Liberty Mutual's operating results improved and catastrophelosses have been modest, leading to 2012 third-quarter net incomeof $465 million, compared to a $112 million net loss in 2011'sthird quarter.
|Due to Hurricane Sandy, Liberty Mutual canceled itsthird-quarter conference call with analysts, but in a statement,President and CEO David H. Long says, “Positive price momentumexists across most lines with the magnitude of increases targetedto where it is needed most, workers compensation and property. Thispricing trend will continue given the persistent low-yieldenvironment.”
|He adds that Liberty Mutual saw growth “where we targeted —personal lines and international — and contraction in underpricedcommercial business.”
|Liberty Mutual's combined ratio for the quarter improved to98.5, down by 12.2 points compared to last year.
|Operating income was $469 million in 2012's third quarter, upfrom $340 million in 2011's third quarter.
|Net written premiums climbed by $515 million in the quarter to$8.65 billion.
|For the first nine months of the year, Liberty Mutual's netincome climbed by $990 million to $1.1 billion. The nine-monthcombined ratio improved by 6.9 points to 101.7, and net writtenpremiums rose by $1.58 billion to $25.06 billion.
|Looking forward, Liberty Mutual may be in for higher cat lossesin the fourth quarter, as Fitch Ratings listed the company as oneof the primary insurers expected to bear the brunt of losses from“Superstorm” Sandy.
|AIR Worldwide says it expects Sandy losses to be between $7billion and $15 billion, while Eqecat puts expected losses between$5 billion and $10 billion.
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