increases declines. This reflects the shrinking runway of future premium from Genworth policy holders as the closed block ages. We remain focused on executing this program with discipline to ensure the long-term self-sustainability of the closed block. I'd now like to walk through our second quarter financial results in further detail beginning on slide nine. Adjusted operating operating income excluding the closed block was $112 million, driven by strong performance in Enact, partially offset by a loss in corporate and other. As a reminder, results of our closed block segment are reported separately in our disclosures. Enact delivered another strong quarter of performance with adjusted operating income of $143 million to Genworth. Results included a pre-tax reserve release of $37 million, reflective of continued strong cure performance and loss mitigation activities. Results are up versus the prior quarter from seasonally lower losses and the prior year, reflecting higher net investment income, partially offset by the lower reserve release. In corporate and other, we reported an adjusted operating loss of $31 million for the quarter, reflecting debt service cost and a growing CareScout business. Our closed block segment reported an adjusted operating loss of $110 million. This was driven by liability remeasurement loss related to the actual variances from expected experience, or A to E, of $127 million pre-tax, primarily in LTC. Our A to E loss experience in the first half of 2026 has trended above the level implied by our full-year expectation of approximately $300 million. While results can vary quarter to quarter, if these trends continue, the full-year A to E losses could be higher than that level. As a reminder, these gap fluctuations do not impact our cash flows, economic value, or how we manage the business. Now, taking a closer look at Enact's performance beginning on slide 10. New insurance written of $15 billion in the quarter was seasonally higher than the prior quarter and increased versus the prior year as a result of a larger estimated market size. Primary insurance in force increased 2% year over year to $274 billion, supported by new insurance written, and continued elevated persistency. Earned premiums were $245 million in the quarter, up versus the prior quarter and in line with the prior year. As shown on slide 11, ENAC's favorable $37 million pre-tax reserve release drove a loss ratio of 14%. ENAC's estimated PMIER sufficiency ratio remained strong at 161%, or approximately $1.9 billion above requirements. Genworth's share of Enact's book value, including AOCI, was $4.4 billion at the end of the second quarter compared to $4.3 billion at the end of the first quarter. Enact has continued to deliver significant capital returns to Genworth. As I noted earlier, Enact returned $103 million of capital to Genworth during the quarter. An act-strong balance sheet, discipline underwriting, and financial flexibility position it to navigate a dynamic macroeconomic environment and continue creating shareholder value. Turning to our closed block on slide 12, we continue to proactively manage and reduce LTC risk for prudent in-force management, including benefit reductions and premium rate increases. As of the end of the second quarter, we had achieved, in aggregate, approximately $34.8 billion of benefit reductions and premium increases on a net present value basis since 2012. As part of our MIRAP, we offer a suite of options to help policyholders manage premium increases while maintaining meaningful coverage. These benefit solutions enable us to reduce our exposure to certain higher-cost features, such as 5% compound benefit inflation options and large benefit pools. Cumulatively, about 62% of policyholders offered a benefit reduction have elected to take one, lowering our long-term risk. These initiatives have helped reduce our exposure to the riskiest LTC policy features. Notably, our exposure to the 5% compound benefit inflation option has decreased to approximately 35%, down from 57% in 2014, and the percentage of our policies with lifetime benefits has decreased to 11% from 24% in 2014. We remain committed to managing the closed block as a closed system, leveraging existing reserves and capital to cover future claims. We will not inject capital into these companies, and given the long-tail nature of our LTC insurance policies, with peak claim years still over a decade away, we also do not expect capital returns. Turning to slide 13, our investment portfolio remains resilient and is conservatively positioned. The majority of our assets are in investment-grade fixed maturities held to support our long-duration liabilities. New money yields continue to exceed those on sales and maturities, with cash and our life insurance companies being invested at yields of approximately 6.2 percent per quarter. Our alternative assets program is largely comprised of diversified private equity investments and has targeted returns of approximately 12 percent, although fluctuations from quarter to quarter are expected. In the second quarter, realizations rebounded from a slow start to the year and helped drive higher investment income. We remain committed to growing our alternative assets portfolio within regulatory limitations due to its robust track record of returns, diversification benefits, and natural fit with long-term liabilities. Next, turning to the holding company on slide 14, we ended the quarter with $215 million in cash and liquid assets. When evaluating holding company liquidity for capital allocation purposes and calculating the buffer to our debt service target, we excluded approximately $81 million of cash held for future obligations at the end of the quarter including advanced cash payments from our subsidiaries our liquidity remains supported by recurring capital returns from an act and our disciplined approach to capital deployment moving to capital allocation on slide 15 our priorities remain unchanged we will continue to invest in long-term growth through care scout return cash to shareholders through our share repurchase program when our share price trades below intrinsic value, and opportunistically retire debt. During the quarter, we repurchased $62 million of shares at an average price of $8.74 per share and an additional $4 million in July. We also retired $10 million of principal debt in the quarter at a discount, bringing our holding company debt to $768 million. We maintain a disciplined capital structure with a cash interest coverage ratio on debt service of approximately nine times. I will now turn to our outlook for 2026 and provide an update on the guidance we previously shared. On its earnings call this morning, the NAC shared that it now expects to return approximately $550 to $600 million of capital to its shareholders in 2026. Based on our approximate 81 percent ownership position, we now expect to receive between $445 and $485 million from an act for the full year. Second, we continue to create value for shareholders through our share repurchase program. For the full year 2026, we now expect to allocate between $225 and $250 million to share repurchases. As we have said before, this range may vary based on market conditions, business performance, holding company cash, and our share price. Third, turning to Care Scout services, we remain focused on growing matches toward our previously discussed 2026 target of approximately 7,500 compared with 3,255 in 2025. We continue to make good progress and expect continued growth as we expand the care scout network integrate additional senior living communities and increase consumer engagement however current match volumes are pacing below the level that would be required to reach the full year target care scout services generated six million of revenue in the second quarter and a total of 12 million during the first half of the year we continue to expect revenue in this business of 25 million for the full year we also continue to expect investment of approximately 50 to 55 million in care scout services during 2026 these investments will support the continued expansion of our technology platform the addition of new products and growth across consumer and b2b channels we are also deepening carrier partnerships and enhancing operational infrastructure to support higher volumes, recurring revenue, and long-term scalability. For CareScout insurance, we currently do not anticipate any additional capital investment in 2026 following our initial $85 million investment made in 2025 to support the launch of the business. We have made good progress overall with CareScout and remain confident in its continued growth in 2026. As we have noted previously, scaling these businesses and achieving break-even will take time. I will now provide an update on the AXA litigation. The appeal hearing occurred in July. We continue to expect the Court of Appeal to reach a decision within approximately three to six months following the hearing. If the judgment is ultimately upheld and all appeals are favorably resolved, we expect to recover a total sum of approximately 750 million dollars, subject to exchange rates at that time. We do not expect to pay taxes on this recovery. As we previously said, recoveries are not factored into our current capital allocation plans. If proceeds are received, we will deploy them in line with our existing priorities investing in care scout returning capital to shareholders and reducing debt in closing we are pleased with the progress we made against our priorities and with our financial performance in the second quarter and that continues to deliver strong performance and capital returns care scout is expanding its network products and distribution capabilities as we build a comprehensive aging care platform. At the same time, we continue to actively manage our closed block and maintain our disciplined and balanced approach to capital allocation. Our focus remains on driving long-term shareholder value through Enact and CareScout, returning capital to shareholders, maintaining financial flexibility, and proactively managing our liabilities and risk. I also want to recognize our leadership team and colleagues for their continued focus and execution over the past several weeks. Their commitment to our policy holders, customers, and shareholders gives me confidence in our ability to execute against our priorities. Now, let's open up the line for questions.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the Q&A portion of the call. As a reminder, please refrain from using cell phones, speaker phones, or headsets. Press star 1 to ask a question. If at any time your question has already been answered or you would like to withdraw your question, please press star 2 to be removed from the queue. Please press star 1 now. We will pause for just a moment to assemble the queue. We will take our first question from Ryan Kruger with KBW.

Hey, thanks. Good morning. First, I wanted to extend our best wishes to Tom. In terms of our question, I guess, on the Axe of Santander hearing, can you give us just any, are you able to provide any color on your takeaway and view of how the hearing went in July as it's a bit difficult, admittedly, to follow it from here sometimes?

So, Ryan, first of all, this is Jerome, and thank you for your sentiments expressed to I am going to ask Greg Carawan, who's here with me, to answer your question around AXA and the July appellate court process.

Thanks, Jerome, and thanks for your question, Ryan. The only color commentary I can give you is that I think AXA's lawyers did an excellent job, but having been in this business for almost 40 years, I know one thing for certain, and that's litigation is inherently uncertain. And so we're not going to speculate on the outcome, but we were pleased with the way the hearing went.

Thanks. And follow up just on the potential use of proceeds if successful. I know you mentioned the same priorities you've been executing on, but would you see any need or desire to accelerate the amount of either debt reduction or investment into CareScout? or should we expect those to continue along a similar path regardless and then most of the incremental proceeds, if successful, could be used more for share and purchase?

Well, Ryan, thanks for the question. I would just say, first of all, you've observed that we did up our share buyback guidance to $225 to $250. So that's number one. Number two, I know that you understand and know that any proceeds from AXA are not currently baked into our cash plan as a result of the uncertainty that Greg just highlighted. I would always go back to the capital allocation process that we use, and that is fund growth and an appropriate return. We would always look to return capital, and if we're shares trading below intrinsic value, then we'll use share buybacks, which has been predominant return of capital, and then opportunistically retired debt. And related to accelerating anything, if I don't have the cash, it's kind of hard to put the cash to work, and I know that you understand that. Great. Thank you.

As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question at this time, please press star 1.

We will pause for just a moment.

It appears that there are no questions at this time. Ladies and gentlemen, I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Upton for closing comments.

Thank you, Cynthia, and thanks to all who joined the call today. Before we conclude, I wanted to reiterate my confidence in Genworth's direction and in the strength and depth of our leadership team. We remain focused on delivering for our policyholders, our customers, and our shareholders, advancing CareScout, creating value through an act, in maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation. Thank you for your continued interest and investment in GenWorth. We look forward to speaking with you again next quarter.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes GenWorth Financial's second quarter conference call. Thank you for your participation. At this time, the call will end.