EMC Insurance Group Inc. today reported operating income of $15.4 million for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with operating income of $19.8 million for the first quarter of 2015. Net income, including realized investment gains and losses, totaled $14.7 million, or 70 cents per share, for the first quarter of 2016, compared with $20.3 million, or $1 per share, for the first quarter of 2015. “Our year is off to an excellent start,” President and CEO Bruce Kelley said in a release. “We are reporting a terrific first quarter, second only to last year’s first quarter. Contributing to the strong results were catastrophe and storm losses below our 10-year average and a substantial increase in investment income.”