Allianz nat cat costs rise to €1.1bn in 2017

Germany’s Allianz saw claims stemming from California wildfires, hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria plus European storms and other natural catastrophes rise to €1.1 billion in 2017 compared to €0.7 billion in 2016.

As a result, operating profit in the property/casualty (P&C) business segment decreased by 7.5 percent year on year to €5.1 billion in 2017, according to a Feb. 16 press release.

“Hurricanes, storms and wildfires hit the insurance industry hard in 2017, making it the costliest natural catastrophe year ever for the insurance sector,” said Oliver Bäte.

The combined ratio in property/casualty deteriorated 0.9 percentage points to 95.2 percent in 2017.

For the fourth quarter of 2017, Allianz reported a 22.3 percent year on year fall in net income attributable to shareholders to €1.43 billion, driven by the one-off impact of US tax changes and the sale of Oldenburgische Landesbank, which had a negative €210 million impact.

In the full year of 2017 Allianz saw attributable net income decline 2.3 percent year on year to €6.80 billion, due largely to higher performance in asset management and life and health. Gross premiums written rose to €52.3 billion in 2017 from €51.5 billion in 2016.

But Allianz continues looking for growth opportunities.

The company increased its stake in Euler Hermes to over 90 percent, fortifying its engagement in property and casualty insurance, Bäte noted.

In addition, Allianz made “important strategic strides,” including an insurance joint venture in the United Kingdom with LV=, and continued expansion into fast-growing markets like Africa, he added.

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