The following results are for the first-quarter 2009, year over year.
Net premiums written (NPW) fell $4.2 billion, or 3.8%, to $107.6 billion from $111.8 billion.
The industry recorded an underwriting loss of $0.8 billion, driven by continued rate pressure, lower top line growth, weather-related losses and the impact of significant losses reported by mortgage and financial guaranty insurers.
• The combined ratio rose to 100.5 from 99.8.
• The mortgage and financial guaranty segments reported an underwriting loss of $1.9 billion and posted a combined ratio of 220.8, adding approximately two percentage points to the industry’s combined ratio.
• Net investment gains fell $8.7 billion to $4.4 billion, down from $13.1 billion.
• The personal lines segment’s underwriting results deteriorated, with a reported calendar-year combined ratio of 100.7, up from 98.4.
• The commercial lines segment’s combined ratio improved modestly to 101.2, compared with 102.1.
• The U.S reinsurance segment posted a healthy combined ratio of 94.3, compared with 92.9.
In other measures:
• The industry’s policyholder surplus declined $82.0 billion, or 15.5%, to $447.2 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2009.
• The annualized after-tax return on equity fell to 0.2% for the 12 months ended March 31, 2009, down from 1.8% for the 12 months ended March 31, 2008.
• As expected, 2009 is shaping up to be another challenging year for the U.S. property/casualty industry, and the unfavorable economic, investment and underwriting environments are expected to continue straining underwriting and operating results through the remainder of the year.