Markel Corp. (NYSE:MKL) Q2 2017 Earnings Conference Call - Final Transcript

Good morning and welcome to the Markel Corporation Second Quarter 2017 Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

During the call today, we may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They are based on current assumptions and opinions concerning a variety of known and unknown risks. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in, or suggested by, such forward-looking statements. Additional information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements is included under the captions Risk Factors and Safe Harbor and Cautionary Statement in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

We may also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures in the call today. You may find a reconciliation to GAAP of these measures in the Form 10-Q, which can be found on our website at www.markelcorp.com in the Investor Information section. Please note this event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Tom Gayner, Co-Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

Good morning. This is Tom Gayner, Co-CEO of Markel and it's my pleasure to welcome you to our first half conference call. Today's call is not a normal, regular, every quarter same old, same old sort of conference call. We've got some great news to report to you on several fronts. As Scott Redmond of Redmond Asset Management reacted when he saw the three press releases, Markel scored a hat-trick. He's right. We did. We'll cover each of those three goals today during the course of this call.

First, Anne Waleski, our CFO will give you the numbers on the first half results of Markel. As enrolled in the annual report, at Markel we think in dual-time horizon structure forever and right now. The results that Anne will report to you represent the right now accomplishments of your company. They provide the fuel that enables us to pursue the forever achievements of things like adding State National and Costa to the Markel family.

Second, Richie Whitt, my Co-CEO will discuss our acquisition of State National. We are excited about the ongoing evolution of Markel and how we are adapting to the rapid pace of change in the insurance industry. The acquisition of State National and the skills and abilities they bring into this organization along with the CATCo business we acquired a few years ago along with the ongoing improvements in our long-standing insurance operations give me great confidence in our future. Richie will give you more background on State National as well as the rest of our insurance operations in a minute.

Third, I'll come back and give you a quick update on our investment operations of Markel Ventures results during the first half of the year and tell you a little bit about Costa Farms. After that, we will all be available