Employers Holdings Inc., the provider of workers’ compensation insurance in the western U.S., stock price rallied after second-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates. Officials reported in a conference call that revenues increased 10% and earned premiums increased nearly 8%. The company is at a record high in the number of areas including book value per share, the market value of its portfolio, total number of policies and total in-force premium. Net earned premium was 8% higher than last year’s second quarter, driven by increases in policy count average policy size and net rate. The stock jumped 11 percent and narrowed the decline this year to 33 percent for the Reno, Nevada-based insurer.

Chief Executive Officer Douglas Dirks has been seeking to limit losses in California by raising prices and slowing policy count growth, after higher-than-expected claims in 2013. The sharp increase in open litigated indemnity claims that it experienced in the fourth quarter of 2013 in Southern California, did not continue into the first or the second quarters of this year. While the percentage of litigated indemnity claims in Southern California remained stable in the first two quarters of this year, it has experienced a decline in the number of new claims with legal representation at the outset of the claim. And while the cost of claims in California is higher than elsewhere in the nation, due in large part of litigation, Employer’s average paid cost for open medial and indemnity claim has been significantly lower than the industry average in California. California continues to represent 60% of its total book in terms of in-force premium and 57% of total in-force policies. California policy count increased just 2.7% year-over-year at June 30th, and policy count in all of its states excluding California increased 5.1%.