Tower Group 4Q Net Income Rises On Higher Written Premiums

NU Online News Service, March 1, 2:04 p.m. EST

Tower Group reported a 25.4 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income attributable to the company as higher written premiums and net realized investment gains outpaced higher losses.

The New York-based property and casualty insurer said 2010 fourth-quarter net income attributable to Tower Group was $38.5 million compared to $30.7 million for the same period a year ago. Gross premiums written climbed to $433.9 million from $327.2 million. Tower Group saw net realized investment gains in the quarter of $5.9 million compared to net realized losses of $824,000 in the 2009 fourth quarter.

For the company’s commercial segment, net premiums earned rose to $239.9 million in the quarter compared to $196.6 million in the 2009 fourth quarter. For personal lines, net premiums earned climbed to $133 million from $36.6 million.

The combined ratio in the quarter was 91.7, down from 94.7. In the commercial segment, the combined ratio rose to 94.7 from 92.3. For personal lines, the combined ratio dropped to 84.1 from 90.6.

For the year, Tower Group reported net income attributable to the company of $118 million, up from $109.3 million, with gross premiums written of $1.5 billion compared to $1 million in 2009.