RLI CORP

Overview

RLI Corp. is a U.S.-based specialty insurer founded in 1965 that underwrites niche property, casualty and surety risks through insurance subsidiaries including RLI Insurance Company, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company and Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company. It focuses on specialty admitted and excess-and-surplus insurance markets and also writes selected reinsurance coverages, with distribution through wholesale and retail brokers, independent agents, carrier partners and limited direct channels.[1]+2 RLI states that its mission is to provide “industry-leading specialty risk management solutions that are convenient, tailored and fill unmet customer needs.” [4]

The company’s insurance operations are organized into three segments: property, casualty and surety. Its offerings include casualty lines such as commercial excess and personal umbrella and transportation-related liability, property lines such as commercial property and marine coverage, and surety products including transactional, commercial and contract bonds.[5]+7 Headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, RLI operates across all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, giving it a broad but primarily domestic footprint. In 2024, the company reported consolidated revenue of about $1.8 billion and employed 1,147 associates in the United States.

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Products & services

RLI Corp’s casualty offerings include general liability coverage for commercial insureds such as manufacturers, contractors, apartments and mercantile businesses, along with niche liability coverages for security guards and environmental risks including underground storage tanks and asbestos/environmental remediation specialists.[17] Its commercial excess products are written above primary liability insurance placed with other carriers, and sometimes above primary liability written by RLI itself, while personal umbrella coverage is generally written in excess of homeowners’ and auto liability policies provided by other insurers.[18][6] Other casualty products include commercial transportation insurance covering automobile liability and physical damage for local, intermediate and long-haul truckers, public transportation entities and other specialty auto risks, with incidental general liability, excess liability and motor truck cargo coverages.[19][20] RLI also offers executive products such as D&O, fiduciary liability, employment practices liability and fidelity insurance, plus professional liability/E&O for design, technical, computer and other miscellaneous professionals; some professional-services offerings are sold as multi-peril packages that can include general liability, property, auto, excess liability and workers’ compensation.[21]+3 Its small commercial/package-style contractor business combines property and casualty coverages, predominantly general liability, with inland marine, commercial auto, property and excess liability components.[24][25]

In property, RLI writes commercial fire, hurricane, earthquake, difference in conditions (DIC) and marine coverages, and also offers homeowners’ insurance in Hawaii.[26] Its commercial property book is primarily excess and surplus lines and specialty insurance, including fire, earthquake, wind and DIC coverage; DIC policies can include earthquake, flood and collapse protection, and the business serves risks such as office buildings, apartments, condominiums and selected industrial and mercantile structures.[8] Marine products include cargo, hull, protection and indemnity, marine liability, and inland marine coverages such as builders’ risk and contractors’ equipment.[27] RLI also distributes specialized homeowners’ and dwelling fire products, home business coverage and certain package coverages through independent agents and binding-authority arrangements.[28]+2

RLI’s surety segment focuses on small- to medium-sized contract surety, including payment and performance bonds that guarantee contractors’ obligations on specific construction projects, as well as commercial surety bonds for medium to large businesses and transactional bonds such as license and permit, notary and court bonds.[31][32] Transactional surety is aimed at small bonds for businesses and individuals and is notable for highly automated underwriting and delivery.[33] Commercial surety serves a broad range of industries including financial, healthcare, energy and renewable energy, while contract surety is underwritten on an account basis and also includes bonds for small and emerging contractors reinsured through the Federal Small Business Administration.[34][12] Based on 2024 net premiums earned, Casualty represented about 56% of the total, Property about 35%, and Surety about 9%.

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Geographic presence

RLI Corp.’s geographic footprint is overwhelmingly domestic. The company operates in all 50 U.S. states, and its insurance subsidiaries also have authority across additional U.S. jurisdictions including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam, depending on the subsidiary. All three insurance subsidiaries are domiciled in Illinois, and the company states it has no material foreign operations; its long-lived assets are held domestically.[36]+2

Geographically, premium generation is concentrated in a small number of states despite the nationwide footprint. In 2024, 57% of direct premiums earned came from four states: Florida (20%), California (18%), Texas (11%) and New York (8%).[38]

RLI’s headquarters is at 9025 North Lindbergh Drive in Peoria, Illinois. The company owns five commercial buildings totaling about 173,000 square feet on a 23-acre corporate campus in Peoria, while branch offices and other operations lease office space throughout the country. As of December 31, 2024, it employed 1,147 associates throughout the United States, but it does not disclose a more detailed regional employee breakdown.

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Business segments

RLI Corp officially reports three insurance operating segments: Casualty, Property, and Surety, and it also discloses major product categories within each segment. Based on 2024 net premiums earned, Casualty contributed about 56% of total net premiums earned, Property about 35%, and Surety about 9%, making Casualty the largest segment by this measure.[5][40]

The Casualty segment consists largely of commercial excess, personal umbrella, general liability, transportation, and management liability coverages, along with package business and other specialty coverages such as professional liability and workers’ compensation for office-based professionals.[41] Within 2024 net premiums earned, its largest product group was commercial excess and personal umbrella at about 23% of companywide net premiums earned, followed by commercial transportation at 8%, general liability at 7%, professional services at 7%, small commercial at 5%, executive products at 2%, and other casualty at 4%.[40] The Property segment focuses primarily on commercial fire, hurricane, earthquake, difference-in-conditions, and marine coverages; commercial property includes specialty excess and surplus lines such as fire, earthquake, wind, and DIC coverages, while marine includes cargo, hull, protection and indemnity, marine liability, and inland marine products such as builders’ risk and contractors’ equipment.[26]+2 In 2024, commercial property represented about 23% of companywide net premiums earned, marine about 10%, and other property about 2%.[40]

The Surety segment specializes in small- to medium-sized contract surety coverages, including payment and performance bonds, and also offers commercial surety bonds and transactional bonds.[31][32] In 2024, transactional, commercial, and contract surety each accounted for roughly 3% of companywide net premiums earned, together making up the segment’s approximately 9% share.

Company history

RLI Corp. traces its origins to 1965, when Gerald D. Stephens founded the company in Peoria, Illinois, as Replacement Lens, Inc. The business began with a narrow focus on contact lens insurance and later broadened into specialty insurance lines as it evolved [1][42]. In 1975, RLI established its employee stock ownership plan, and in 1976 it began paying cash dividends; the company says it has increased its annual dividend every year since cash dividends were introduced [43][44].

A notable expansion came in 2010-2011, when RLI agreed to acquire and then completed the purchase of Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company, a Seattle-based surety and specialty property-and-casualty insurer, strengthening RLI’s presence in surety and related niche markets [45][46]. In 2011, founder Stephens retired from the board, and Jonathan E. Michael, then president and chief executive officer, was appointed chairman [47]. A later leadership transition took effect on January 1, 2022, when Craig W. Kliethermes became president and chief executive officer and Jennifer L. Klobnak became chief operating officer [48].

Sources

• RLI CORP — Full financial report (2024 Y)
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• www.rlicorp.com[4]
• www.rlicorp.com[42]
• investors.rlicorp.com[43]
• investors.rlicorp.com[45]
• investors.rlicorp.com[46]
• investors.rlicorp.com[47]
• investors.rlicorp.com[48]