Scouting report · KNSL
Michael P. Kehoe
Founded Kinsale in 2009; Chairman, President & CEO since March 2026
A−82 / 100
Ranked #10 of 23
Scouting sheet
as of 24 Sep 2026Delivers guidance702 beat · 1 met · 0 missed · 1 withdrawn
Answers the question852 dodges in 24 answers on 2 calls
Capital allocation100company five-year record: compounds
Pay design73underwriting profit, individual, time only · 97.6% for · 1.47% of net income
Skin in the game91stake worth $322.4m, 43× last year's pay
- Age
- 59src
- In the role
- 17 yr
- Promises scored
- 4
- Hit rate
- 75%
- Dodges / 100 answers
- 8.3
- Airtime on calls
- 39%
Every promise, oldest firstBMBW
What to weigh
Watch 5
- Key-person concentration: since 2026-03-02 the founder holds Chairman, President and CEO. The retiring President & COO (Haney) was not replaced as COO; he stays on as director and paid Senior Advisor ($500k/yr MOU, investor-relations focus)src
- Haney announced his retirement 2025-10-17. The other change announced alongside it was Stuart Winston's promotion to EVP & Chief Underwriting Officer. No successor President or COO was namedsrc
- The cash bonus pool is a percentage of underwriting profit taken after prior-year reserve development, so reserve releases raise it. The CEO helps set the bonus goals. 2025 CEO bonus was paid at about 181% of targetsrc
- Equity awards are time-vested restricted stock (25% a year over four years) with no performance conditionsrc
- He stated the 10-20% long-run premium growth range as late as the 2025-10-24 call. Per the dossier's S8 row 6 it has not been said on any call since, while gross written premium fell 5.0% in Q2 2026src
Career
- 2026 – nowKinsale Capital Groupsrc
Chairman, President & CEO
President title added effective 2026-03-02 when Brian Haney (President & COO) retired - 2024 – 2026Kinsale Capital Groupsrc
Chairman & CEO
Board combined the Chair and CEO roles effective 2024-03-01; Robert Lippincott III moved to Lead Independent Director - 2009 – 2024Kinsale Capital Groupsrc
Founder, President & CEO; director since 2009
Founded June 2009; led the July 2016 IPO - 2002 – 2008
- 1994 – 2002Colony Insurance Companysrc
Various senior positions, finishing as Vice President of Brokerage Underwriting
Not located: 1988-1994 (after college, including law school) not located in any source searched; 2008-06/2009 between James River and Kinsale's founding not described
Achievements
- Founded Kinsale in June 2009 and has been its CEO for its whole life, through the July 2016 IPOsrc
- Ran James River Insurance Company as President & CEO from 2002 to 2008, after eight years at Colony Insurance in E&S underwritingsrc
- Kinsale's GAAP net income rose from $308.1m (FY2023) to $503.6m (FY2025) under his leadershipsrc
- Holds 916,362 shares (4.0% of the company), valued by the proxy at about $300m, the largest insider stakesrc
- Say-on-pay passed with 97.6% of votes cast for and against at the May 2026 meetingsrc
Education
Background
- Family The 2026 proxy states there are no family relationships among any directors or executive officers (the 2016 IPO prospectus said the same)src
- Boards Trustee of Hampden-Sydney College, his alma matersrc
- Founder Kinsale was founded with private-equity backing; funds managed by Moelis Capital Partners were expected to own about 43.7% after the 2016 IPO. Kehoe held 6.3% before the IPO and 4.8% after, selling no shares in itsrc
- Other The only named executive with an employment agreement (dated 2009-06-04): 12 months of salary and benefits on termination without cause, plus a one-year non-competesrc
- Other Sits on the board's Investment Committee and recommends pay for the other executives; he also helps set the business goals used as bonus performance goals, subject to board approvalsrc
The promise ledger
4 scored · 0 open| Result | What was promised | Where it is scored | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| B Beat | Q1 2025 · Southern California wildfires · pre-tax loss net of reinsurance ≈ $25m | KNSL row 1 | said it |
| M Met | from Dec 2025 · deploy the $250m repurchase authorisation "over the next year or so" | KNSL row 4 | said it |
| B Beat | standing · operating ROE "low 20s or better" | KNSL row 5 | said it |
| W Withdrawn | standing · gross written premium growth of 10–20% "over the cycle" | KNSL row 6 | said it |
Questions dodged
8.3 per 100 answersLine-level economics — dodged in two consecutive quarters, and it is the same topic both times. Q1 2026 (2026-04-24): Mark Hughes asked whether the expense advantage is "something you've already deployed, so to speak, to the extent that you choose to" — i.e. will Kinsale trade expense margin for top line [33]; Kehoe answered with loss-cost estimation by line, reserving conservatism and the 17-year favourable-d…
from KNSL · dossier-2026-09-24.md
Line-level economics — dodged in two consecutive quarters, and it is the same topic both times. Q1 2026 (2026-04-24): Mark Hughes asked whether the expense advantage is "something you've already deployed, so to speak, to the extent that you choose to" — i.e. will Kinsale trade expense margin for top line [33]; Kehoe answered with loss-cost estimation by line, reserving conservatism and the 17-year favourable-d…
from KNSL · dossier-2026-09-24.md
Calls reviewed
FY2026-Q1.roic.json— 17 answers, 50% of the wordsFY2026-Q2.roic.json— 7 answers, 29% of the words
Sources
11- Filing Kinsale Capital Group DEF 14A (accession 0001669162-26-000020) · 2026-04-09
- Filing Kinsale Capital Group 8-K Item 5.07, 2026 annual meeting results (0001669162-26-000035) · 2026-05-21
- Filing Kinsale Capital Group 8-K Item 5.02, Haney retirement notice (0001669162-25-000057) · 2025-10-23
- Filing Kinsale Capital Group IPO prospectus, 424B4 (0001567619-16-002691) · 2016-07-29
- Filing SEC XBRL companyconcept us-gaap/NetIncomeLoss, CIK 1669162 (FY2025 10-K, 0001669162-26-000015) · 2026-02-20
- Filing Form 4, Michael P. Kehoe (reporting CIK 1334940), transactions of 2026-05-05 (0001334940-26-000004) · 2026-05-06
- Filing Form 4, Michael P. Kehoe, restricted stock grant of 2026-03-01 (0001334940-26-000002) · 2026-03-03
- Filing Form 4, Michael P. Kehoe, gift of 2025-12-19 (0001334940-25-000013) · 2025-12-22
- Call transcript KNSL Q3 2025 earnings call (2025-10-24), ROIC.ai
- Call transcript KNSL Q2 2026 earnings call (2026-07-24), ROIC.ai
- Web search result WebSearch: Hampden-Sydney College Board of Trustees (lists Michael P. Kehoe '88, Founder and CEO, Kinsale Capital Group) · 2026-09-24