Thanks very much, and good morning. Today's remarks may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are based on management's current expectations. AIG's filings with the SEC provide details on important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially. Except as required by applicable securities laws, AIG is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. Today's remarks may also refer to non-GAAP financial measures. The reconciliation of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures is included in our earnings release, financial supplement, and earnings presentation, all of which are available on our website at aig.com.
Following the deconsolidation of Corebridge Financial on June 9, 2024, the historical results of Corebridge for all periods presented are reflected in AIG's consolidated financial statements as discontinued operations in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Finally, today's remarks related to net premiums written are presented on a comparable basis, which reflects year-over-year comparison on a constant dollar basis and adjusted for the sale of Global Personal Travel and Assistance business as applicable. We believe this presentation provides the most useful view of our results and the go-forward business in light of the substantial changes to the portfolio since 2023. Please refer to page 29 of the earnings presentation for reconciliations of such metrics reported on a comparable basis. With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Peter Zaffino.
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss our Q4 in 2025 full year financial performance. I will begin with prepared remarks, after which Keith will provide a detailed overview of our financial performance. Jon Hancock will then join us for the Q&A session. On our call today, I will briefly share key highlights from our excellent Q4 performance, review our outstanding full year financial performance, provide brief commentary on AIG's January 1 reinsurance renewals, discuss our Q4 strategic transactions, and highlight our progress on our GenAI and data and digital strategies. Finally, I will conclude with how AIG is positioned for continuing momentum into 2026. Let me begin with a brief overview of our Q4 performance and some of our key highlights.
We delivered adjusted after-tax income per diluted share of $1.96, a 51% increase year-over-year. Underwriting income was $670 million, an increase of 48% year-over-year. Global commercial net premiums written grew 3%, despite North America Retail Property contracting due to our reduced appetite given the current market environment. We had strong new business growth led by International Commercial, which grew an impressive 14% year-over-year. The accident year combined ratio, as adjusted, was 88.9%, our 17th consecutive quarter with a sub-90% result. The calendar year combined ratio was 88.8%, an improvement of 370 basis points from the prior year quarter. Overall, our Q4 performance reflects our consistent underwriting and operating discipline and closes out an exceptional 2025 for AIG.
Now, let me walk you through our full-year financial performance. Adjusted after-tax income per diluted share was $7.09, an increase of 43% year-over-year. Adjusted after-tax income for the year was $4 billion, an increase of 24% year-over-year. For the full year 2025, we generated underwriting income of $2.3 billion, an increase of 22% year-over-year. 2025 was the first year since 2008 that we delivered greater than $2 billion in underwriting income, excluding divested businesses, an important milestone in AIG's journey. For full year 2025, Global Commercial net premiums written were $17.4 billion, an increase of 3% year-over-year.
Adjusting for the large closeout transaction in our Casualty portfolio that benefited overall growth in that prior year, net premiums written increased 4%. North America Commercial grew net premiums written by 4% or 5% when adjusting for the large closeout transaction, with balanced growth across the portfolio that was partially offset by Retail Property, which contracted 8%. International Commercial grew net premiums written by 3%, primarily driven by Property and Global Specialty and partially offset by Financial Lines, which contracted 5%. In Global Personal, net premiums written contracted 3%, driven by higher ceded premiums under the High Net Worth quota share reinsurance treaty that we entered into at 1/1/2025. In early January, Ross Buchmueller was named Executive Chairman of Private Client Select.
We have tremendous confidence in his ability to guide the High Net Worth business and believe he will have an immediate and positive impact in positioning the business for the future. Overall, Global Commercial new business grew 9% year-over-year. International new business grew 10%, driven by Global Specialty, which grew 15%. North America Commercial Insurance produced over $2.6 billion of new business in the year, an increase of 8% year-over-year. We made strong progress reducing our expense ratio, which ended 2025 at 31.1%, down 90 basis points from the prior year, and remained focused on achieving our Investor Day target of a sub 30% expense ratio by 2027.
Our full year accident year combined ratio was 88.3%, and our calendar year combined ratio was 90.1%, both outstanding results. For the full year 2025, excluding North America property, Global Commercial lines pricing, which includes rate and exposure, increased 2%, with a 6% increase in North America and a 1% decrease in international. As we've discussed throughout the year, property markets in North America remained under pressure, with increased competition in both the admitted and non-admitted markets. Retail property pricing was down 10%, and excess and surplus lines pricing was down 13% for the year. Despite the challenging market dynamics, the accident year and calendar year combined ratios remained excellent in property. In North America casualty lines, pricing remained favorable and continued to outpace loss cost trend, with percentage increases in the mid-teens in wholesale and excess casualty.
In North America Financial Lines, pricing was down 2% for the year. Pricing reductions moderated in the second half of the year, with segments of our D&O portfolio ending the year with a positive rate change. In International Commercial, overall pricing was down 1% or flat, excluding Financial Lines. Unlike the U.S., pricing in international property was up 3% for the year, offset by Energy, where pricing was down 10%, driven by abundant capacity. Net investment income on an APTI basis was $3.8 billion, an increase of 8% year-over-year, reflecting our shift to higher-yielding assets with strong financial ratings. Core operating ROE was 11.1%, a 200 basis point improvement year-over-year, and AIG's first adjusted ROE metric above 10% in over 10 years.
Importantly, we delivered a strong performance in 2025 while maintaining our disciplined approach to capital management. We returned $6.8 billion in capital to our shareholders, including $5.8 billion in share repurchases and $1 billion in dividends. We also increased our quarterly dividend by 12.5%, the third consecutive year with a dividend increase of 10% or more. Debt outstanding at year-end was $9 billion, and our debt to total capital ratio was 18%. We continued to reduce our ownership of Corebridge Financial, generating approximately $2.5 billion in gross proceeds over the course of 2025. At the end of 2025, our remaining ownership stake was 10.1%.
This week, Nippon Life waived AIG's 9.9% retention requirement, which gives us the ability to sell down our position throughout 2026, which we intend to do, subject to market conditions and regulatory approvals. Since we announced Blackstone's purchase by 9.9% equity ownership in Corebridge Financial in November 2021, AIG has realized nearly $20 billion from our Corebridge holdings when accounting for share sales, receipt of extraordinary and common dividends, and transition service fees. What's even more extraordinary is that AIG has been able to replace 100% of Corebridge Financial and Validus Re's earnings per share in just two years. Going forward, we're very well-positioned with significant financial strength and liquidity to execute against our strategic objectives, our growth ambitions, and our capital management priorities.
I'll now turn to reinsurance, but before I provide more details on our January first renewals, I want to share a brief context on the reinsurance market. 2025 started with the California wildfires, and that initially tempered reinsurance rate reductions for the industry. What followed was benign cat loss activity in the second half of the year, resulting in increased reinsurance capacity.
This dynamic drove a favorable renewal environment for insurers at January 1. As a general statement, although reinsurers were prepared to compromise on pricing, they remained disciplined on attachment points at 1/1. Our long-term belief in holding firm on attachment points has proven to be advantageous for AIG. We've always said, "Once you give it up, you don't get it back," and that remains true today. Turning to our January first renewal outcomes, AIG achieved enhanced terms and favorable pricing.
We benefited significantly from the current environment with more aggregate capacity available in the market, our consistent buying, an attractive portfolio, and the exceptional relationships we've developed with our reinsurance partners. Here are a few highlights: Our property catastrophe program continued to improve. The weighted average risk-adjusted rate decrease for AIG on property catastrophe is in excess of 15%, yielding substantial year-over-year savings. The return periods of the attachments of our property catastrophe coverage is broadly lower across our geographies and businesses. Our exhaust limit is at a comparable level for all regions worldwide. We were able to collapse the High Net Worth placement into our North America occurrence layer for the 500X to 500 layer.
Thank you, Peter, and good morning. We had a strong Q4 and full year. Starting with the quarter, we continue to make good progress, with 51% growth in adjusted EPS and solid investment and underwriting results.
This marks another quarter of improvement in our key financial metrics while continuing to build the financial strength of our balance sheet. Adjusted after-tax income for the quarter was $1.1 billion, an increase of 31% year-over-year. Underwriting income was $670 million, an increase of 48% year-over-year, and net investment income was $954 million, an increase of 9%. Turning to General Insurance. Net premiums written were $6 billion, an increase of 1%. This was driven by Global Commercial, with growth of 3%. We continue to post excellent underwriting margins across General Insurance, building on our multi-year track record. Accident Year Combined Ratio, as adjusted, was 88.9%, a 30 basis point increase year-over-year.
Accident year loss ratio was 56.8%, a 100 basis point increase year-over-year, or 70 basis points excluding travel. The increase was driven by additional margin in our casualty loss picks, favorable loss experience in the prior year quarter in global specialty, and change in business mix as we grow more casualty over property, partially offset by underlying improvement in global personal. General insurance expense ratio was 32.1%, a 70 basis point improvement year-over-year, driven by the acquisition ratio, partially offset by a higher GOE ratio due to the reapportionment of expenses into the business from other operations. This will be the last quarter we talk about the pushdown of expenses into the business from our Lean Parent initiative. We achieved this in 2025 and have a clean baseline to compare 2026.
Total catastrophe losses for the quarter were $125 million, or 2.1 loss ratio points, predominantly driven by Hurricane Melissa. Prior year development, net of reinsurance and prior year premium, was $116 million favorable, which included $120 million of favorable loss reserve development, $31 million of ADC amortization, and $35 million prior year premiums. The favorable development almost entirely stemmed from North America Commercial, with $94 million, primarily driven by U.S. Financial Lines, Property, and Canada Casualty. Overall, the general insurance calendar year combined ratio was 88.8%, a 370 basis point improvement compared to the prior year quarter. An excellent result! Now moving to the segments. North America Commercial Insurance grew net premiums written by 3%.
The growth was driven in targeted areas, notably Programs, which increased 17%, Western World was up 14%, and Excess Casualty grew 11%. This was partially offset by Retail and Lexington Property, which declined 19% and 10%, respectively. These lines continue to be where rate pressure remains most prevalent. Retention in North America was 89% in admitted lines and 76% in Lexington, an excellent outcome for an excess and surplus lines business. New business grew 8% year-over-year, driven by financial lines and casualty. North America Commercial accident year combined ratio, as adjusted, was 87.2%, an increase of 260 basis points over the prior-year quarter.
The accident year loss ratio of 62.2% was up 100 basis points, owing to changes in business mix as we reduce certain property lines and earning more casualty and captives business, which are beneficial to the overall combined ratio but carry a higher loss ratio. The expense ratio of 25.0% was up 160 basis points, including a 60 basis point increase in the acquisition ratio due to change in business mix and a 100 basis point increase in the GOE ratio, owing to Lean Parent. North America Commercial calendar year combined ratio was 84.7%, an outstanding result and an improvement of 14.1 points from the prior year, driven by continued strong margins, lower catastrophe losses, and favorable prior year development. Turning to International Commercial, Q4 net premiums written increased 4%.
This growth was led by Global Specialty, up 9%, driven by Marine and Casualty, which increased by over 15%. This was partially offset by Financial Lines, which was down 6% as retention remains strong, but rate pressure continues to weigh on growth. International retention remains strong at 87%, which was balanced across the portfolio. New business was excellent, up 14% year-over-year. Accident year combined ratio as adjusted was 85.9%, an increase of 230 basis points. The accident year loss ratio was 54.2%, a 130 basis point increase year-over-year. This was primarily owing to energy, where market loss experience in 2025 was higher compared to an unusually favorable 2024. The expense ratio rose 100 basis points to 31.7% due to movement of expenses from other operations.
The International Commercial calendar combined ratio was 88.8%, underscoring the strength and consistency of the portfolio. Turning to Global Personal, net premiums written were down 6% year-over-year, largely driven by the High Net Worth quota share reinsurance treaty, which was a headwind in 2025. Accident year combined ratio, as adjusted, was 95.3%, a 360 basis point improvement year-over-year, adjusting for the divested travel business. The accident year loss ratio of 52.9% improved 60 basis points, driven by the personal auto portfolio, both from rate and underwriting actions within certain international markets, leading to stronger underlying profitability. The expense ratio improved 300 basis points to 42.4%, as the acquisition ratio benefited from improved commission terms in the U.S. High Net Worth business.
The global personal calendar year combined ratio was 94.3%, an improvement of 110 basis points year-over-year. Moving to Q4 pricing, starting with North America. Excluding the property business, our North America commercial renewal pricing increase was 6%. In North America casualty, the overall pricing environment remains favorable, with retail excess casualty up 15% and Lexington Casualty up 12%. Both remained above loss cost trend. In U.S. financial lines, pricing was down 2%, in line with the Q3. We continue to believe our portfolio is strong and we are well-positioned as a market leader. In North America property, competition persisted across both the admitted and E&S markets, with incremental softening in mid-market from the Q3. We remain disciplined in our underwriting standards and focus on targeted areas where we can achieve adequate risk-adjusted returns.
Our cumulative rate increases over the past several years and disciplined approach enabled us to maintain strong profitability across our admitted and E&S businesses during this market cycle. International Commercial, overall pricing was down 2%. Casualty pricing increased 2%. Global specialty pricing was down 1%, an improvement from the Q3. Overall, pricing remains above our technical view following several years of cumulative rate increases, and we continue to see Global Specialty as an area of growth. Property pricing was down 2% and financial lines pricing was down 4%. Our well-diversified portfolio allows us to navigate different market conditions, prioritizing lines of business that offer the most compelling risk-adjusted returns. Moving to other operations. Q4 adjusted pre-tax loss was $129 million, versus the prior year quarter of $150 million.
Looking at full-year results, adjusted after-tax income was $4 billion, an increase of 24% year-over-year. The improvement was primarily driven by stronger underwriting results, an increase in net investment income, and expense benefits from AIG Next. For 2025, General Insurance net premiums written grew 2%. General Insurance full-year accident year combined ratio, as adjusted, was 88.3%, largely in line with the prior year. The accident year loss ratio was 57.2%, a 100 basis point increase year-over-year, or 40 basis points increase, excluding travel. The increase was driven by the reapportionment of unallocated loss adjustment expenses, additional margin in our casualty loss picks, favorable loss experience in the prior year quarter in Global Specialty, and business mix change as we grew more casualty over property. This was partially offset by a 120 basis point improvement in Global Personal.
General Insurance expense ratio was 31.1%, compared to 32.0% for the prior year. This is an outstanding result, given the absorption of nearly $300 million of corporate parent expenses in General Insurance in 2025. We are pleased with our progress and believe we are on track to achieve our target expense ratio of below 30% by 2027. Total catastrophe-related charges were $920 million or 3.9 points of loss ratio. Prior year reserve development, net of reinsurance and prior year premium, was $472 million, a benefit of 2.1 points to the loss ratio. The full year 2025 combined ratio was 90.1%, an outstanding result and an improvement of 170 basis points versus 91.8% in 2024. Moving to net investment income.
Keith, thank you. Michelle, we're ready for questions.