Chubb sees Q2 profits soar from underwriting and investment boosts

Chubb’s net income for the second quarter of 2017 came to $1.3 billion, a 79.6 percent increase on the $726 million it made in the same period of 2016.

The results boosts Chubb’s first half 2017 net income to $2.4 billion, a 105 percent increase on the $1.16 billion it made in the first half or 2016.

Net premiums written globally by the company in the second quarter of 2017 came to $7.58 billion a slight 0.8 percent fall from the $7.64 billion written by the company in the same period of 2016.

“Chubb's strong earnings this quarter were driven by world-class underwriting results and record investment income,” said Evan Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Chubb. “After-tax operating income per share increased 11 percent, with operating earnings up 13 percent year-to-date. We had good book and tangible book value per share growth in the quarter of 2.7 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, and produced an operating ROE of circa 10 percent.

“Our 88 percent P&C combined ratio, more than two points better than prior year, was truly distinguishing given soft market conditions that have continued for a number of years now. We benefited from a substantial improvement in both our expense ratio and our loss ratio as a result of merger-related efficiencies and underwriting actions as well as lower catastrophe losses. Total P&C underwriting income was up 20 percent.

“Although the commercial P&C market is soft around the globe, the trend for pricing improved for the business we wrote with rates flat or the rate of decline substantially slowing in most classes, while in some particularly stressed areas we achieved rate. Our premium revenue growth continued to trend better, as we projected, and was our best since the merger. We wrote less new business in line with our underwriting discipline while renewal retentions were steady.”

Greenberg concluded: “Overall, we are in excellent shape with our integration-related efficiency efforts and are now increasing the total annualized run-rate savings we will achieve by the end of 2018 to $875 million, up from $800 million.”

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