Hannover Re said first-quarter profits rose 7.6 percent, helped by rising premium income and lighter catastrophe losses.
Net income rose to $136 million from $126.6 million in the prior-year period, the Germany-based company said. The carrier reported a 16.2 percent return on equity.
The world's fourth-largest reinsurer reported growth of 8.9 percent in gross premium income.
Chief Executive Officer Wilhelm Zeller said "all underwriting business groups lived up to our expectations."
Hannover Re's combined ratio rose to 98.5 from 96.8 a year earlier. "We have made our portfolio considerably more weather-proof and are hence optimally prepared to face the challenges of the current year," Mr. Zeller said.
Property-casualty reinsurance treaty renewals at the beginning of the year "passed off highly satisfactorily," the company said. "Even though not all levels of expectation were fulfilled, the company was able to improve still further on the already very good rate level of the previous years in large parts of the portfolio."
The quarter's costliest disasters included Cyclone Larry, which struck northern Australia, while other major costs came from a lost satellite, a marine claim and a fire, the company reported.
Hannover Re earlier this year announced the transfer of its continued U.S. specialty insurance business from its Clarendon Insurance Group unit to a newly-founded company named Praetorian Financial Group.
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