PEORIA, Ill., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RLI Corp. -- RLI's board of directors has declared a fourth quarter cash dividend of $0.17 per share, reflecting a one cent, or 6%, increase over the prior quarter's dividend. The dividend, which is payable on January 13, 2006, to shareholders of record as of December 30, 2005, will take RLI's cumulative return to shareholders to more than $113 million through 118 consecutive dividends. With this dividend, RLI will have paid and increased dividends in each of the last 31 years.
The company's dividend yield would be 1.2%, based on the $0.68 indicated annual dividend and Wednesday's closing stock price of $54.75.
Over the last five years, the company's quarterly dividend has grown by an average of 17.8 % per year, and 12.6% per year over the last decade. Mergent's Dividend Achievers ranks RLI 171st among 11,000 U.S. public companies for 10-year average dividend growth rate.
RLI, a specialty insurance company celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2005, offers a diversified portfolio of property and casualty coverages and surety bonds serving "niche" or underserved markets. RLI operates in all 50 states from 24 office locations. The company's talented associates have delivered underwriting profits in 24 of the last 28 years, including the last nine. RLI employees and other insiders own 16% of the company. This alignment of interests underlies a business model that emphasizes underwriting profit over sheer premium volume. RLI's insurance subsidiaries -- RLI Insurance Company, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company and RLI Indemnity Company -- are rated A+ "Superior" by A.M. Best Company and A+ "Strong" by Standard & Poor's. For additional information, contact Vice President, Corporate Development Aaron Jacoby at (309) 693-5880 or at
