increase from the previous year. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $243.1 million, a 10.3% increase from the previous year. The company’s book value per share increased by 5.1% to $1,144.44. WTM’s operating companies, including National General Holdings Corp. and MGIC Investment Corporation, reported strong results, with National General’s net written premiums increasing by 12.5% and MGIC’s mortgage insurance in force growing by 14.1%. The company’s cash and investments increased by 10.3% to $2.45 billion, providing a strong foundation for future growth and dividend payments.
Overview of White Mountains’s Financial Performance
White Mountains, a diversified financial services holding company, ended 2024 with strong financial results. The company’s book value per share increased 6% to $1,746, and its adjusted book value per share increased 8% to $1,834, both including dividends. This performance was driven by solid results from White Mountains’s operating businesses and good returns in the investment portfolio.
White Mountains reported comprehensive income attributable to common shareholders of $230 million in 2024, compared to $511 million in 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower net realized and unrealized investment gains compared to the prior year.
Ark and WM Outrigger Re Performance
Ark, White Mountains’s property and casualty insurance and reinsurance business, reported a combined ratio of 83% in 2024, compared to 82% in 2023. Ark’s results included 13 percentage points of catastrophe losses in 2024, primarily from hurricanes, compared to 2 percentage points in 2023. Ark’s underwriting results also included 4 percentage points of net favorable prior-year loss reserve development in 2024, compared to 2 percentage points of net unfavorable development in 2023.
Ark’s gross written premiums increased 16% to $2,207 million in 2024, with flat risk-adjusted rate change. The increase was driven by growth across all lines of business, particularly structured property transactions and new product offerings.
WM Outrigger Re, White Mountains’s collateralized reinsurance business, reported a combined ratio of 60% in 2024, compared to 44% in 2023. The higher combined ratio in 2024 was due to catastrophe losses from the same hurricanes that affected Ark. WM Outrigger Re’s gross and net written premiums were $87 million in 2024, down from $110 million in 2023, due to White Mountains’s lower capital commitment.
HG Global and BAM
Effective July 1, 2024, White Mountains no longer consolidates BAM, the municipal bond insurance company. Upon deconsolidation, the fair value of the BAM Surplus Notes, which White Mountains holds, was $387 million, resulting in an unrealized loss of $115 million.
HG Global, which includes the reinsurance subsidiary HG Re that provides first-loss reinsurance to BAM, reported a pre-tax loss of $66 million in 2024, compared to pre-tax income of $56 million in 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the loss on deconsolidation of BAM.
HG Global’s gross written premiums were $52 million in 2024, up from $50 million in 2023. The total par value of policies assumed by HG Re, which represents its first-loss exposure, was $2,952 million in 2024, up from $2,356 million in 2023.
Kudu Performance
Kudu, White Mountains’s asset management services business, reported total revenues of $119 million, pre-tax income of $81 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $55 million in 2024. This compares to $177 million in total revenues, $137 million in pre-tax income, and $57 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2023.
The decrease in Kudu’s results was primarily due to lower net investment income and net realized and unrealized investment gains compared to the prior year. Kudu deployed $104 million into two new asset management firms in 2024, bringing its total deployments to $989 million across 27 firms.
Bamboo Performance
In January 2024, White Mountains completed the acquisition of Bamboo, a property and casualty insurance managing general agent (MGA). Bamboo reported commission and fee revenues of $135 million and pre-tax income of $33 million in 2024.
Bamboo’s managed premiums, which represent the total premium placed by the company, were $484 million in 2024, more than double the $215 million in 2023 (prior to White Mountains’s ownership). The increase was driven by growth in new business and the renewal book.
In January 2025, Bamboo entered into a new credit facility and paid an $84 million cash dividend to shareholders, of which $61 million was paid to White Mountains.
Investment Performance
White Mountains’s total consolidated portfolio return, including its investment in MediaAlpha, was 6.9% in 2024. Excluding MediaAlpha, the return was 6.5%. These results were driven primarily by net investment income and net realized and unrealized gains from other long-term investments, the fixed income portfolio, and common equity securities.
In comparison, White Mountains’s total consolidated portfolio return, both including and excluding MediaAlpha, was 11.4% in 2023. The 2023 results were also driven by net investment income and net realized and unrealized gains, particularly from the other long-term investments and fixed income portfolios.
White Mountains’s fixed income portfolio, including short-term investments, returned 4.3% in 2024, outperforming the Bloomberg U.S. Intermediate Aggregate Index return of 2.5%. The fixed income portfolio returned 5.8% in 2023, also outperforming the index.
White Mountains’s portfolio of common equity securities, its investment in MediaAlpha, and other long-term investments returned 10.0% in 2024, including a 0.9% loss from the MediaAlpha investment. Excluding MediaAlpha, the return was 9.4%. In 2023, this portfolio returned 18.5%, including a 11.8% gain from MediaAlpha, or 19.0% excluding MediaAlpha.
Outlook and Other Developments
As of December 31, 2024, White Mountains had approximately $0.7 billion in undeployed capital, including the net proceeds from a debt recapitalization completed at Bamboo in January 2025.
In November 2024, AM Best affirmed Ark’s financial strength rating at “A/stable.” During the fourth quarter of 2024, Ark renewed Outrigger Re Ltd. for the 2025 underwriting year, with White Mountains’s total commitment of $150 million.
The recent California wildfires in January 2025 are expected to have a limited impact on Ark and Bamboo. Ark does not participate on the reinsurance program backing the California FAIR plan, and Bamboo’s losses are expected to be within its reinsurance limits.
Overall, White Mountains’s diversified business model and strong operating performance have enabled the company to deliver solid financial results in 2024, despite some volatility in investment markets. The company’s focus on disciplined underwriting, strategic capital deployment, and prudent risk management positions it well for the future.
