7 Insurers Release Q4 Financials

CNA, Nationwide, Willis and four other insurers announce fourth-quarter and 2012 financials this week.

Insurance Networking News, February 15, 2013

Justin Stephani

A number of insurers have begun to release their financial results for Q4 as well as year-end numbers from 2012. The following is a compilation of their announcements:

 

Arch Capital Group

Arch Capital Group Ltd. reported this week that net income available to common shareholders for the 2012 fourth quarter was $13.7 million, or $0.10 per share, compared to $138.9 million, or $1.01 per share, for the 2011 fourth quarter. For 2012, net income available to common shareholders was $568.3 million, or $4.11 per share, compared to $410.3 million, or $2.97 per share, for 2011.

The company also reported an after-tax operating loss to common shareholders of $24.7 million, or $0.18 per share, for the 2012 fourth quarter, compared to after-tax operating income available to common shareholders of $128.9 million, or $0.94 per share, for the 2011 fourth quarter.

Arch’s combined ratio for the fourth quarter this year was 112.4 percent, compared to 89.7 percent over the same period a year ago. For the full year ending Dec. 31, 2012, the company reported a combined ratio of 95.4 percent, slightly lower than the 98.3 percent combined ratio reported a year earlier.

For the 2012 fourth quarter, the combined ratio of the Company’s insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries consisted of a loss ratio of 79.9 percent and an underwriting expense ratio of 32.5 percent, compared to a loss ratio of 56.2 percent and an underwriting expense ratio of 33.5 percent for the 2011 fourth quarter.

The company’s fourth-quarter results included losses for Superstorm Sandy of $203.5 million, net of reinsurance and the effects of reinstatement premiums.

 

CNA

CNA Financial Corp. announced a net operating loss of $7 million and a net loss of $9 million, or $0.03 per common share, for the fourth quarter of 2012. Full-year 2012 net operating income was $587 million and net income was $628 million. P&C operations’ combined ratio for the fourth quarter and full year was 116.1 percent and 105 percent, respectively.

P&C operations' net operating income was $60 million for the fourth quarter of 2012 as compared with $345 million in the prior year quarter. Superstorm Sandy impact for the fourth quarter of 2012, including reinstatement premiums, was $190 million after-tax as compared with catastrophe losses of $11 million after-tax in the prior year quarter. This was partially offset by higher net investment income.

Pretax net investment income increased to $563 million for the fourth quarter of 2012 as compared with $523 million in the prior year quarter. Net operating results for our non-core segments improved $86 million as compared with the prior year quarter.

Net operating income for the full year 2012 decreased $23 million as compared with the prior year. P&C net operating income was $758 million for the full year as compared with $884 million in the prior year. Similar to the drivers for the fourth quarter, this decrease was primarily due to higher catastrophe losses and decreased favorable net prior year development, partially offset by higher net investment income. The catastrophe losses for the full year, including reinstatement premiums, were $270 million after-tax as compared with $144 million after-tax in the prior year. Net operating results for our non-core segments improved $103 million as compared with the prior year, primarily due to lower after-tax charges associated with unlocking actuarial assumptions in the payout annuity business.

  

Main Street America Group

The Main Street America Group announced today its 2012 financial results included an 11.9-percent return on equity, 99.9 combined ratio, $978 million net written premium, surplus growth of $71 million and net income of $56.7 million for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2012.

The company’s net income of $56.7 million represents an 80 percent gain over the prior year ($31.5 million), when the company’s results were heavily impacted by $63 million in catastrophe losses. In 2012, the company sustained $23 million in catastrophe losses. Main Street’s combined ratio of 99.9 similarly represents a vast improvement over the company’s 2011 catastrophe-impacted 106.7 combined ratio. Specifically, commercial lines, which accounts for 58 percent of Main Street America’s net written premium, achieved a 92.6 combined ratio and 8.5 percent premium growth.

Also in 2012, Main Street achieved an underwriting profit for the sixth time in the last seven years. 

“We finished the year with a very strong balance sheet,” said Tom Van Berkel, Main Street America’s chairman and CEO. “We significantly increased our surplus, grew our total assets to more than $2.1 billion and are very well-positioned to benefit from an improving property/casualty marketplace.”

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