NU Online News Service, July 22, 2:49 p.m. EDT

Chubb Corp. says 2011 second-quarter net income dropped 19 percent, compared to the same period a year ago, to $419 million due to catastrophe losses, but its underlying commercial and personal insurance performance is solid.

Second-quarter catastrophe losses for the Warren, N.J.-based international insurer were $329 million before tax, driven by storms in the U.S.—especially in Alabama, Missouri and North Carolina. These losses added 11.3 points to the company’s second-quarter combined ratio of 94.9, compared to 90.4 for the same time in 2010.

“It was the highest second-quarter [catastrophe] impact in the history of Chubb by a wide margin,” says Dino Robusto, president of personal lines, during a conference call.

Chubb said the same thing last year, when catastrophe losses were $193 million and added 6.9 points to the combined ratio.

But in reporting results of Chubb’s personal lines business, Robusto says net premiums written increased 5 percent during the quarter to $1.1 billion. It was the “sixth consecutive quarter of growth with particularly strong premium increases outside the United States,” he adds.

Homeowners’ premiums were up 5 percent and personal-auto premiums increased 8 percent on growth beyond the U.S., Robusto reports.

Robusto says the U.S. insurance industry is increasing auto rates in the low-single digits and hiking up home insurance rates in the mid-single digits, “which is understandable given the industry’s poor results over the last several years,” he says. “Among the companies that are taking rate are those companies that compete directly with Chubb in the high-net-worth space. We think that recent industry catastrophe experience in the U.S. has instilled the greater sense of urgency in the market for taking even larger rate increases going forward.”

Chubb’s commercial segment saw renewal rates during the second quarter go up 2 percent—the first increase in five quarters, says Paul Krump, president of commercial and specialty lines, during the call. The increase was driven primarily by property and marine lines, “led by increases in the geographic regions which are most catastrophe-prone,” such as Chile, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, he says. Renewal rates for workers’ compensation were also positive, Krump adds.

Net premiums written in commercial were up 8 percent to $1.3 billion.

“Given all the unusually severe weather in the first six months of the year, insurance buyers were reminded almost daily that no region of the country is safe from catastrophes,” Krump observes. “Against this backdrop, our U.S. agents and brokers who handle standard commercial lines are generally having an easier time articulating the need for higher rates.”

Krump adds that “there is still plenty of excess capital in the industry,” but price improvements are being driven by the catastrophe losses and new catastrophe models.

Special Reports /

Chubb 2Q Profit Falls 19% but Premiums Up In Commercial, Personal

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