Profit per share rose to $1.75 from $1.68, however, as the number of shares outstanding decreased.
Excluding investment losses, operating profit fell 14 percent to $175 million, or $1.65 per share. Revenue was little changed at $1.54 billion, while operating revenue fell to $1.52 billion from $1.54 billion.
Safeco stated that it used 89.7 percent of premium income for claims and expenses, up from 86.7 percent a year earlier. Pretax catastrophe losses fell to $13.2 million from $60.7 million.
Net written premiums were little changed at $1.47 billion, while net earned premiums fell 1.5 percent to $1.39 billion.
The Seattle-based carrier’s shares closed Monday at $57.32 on the New York Stock Exchange. They had fallen 8 percent this year, compared with a 4 percent decline in the Standard & Poor's Insurance Index.