Arch Capital's Quarterly Net Climbs 92%
NU Online News Service, Feb. 18, 3:29 p.m. EST?Arch Capital Group Ltd. management said its 2003 fourth-quarter net profit climbed 92.4 percent to $83.7 million, compared to $43.5 million for the 2002 fourth quarter, driven by a higher level of net premiums earned.[@@]
The Bermuda-based Arch said its net income for the full-year 2003 came in at $280.6 million, increasing nearly six-fold from profit of $59.0 million recorded for 2002.
The company's net premiums written for the 2003 fourth quarter rose to $627.4 million from $439.2 million one year ago, while net premiums written for full-year 2003 increased to $2.74 billion, from $1.26 billion for 2002.
Arch said the growth in net premiums written was due to substantial increases in business written by both reinsurance and insurance segments.
The underwriting income of Arch's insurance and reinsurance units increased to $75.8 million for the 2003 fourth quarter, up from $36.0 million one year ago. For full-year 2003, underwriting income was $228.7 million, compared to $59.2 million for 2002.
Underwriting results also got a lift from higher profits in property and other short-tail lines of business, helped by a low level of catastrophic activity, according to Arch.
However, the company's combined ratio for the 2003 fourth quarter deteriorated slightly?the combined ratio of Arch's insurance and reinsurance unit was 89.3 percent for the fourth quarter, still profitable but higher than the 87.6 percent reported for the 2002 fourth quarter.
The combined ratio for full-year 2003 was 90 percent, down slightly compared to 90.9 percent for 2002.
Arch Capital Group, with insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries in Bermuda and the United States, offers a full range of property-casualty insurance and reinsurance products with a focus on specialty lines of business.
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