Covered, steadily growing insurer income. A 2.40% yield on a 26.7% adjusted payout is covered income with a wide cushion: $0.5925 a quarter, raised in April 2026 by 4.4%. Adjusted earnings excluding notable items reached $8.89 per share in FY2025, up 10%, while the dividend has grown at an 8.1% compound rate since 2011.
Key risk: Adjusted-vs-reported gap — FY2025 net income was $4.71 per share against $8.89 adjusted, so coverage rests on the adjusted basis; variable investment income and group-life mortality normalizing from favorable levels would narrow the cushion from the other side.
Changes if: Adjusted EPS falls toward the dividend rate, or variable investment income drops enough that adjusted earnings no longer clear $2.37 a year by a wide margin. At 26.7% of FY2025 adjusted earnings the cushion is wide today.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 26.7% on an adjusted basis — $2.37 indicated against $8.89 of FY2025 adjusted EPS excluding notable items. Covered, with nearly three-quarters of adjusted earnings retained.
- ✓Yield check: 2.40% indicated — $0.5925/qtr × 4 at the $98.82 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned yield for a single stock, not a special or a return of capital.
- ✓Dividend growth check: Dividend raised 4.4% on Apr. 28, 2026, from $0.5675 to $0.5925, continuing an 8.1% compound annual growth rate since 2011.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.