Markel Q1 results reveal ‘strong, profitable growth’

Markel’s Q1 results for 2021 reveal that it has turned around the loss it made in the same period of 2020.

The company reported comprehensive income of $359 million for the first quarter of 2021, as compared to a $1.35 billion loss in Q1 2020.

Its combined ratio for the quarter was 94 percent, down from 118 percent in Q1 2020. Net losses and loss adjustment expenses from Winter Storm Uri contributed four points to its Q1 2021 total, while the impact of COVID-19 contributed another point.

Earned premiums increased to $1.5 billion in Q1 2021 from $1.33 billion the previous year.

Thomas Gayner and Richard Whitt, co-chief executive officers, said: “Our first quarter results reflected strong, profitable growth across our underwriting operations globally, as we executed on our strategic plans to drive market leadership in key insurance product lines, while maintaining our focus on increasing operational efficiencies. Our Markel Ventures companies continue to navigate the current environment well with a solid start to the year, and we also continued to see positive momentum in our investment operations as we actively and prudently manage our investment portfolios with the goal of generating superior returns over the long-term.

“We are very pleased with our positive start to 2021 and we are optimistic about steadily building on our performance across all three operating engines as the year progresses.” We believe our financial performance is most meaningfully measured over longer periods of time, which tends to mitigate the effects of short-term volatility and also aligns with the longer-term perspective we apply to operating our businesses. We generally use five-year periods to measure ourselves. Over the five-year period ended March 31, 2021, the compound annual growth in book value per common share outstanding was 9 percent. Over the five-year period ended March 31, 2021, our share price increased at a compound annual rate of 5 percent.”

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