6 Insurers Report Q2 Earnings

A number of insurers have begun to release their financial results for Q2 2012. The following is a compilation of their announcements.

 

Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd.

Aspen Insurance reported after tax net income of $84.6 million ($1.03 per diluted share) for Q2 2012

For the insurance segment, gross written premiums were $366.8 million, up 24.7 percent compared with $294.2 million in Q2 2011. The combined ratio was 92.2 percent, compared with 97.7 percent for the same quarter last year. Loss reserves were $14.5 million, compared with $7.5 million in the same quarter last year, mainly from shorter-tail lines. Underwriting profit for Q2 2012 was $18.2 million compared with $4.3 million in Q2 2011.

For the reinsurance segment, gross written premiums were $299.8 million, up 4.1 percent compared with $288.0 million in Q2 2011. The reinsurance segment had an excellent quarter with a combined ratio of 79.0 percent, compared to 105.3 percent for the same quarter last year. Loss reserves were $14.1 million, primarily in property other and specialty reinsurance, compared with $25.3 million in Q2 2011. Underwriting profit for Q2 2012 was $59.0 million compared with a loss of $14.3 million in Q2 2011.

 

The Chubb Corp.

Chubb Corp. reported net income of $404 million for Q2, compared to $419 million for the same quarter last year. Net income per share increased 4 percent to $1.48 from $1.42. Operating income was $374 million for the quarter, unchanged from the same quarter last year. Operating income per share increased 8 percent to $1.37 from $1.27. For Q2, average diluted shares outstanding were 273.3 million and 295.4 million for Q2 2011. The impact of catastrophes was $223 million before tax ($0.53 per share after tax), compared to $329 million before tax ($0.72 per share after tax) for the same quarter last year. The combined ratio was 93.8 percent for the quarter, compared to 94.9 percent in the same quarter last year. Excluding catastrophes, the Q2 combined ratio was 86.3 percent, compared to 83.6 percent in 2011.

• Chubb Personal Insurance (CPI) net written premiums increased 4 percent to $1.1 billion.

• Chubb Commercial Insurance (CCI) net written premiums increase 3 percent in the second quarter to $1.4 billion.

• Chubb Specialty Insurance (CSI) net written premiums decreased 6 percent to $638 million.

"In light of our performance in the first half of the year and our outlook for the second half," said John D. Finnegan, chairman, president and CEO. "We have increased our guidance for full year 2012 operating income per share to a range of $5.70 to $5.95 from the $5.30 to $5.70 range we provided in our January 2012 guidance. We have raised our guidance despite an increase in our catastrophe loss assumption for the full year from 3.5 percentage points to 4.3 points, largely reflecting higher than expected catastrophe losses in the first six months."

 

Cincinnati Financial

Cincinnati Financial reported Q2 net income of $32 million (20 cents per share) compared with a net loss of $50 million (31 cents per share) in the same quarter last year. Operating income was $28 million (17 cents per share), compared with a loss of $94 million (58 cents per share) in the same quarter last year.

Pretax investment income increased was $132 million, unchanged from the same quarter last year. Earned premiums for Q2 2012 increased to $877 million from $773 million in the same quarter last year. Total revenue increased to $1.02 billion from $975 million in the same quarter last year.

"Investment income remained our main source of profits as our investment portfolio continued its steady performance for the second quarter,” said Steven J. Johnston, president and CEO. “Both our equity portfolio and our bond portfolio generated income that matched second-quarter and six-month 2011 levels, reflecting our consistent, proven investment approach.”

Property/casualty new business written premiums were $131 million for Q2 2012, a company record for any quarter, up $14 million. For the quarter, the property/casualty combined ratio was 109.5 percent, compared with 136.7 percent for Q2 2011. Net premiums increased 18 percent, including higher pricing, and with 6 percent of the growth due to second-quarter 2011 premiums ceded to reinstate property catastrophe reinsurance coverage.

 

Donegal Group Inc.

For Q2, Donegal Group Inc. reported net income of $2.023 million, compared to a loss of $1.7 million for the same quarter last year. Operating income was $1.03 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $4.5 million for the prior-year second quarter. Net premiums written increased 11.2 percent, which was based on acquisitions, organic growth and rate increases. The combined ratio for the quarter was 103.5 percent, compared to 108.7 percent for the same quarter last year. Book value per share of $15.36 at June 30, 2012, compared to $15.01 at December 31, 2011.

"Our second-quarter premium revenues continued to rise due to growth in premiums from a recent acquisition, healthy organic growth in our commercial lines of insurance and the benefits of the personal lines premium rate increases we have implemented over the past several years,” said Donald H. Nikolaus, president and CEO. “The commercial lines organic growth trend reflects the success of our efforts to increase our share of business within our existing independent agencies and to introduce commercial products in regions where we have acquired companies that offered primarily personal lines of insurance. We also continue to see clear signs that the insurance market conditions in our operating regions are improving with rates stabilizing or firming across virtually all lines of business."

Net premiums written for Q2 increased 11.2 percent compared to the same quarter last year, reflecting a 15.9 percent increase in commercial lines and an 8.5 percent increase in personal lines writings. Net investment income decreased by 9.3 percent for the quarter reflecting lower average investment yields on the company's investments.

 

Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reported Q2 operating earnings of $216.3 million compared to $229.0 million for the same period last year. Operating earnings per diluted share (EPS) were $0.72 for the quarter, compared to $0.71 for Q2 2011. Net income available to common stockholders was $173.1 million ($0.58 per diluted share) for the quarter, compared to $217.3 million ($0.67 per diluted share) for the same quarter last year. Operating revenues for Q2 were $2,136.3 million compared to $2,098.5 million for the same period last year.

Operating earnings for the U.S. Insurance Solutions segment in second quarter were $50.2 million, compared to $49.0 million for the same period last year. Individual Life earnings were $27.6 million compared to $23.7 million in Q2 2011; Individual Life sales for the quarter were $45 million, a 6 percent increase over Q2 2011. Specialty Benefits earnings were $22.6 million for the quarter, down from $25.3 million in the same period last year.

“Our shift to a more fee-based business model allows us to operate from a position of financial strength. We deployed $475 million of excess capital in the first half of 2012 through a strategic international acquisition, quarterly dividends and opportunistic share repurchases,” said Terry Lillis, senior vice president and chief financial officer. “We remain on track to deploy our targeted $800 to $900 million of excess capital, which we can return to shareholders or invest in strategic M&A as opportunities arise.”

 

Reinsurance Group of America Inc.

Reinsurance Group of America Inc. reported Q2 net income of $141.1 million ($1.91 per diluted share), compared to $123.9 million ($1.66 per diluted share) in the same quarter last year. Operating income was $122.3 million, $1.65 per diluted share, a 3-percent increase compared to $119.1 million ($1.60 per diluted share) for the same quarter last year. Book value per share for the quarter was $84.75 compared to $67.81 for the same quarter last year.

Consolidated net premiums for Q2 increased 9 percent to $1,950.7 million from $1,788.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Investment income decreased 3 percent to $328.3 million from $337.4 million in the year-earlier quarter.

“The current-period result includes headwinds associated with foreign currency fluctuations and a slightly higher effective tax rate, each of which adversely affected operating income per share by approximately $0.03,” said A. Greig Woodring, president and chief executive officer. “Our annualized operating return on equity was 11 percent for the quarter and 12 percent over the last 12 months. Our balance sheet remains strong, including the invested asset portfolio. Our net unrealized investment gains totaled approximately $1.6 billion as of June 30, 2012. We continue to evaluate new global opportunities to provide financial and reinsurance solutions to our clients.”

For the quarter, by segment:

• The U.S. operations reported pre-tax net income increased to $96.3 million from $91.2 million in the same quarter last year. Pre-tax operating income increased 5 percent to $95.5 million from $91.0 million for the same quarter last year.

• Canadian operations reported pre-tax net income decreased to $35.0 million from $44.1 million in the same quarter last year. Pre-tax operating income was $30.5 million this quarter, compared with $42.0 million in the prior-year period.

• Asia Pacific operations reported pre-tax net income of $23.9 million compared with $4.3 million in the same quarter last year. Pre-tax operating income was $22.7 million compared with $4.6 million in the prior-year period.

• Europe & South Africa reported pre-tax net income increased to $19.6 million from $12.5 million in the prior-year period. Pre-tax operating income was $18.4 million, a 36 percent increase over $11.8 million last year.

• The Corporate and Other segment reported a pre-tax net loss of $3.2 million compared with pre-tax net income of $12.0 million in the year-ago period.

The board of directors increased the quarterly dividend by 33 percent to $0.24 from $0.18, payable August 31.

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