RLI Corp. (RLI) will pay a $1.00 per share special dividend in the fourth quarter of 2019. This matches last year's $1.00 special dividend. Earlier this year RLI raised its quarterly dividend by 4.5 percent to $0.23 per share.

Both dividends, regular and special for a total amount of $1.23 per share, are payable on December 20, 2019, to shareholders of record as of November 29, 2019. The company's regular dividend rate yields 0.9% at a stock price of $97.56.

“As a result of our strong underwriting and financial performance in 2019, we are pleased to share the rewards of our success through a special dividend,” said RLI Chairman & CEO Jonathan E. Michael. “Returning excess capital to our shareholders is consistent with our long-term capital management strategy and reflects our commitment to enhancing shareholder value. Including today’s announced dividends, RLI has returned more than $1.2 billion to shareholders over the last ten years.”

RLI Corp. is a specialty insurer serving diverse, niche property, casualty and surety markets. RLI's products are offered through its insurance subsidiaries RLI Insurance Company, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company and Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company. RLI’s history dates to the early 1960s, when Founder Gerald D. Stephens, recognized the expense of replacing contact lenses, and founded RLI — Replacement Lens, Inc. — a contact lens insurance agency. In 1965, he acquired the holding company that would later become RLI Corp.