NU Online News Service, July 30, 3:15 p.m. EDT

Hamilton, Bermuda-based insurer OneBeacon reported net income dropped $125 million as a combination of insured and investment losses and a drop in written premium took a toll on earnings.

The specialty insurer reported net income of $9 million, or 9 cents a share for the second quarter, compared to $134 million, or $1.35 a share for the same period last year. Revenues dropped 33 percent, or $218 million, to $437 million during the period.

For the six months, net income was $9 million, or 9 cents a share, compared to the prior year's $168 million, or $1.69 a share. Revenues were down 17 percent, or $201 million, to $967 million.

"Our results for the quarter were okay," said Mike Miller, chief executive officer of the company, in a statement. "We experienced a higher than usual level of large property claims and catastrophe losses. Importantly, we completed the sale of our personal lines business on July 1, a significant step in our transformation to a specialty company. The market is competitive, but we are excited about the prospects for our specialty businesses."

Catastrophe and other insurance losses translated into a 3.8-point increase in the combined ratio in the second quarter to 97. For the six months, the combined ratio 11.5 points to 104.9.

OneBeacon said the accident year losses were primarily associated "with the March Northeast U.S. storms, an increased frequency of catastrophe losses relative to the first six months of 2009, and a number of non-catastrophe current accident year losses."

The company said second-quarter return on invested assets stood at 0.3 percent compared to 4.4 percent for the same period last year. For the six months, return on invested assets stood at 2.2 percent compared to 4.9 percent last year.

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OneBeacon Reports Major Drop In Net Income

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