Travelers Q3 profit drops after hurricane claims

“Even in the face of challenging weather, we generated meaningful profit with core income for the quarter,” said Alan Schnitzer, chairman and CEO of Travelers, in a statement. “These results benefited from record net earned premiums of US$8.6 billion, up 10% compared to the prior year period, and a solid underlying combined ratio of 92.5%.

“Underwriting income in our commercial businesses was excellent, driven by strong net earned premiums and an aggregate underlying combined ratio for business insurance and bond & specialty insurance of 88.0%.

“Our high-quality investment portfolio generated solid after-tax net investment income of US$505 million despite the significant downturn in the broader equity markets. These results, along with our strong balance sheet, enabled us to return US$722 million of excess capital to our shareholders this quarter, including US$501 million of share repurchases.”

The New York-based insurer is often seen as a bellwether for the industry as it typically reports earnings before its peers.

Hurricanes Ian and Fiona, among a slew of storms that hit North America this year, have driven Travelers’ pre-tax catastrophe losses to US$512 million from US$501 million in 2021.

According to risk modelling firm Verisk, the insurance industry faces up to US$57 billion in losses from Hurricane Ian’s onslaught in Florida and South Carolina.