NU Online News Service, May 4, 10:14 a.m.EDT
|Super regional insurer State Auto Financial Corp. reports a netloss of $2 million for the first quarter of this year as thecombination of underwriting loss and increased expense weighed onresults.
|Net income for the Columbus, Ohio-based insurer was a net lossof $2 million or loss per share of 5 cents. This compares to netincome of close to $12.8 million, or 32 cents a share, lastyear.
|Total revenues were down 26 percent, or $100 million, to $280million from the previous year.
|Net premiums written dropped 30 percent, or $114 million, to$263 million. The drop in net premiums was partially affected byreinsurance arrangements that ceded slightly more than $36 millionin written premium.
|The company reports a combined ratio of 109.4 compared to 103for the previous year.
|Catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance recoveries, were $20million compared to $16 million for the first quarter lastyear.
|In a statement on Tuesday, Bob Restrepo, president and chiefexecutive officer, says homeowners results excluding catastropheweather losses and price increases are improving results.Commercial lines “improved significantly” and “mid-single digitprice increases” are expected by the end of the year.
|The surplus lines and workers' compensation lines are alsoshowing positive signs except middle market on the workers' comp“where we had a tough quarter,” he says.
|The company was “relatively cat free,” he continues, except forearly March severe weather event affecting the company's largeststates—Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee.
|“We look for continued improvements in our operating results aswe achieve prices greater than our loss costs in personal lines,get price increases in our commercial lines book, and leverageinvestments in our specialty operations,” says Restrepo.
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