5 February 2020News

Chubb reports 12% year on year profit increase for 2019

Chubb reported increased profits for both the year and final quarter of 2019, while net premiums written for the year also saw healthy year on year rises.

Net profits for 2019 were 4.5 billion, up 12.4 percent on the previous year, of which $1.17 billion was generated in Q4, up from $355 million in Q4 2018.

Consolidated net premiums written were $32.3 billion for 2019, up 5.5 percent on the previous year, and $8.0 billion for Q4 2019, up 8.8 percent year on year.

Chubb’s combined ratio in the P&C segment was 90.6 percent for 2019, which represented no change on the previous year. In global P&C, which excludes agriculture, its combined ratio was 90.3 percent for the year, compared with 91.5 percent in 2018. The accident year combined ratio was 88.6 percent, excluding catastrophe losses, compared with 88.4 percent in 2018.

For Q4, P&C had a combined ratio of 92.7 percent, down from 93.1 percent in the same period of 2018. Global P&C’s combined ratio was down to 91.9 percent, from 95.2 percent in the corresponding period of 2018.

Q4 after-tax catastrophe losses were $353 million, compared with $506 million in Q4 2018, helping to boost performance for the quarter.

Evan Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Chubb, described it as “a good quarter and year for Chubb,” with the quarter in particular “marked by excellent premium revenue growth globally – [Chubb’s] strongest organic growth in over five years.”

He noted that adverse weather conditions had impacted US crop insurance, but cited excellent health in the P&C business. “From what we have seen so far in 2020, this trend is continuing,” he added.

"We have started the new year in excellent shape and with a lot of momentum – our organisation globally was built to capitalise on market conditions such as these. At the same time, we are focused on executing our many long-term strategic initiatives that will position us for long-term revenue and earnings growth," said Greenberg.