For the full year 2019 net income, again excluding investment gains and losses, was $1.84 per share, or $554.2 million, which is essentially flat with 2018.
These earnings produced a 10.8% return on beginning equity for 2019 and you compare that to an 11.8% return for 2018.
From a growth perspective, net premiums and fees earned, grew by 11.4% in the fourth quarter to $1.6 billion.
Premiums and fees grew 5.1%, this was attributable to both our General Insurance as well as our Title operations, which more than offset the expected decline in mortgage guaranty run-off business.
Net investment income grew by 2.3% and 4.4% for the fourth quarter and for the full year respectively, as a larger invested asset base and greater dividend income that was attributable to higher yielding equity portfolio, offset a slightly lower yields on our bond portfolio.
From an underwriting perspective, this year's fourth quarter and full year consolidated composite ratio of 95.1% was substantially unchanged from 2018.
Total cash and invested assets increased by 10.2% to $14.5 billion at the end of 2019.
The change was driven by a combination of strong operating cash flow, which totaled $936 million for 2019, as well as substantial unrealized market appreciation for both the fixed income and equity portfolios.
Composition of the portfolio remains relatively consistent compared to year-end 2018, whereby 72% is allocated to cash and bonds and the remaining 28% to equities.
On a consolidated basis, claim reserves developed without significant favorable or unfavorable development for the 2019 period, and that's compared to favorable development for 2018's fourth quarter and full year of 2.4 percentage point and 1.4 percentage point respectively.
Old Republic book value per share increased to $19.98, up 16% for the year.
Inclusive of our regular quarterly dividends and the $1 per share special dividend that was paid in the third quarter of last year.
The total return on beginning book value amounted to just a little bit above 26%.
I will say with regulatory approval, we currently expect to receive a return of capital totaling $150 million from this run off business during the course of 2020.
95.1 composite ratio, the 10.8% return on equity, the 16% increase in book value per share and including dividends a total return on book value of 26%, all for the 2019 year.
Quarter-over-quarter operating income was relatively flat while year-over-year operating income was up 1.7%.
Net premiums earned in commercial auto rose by 6% year-over-year and this mostly reflects the positive effect of the rate increases that we've been achieving in this line that currently stand in the high teens for the 2019 year.
As can be seen in the financial supplement, workers' compensation experienced a 1.9% drop in net premiums earned year-over-year.
Quarter-over-quarter the Group's overall composite ratio rose slightly to 98.8 from 98.5, while year-over-year it stands at 97.5 for 2019 compared to 97.2 for 2018.
The Group's fourth quarter expense ratio came in at 25.8%, while the full year 2019 expense ratio came in at 25.7% up from 25% in 2018.
Turning to claim ratios, our fourth quarter commercial auto claim ratio came in at an elevated 91.3%, with the year-over-year ratio coming in at 84%.
Turning to workers compensation, the fourth quarter claim ratio declined to 57.4% from 67.5% quarter-over-quarter.
And year-over-year this claim ratio declined from 70.7% in 2018 to 63.2% in 2019.
For commercial auto workers' comp and GL combined, given that we typically provide these coverages together to an account, the quarter-over-quarter claim ratio increased by 2.2 percentage points, while year-over-year this claim ratio held relatively steady.
All of the claim ratios we report of course, we are inclusive of favorable and unfavorable development, and in the latest quarter we saw unfavorable development of 2.9 percentage points mostly resulting from commercial auto.
While year-to-date, the development was unfavorable by 0.4 percentage points.
In the fourth quarter, we set an all-time record for underwriting revenues $717 million.
For the 5th consecutive year and six of the last seven, we surpassed the $2 billion mark for total revenues.
Last year's 2019's $2.53 billion number is an all-time high of favorable prior year claim development continued during the year, albeit at a slower pace than we've seen in the past few years.
We surpassed $200 million in pre-tax operating profitability for the fourth consecutive year.
Looking at the market when the dust settles, residential mortgage originations are expected to be up about 23% in '19 over '18, exceeding $2 trillion for the year.
Refinances accounted for almost 40% of that total or about 70% higher than in 2018.
On the commercial side of the business, the MBA predicts that a new record of 628 billion will have been established in 2019 and their optimism actually rises in 2020 as our projections increase about 9% into a new high of $683 billion.
Our market share indication, last was 15.1% and when the final numbers are tallied, I think that number will hold for the year.
For 2019 our agency premiums were up about 5%, direct operating premiums and fees were up about 12%.
Our commercial title operations continue to perform at a high level with title premiums from the source commercial accounting for almost 20% of our total premiums.

Summary:
On the commercial side of the business, the MBA predicts that a new record of 628 billion will have been established in 2019 and their optimism actually rises in 2020 as our projections increase about 9% into a new high of $683 billion.