RLI Corp

What RLI Corp does

RLI Corp is a U.S. specialty property and casualty insurance and surety bond company, founded in 1965 in Peoria, Illinois, and listed on the NYSE under ticker RLI. The company underwrites a diversified portfolio of specialty risks across eleven product lines — commercial casualty, commercial property, construction, entertainment and amusement, executive risk products, inland marine, ocean marine, personal lines, professional services firms, transportation, and surety bonds — distributed exclusively through independent retail agents, wholesale brokers, managing general agents and underwriters, program administrators, and aggregators in all 50 U.S. states, with a direct portal for personal umbrella. RLI operates through three core insurance subsidiaries (RLI Insurance Company, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company, and Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company), all rated A++ (Superior) by AM Best following a February 2026 upgrade, and has delivered 30 consecutive years of underwriting profitability alongside 50 consecutive years of dividend increases.

The company's go-to-market is a multi-channel wholesale/retail brokerage model with quote-based pricing determined by risk assessment and underwriting criteria, billed annually. Revenue is generated from gross premiums written across property, casualty, and surety products and from net investment income on the company's investment portfolio; FY2024 total consolidated revenue was $1,770 million with Q1 2026 gross premiums written of $503 million (up 3% year-over-year) and net investment income of $42.3 million (up 15% year-over-year). Underlying technology includes telematics for transportation underwriting, AI-driven underwriting and pricing tools consuming external consumer data, and a February 2026 strategic partnership and equity investment in AI-enabled underwriter Kettle to power multi-peril commercial property and wildfire risk modeling using satellite data. RLI also offers direct online policy management for personal lines via mypolicy.rlicorp.com.

Operationally, RLI employs 1,001–5,000 people across 18 U.S. office locations and runs an employee-ownership culture via ESOP and LTIP, with employees and insiders collectively owning roughly 9% of the company. The senior team is led by President and CEO Craig Kliethermes, supported by COO Jen Klobnak, CFO/CIO/Treasurer Aaron Diefenthaler (effective January 2026), CLO Jeff Fick, Chief Claim Officer Cory Figiel (effective April 2026), and a deep bench of product-line presidents and vice presidents. The board includes former senior executives from Chubb, Travelers, QBE North America, State Auto, and XL Insurance, reinforcing underwriting and actuarial discipline.

Name

RLI Corp

Legal name

RLI Insurance Company

Website

https://rlicorp.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

RLI Corp is a U.S. specialty property and casualty insurer and surety bond provider, underwriting eleven niche lines through independent agents, brokers, and MGAs across all 50 states, and serving commercial businesses, contractors, and select personal lines customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Illinois City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices18 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Insurance Premiums: Gross premiums written from property, casualty, and surety insurance products. Q1 2026 gross premiums written were $503 million, up 3% year-over-year. Full-year 2024 total consolidated revenue was $1,770 million.
2. Net Investment Income: Investment income from the company's investment portfolio. Q1 2026 net investment income was $42.3 million, up 15% year-over-year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

RLI Corp underwrites and distributes a diversified portfolio of specialty property and casualty insurance products and surety bonds through its insurance subsidiaries (RLI Insurance Company, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company, and Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company). Core offerings span commercial casualty, commercial property, construction, executive risk, inland and ocean marine, transportation, professional services, entertainment, surety, and select personal lines. Products are distributed exclusively through independent agents, brokers, managing general agents (MGAs), managing general underwriters (MGUs), and program administrators across all 50 U.S. states.

Product overview

RLI Corp is a specialty property and casualty insurance company offering a diversified portfolio of insurance products and surety bonds through a network of retail and wholesale agents and brokers across all 50 U.S. states. The company's product portfolio consists of core specialty insurance lines (Commercial Casualty, Commercial Property, Construction, Entertainment and Amusement, Executive Risk Products, Inland Marine, Ocean Marine, Personal Lines, Professional Services Firms, and Transportation), supplemented by surety bond solutions (Commercial Surety and Contract Surety), and personal insurance products (Personal Umbrella, Home Business, and Track Day insurance). The company operates through three main insurance subsidiaries: RLI Insurance Company, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company, and Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company, all rated A++ (Superior) by AM Best.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RLI Executive Products Group: Executive risk protection products including D&O, EPL, Fiduciary liability coverage
• Contrac Pac
• Contrac Pac QuickWrite
• Executive Plus
• TrackDay
• SafeFleet
• RLI Safety Solutions

Products and services

• Commercial Casualty Insurance Specialty casualty coverage including contractor's liability, environmental, excess commercial liability, general liability, and products liability for commercial businesses.
• Commercial Property Insurance Wholesale commercial property insurance products for agents and brokers covering multi-peril and wildfire risks.
• Construction Insurance Specialty construction insurance including the Contrac Pac package product and Contrac Pac QuickWrite for general and artisan contractors.
• Entertainment and Amusement Insurance Bundled coverages for entertainment venues including amusement parks, theme parks, carnivals, fairs, festivals, and family entertainment centers; provides commercial general liability, excess liability, inland marine, property, and commercial auto coverage.
• Executive Risk Products Directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, fidelity, fiduciary, and professional liability coverage for executives, corporations, nonprofits, and private equity firms.
• Inland Marine Insurance Builder's risk and installation, contractor's equipment, data and broadcasting systems, mobile property, and property in transit coverage.
• Ocean Marine Insurance Marine cargo, hull protection and indemnity, marina/boatyard/dealership, marine artisans liability, marine contractors liability, and marine general liability coverage.
• Personal Lines Insurance Personal insurance including Hawaii homeowners, home-based business, and personal umbrella policies for individuals and families.
• Professional Services Firms Insurance Design professionals and miscellaneous professional liability (E&O) coverage for professional services firms.
• Transportation Insurance Commercial specialty auto, E&S auto, moving and storage, public transportation, and trucking insurance coverage including telematics and AI-camera premium discounts for fleet operators.
• Commercial Surety Bonds Account-based and transactional commercial bond solutions for individuals and businesses across diverse industries.
• Contract Surety Bonds Performance and payment bonds for experienced small and medium-sized contractors.
• Personal Umbrella Insurance Extra layer of liability protection above and beyond existing limits of homeowners and auto policies for individuals and families; available direct via mypolicy.rlicorp.com.
• Home Business Insurance Protection for business liability and inventory for home-based businesses.
• Track Day Insurance Coverage for vehicle damage during High Performance Driver Education events.
• Multi-Peril Commercial Property Insurance (Kettle Partnership) Multi-peril commercial property coverage with AI-enabled wildfire risk modeling for commercial properties in California and Nevada, underwritten by Mt. Hawley Insurance Company through partnership with Kettle.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30 consecutive years of underwriting profitability
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments11 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hensel PhelpsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 20 May 2026Hensel Phelps expanded small business engagement initiatives including Head Start Bonding Program where RLI Corp serves as a surety partner. RLI provides bonding access through the program along with The Barbour Group, aiming to build subcontractor capacity through operational support, training webinars, and collaboration to mitigate project risk and improve bid competitiveness.
• KettlecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026Partnership with AI-enabled insurance underwriter Kettle to launch multi-peril commercial property insurance covering wildfire and all other perils for commercial properties in California and Nevada. Coverage underwritten by Mt. Hawley Insurance Company. RLI also made a strategic equity investment in Kettle to accelerate AI-enabled firm's growth and advance risk modeling and underwriting capabilities. The deal validates Kettle's low loss ratio model using AI and satellite data for wildfire risk modeling.
• The Barbour GroupminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSurety partner alongside RLI Corp in Hensel Phelps' Head Start Bonding Program for subcontractor capacity building.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kinsale Capital Group: Excess and surplus lines specialty insurer focused on small-to-mid-market commercial risks with industry-leading combined ratios, competing most directly with RLI's E&S Casualty Brokerage Group.
• Hanover Insurance Group: Specialty P&C carrier with strong positions in commercial lines, marine, and personal lines distributed through independent agents, sharing RLI's agent-driven specialty distribution model.
• Markel Corporation: Specialty insurer operating across casualty, marine, energy, professional liability, and other niche lines, with a long-term holding company model and emphasis on underwriting discipline similar to RLI's approach.
• American Financial Group: Specialty P&C insurer with a major surety bond franchise and specialty property/casualty operations, overlapping with RLI's Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company and core specialty P&C segments.
• James River Group Holdings: Specialty P&C insurer with significant E&S casualty and commercial auto exposure, overlapping with RLI's E&S and Transportation segments though smaller in scale.
• Arch Capital Group: Specialty insurer and reinsurer with strong franchises in construction, executive risk, marine, and professional liability, competing in many of the same specialty niches as RLI.
• W. R. Berkley Corporation: Diversified specialty P&C insurer organized across multiple niche operating units including construction, executive risk, marine, and professional liability, closely mirroring RLI's specialty segment structure.

Broad incumbents

• The Travelers Companies: Largest U.S. commercial P&C insurer with broad commercial and personal lines, overlapping RLI in construction surety and commercial casualty but operating across much wider mainstream markets.
• Cincinnati Financial: Standard-market P&C insurer distributed through independent agents, with overlapping commercial and personal lines and a long record of underwriting profitability analogous to RLI.
• Chubb Limited: Global specialty and large-account P&C insurer competing in executive risk, marine, and casualty where RLI operates, but serving much larger accounts across global geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@RLI.Insurance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rli-insurance-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/rli.insurance

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RLI Corp