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April 24, 2009 at 08:00 PM
Most of the insurers and reinsurers that have announced their earnings this week have reported positive net income.
Reinsurance Group of American Inc., Chesterfield, Mo.
1 Q 2009 Results
NET INCOME: $23 million
NET REALIZED INVESTMENT CHANGE: $72 million loss
REVENUE: $1.5 billion
1 Q 2008 Results
NET INCOME: $32 million
NET REALIZED INVESTMENT CHANGE: $155 million loss
REVENUE: $1.4 billion
- RGA, a life reinsurer, says life mortality was worse than expected in several markets, including the United States, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and South Africa. “Volatility is fundamental to our business,” RGA President A. Greig Woodring said durng the company’s earnings conference. “Over time, these fluctuations even out.”
- RGA raised $332 million in November 2008 through a common stock offering. The company sees many opportunities to use the capital, through an ongoing arrangement or through the purchase of a block of business, but, because of the current high cost of replacing capital, it is being selective, Woodring said.
- “Net income included a pre-tax loss of $15.9 million, net of hedging activities and adjustments to deferred acquisition costs … due to the decline in the fair value of embedded derivatives associated with certain living benefit riders within variable annuity treaties,” RGA says..
StanCorp Financial Group Inc., Portland, Ore.
1 Q 2009 Results
NET INCOME: $33 million
NET REALIZED INVESTMENT CHANGE: $27 million loss
REVENUE: $545 million
1 Q 2008 Results
NET INCOME: $50 million
NET REALIZED INVESTMENT CHANGE: $4.4 million loss
REVENUE: $540 million
- StanCorp, the parent of Standard Insurance Company, “recorded one-time costs of $8.4 million, or $5.4 million after-tax, for severance costs related to headcount decreases and the reduction of lease obligations in conjunction with operating efficiency projects in the first quarter of 2009,” the company says.
- Group insurance premiums fell to $485 million, down 1.9% from the total for the first quarter of 2008. Annualized new premiums from new group insurance sales fell to $100 million, from $120 million. The drop in sales “reflected the effects of slow economic growth influencing wage rates and employment levels,” the company says.
- “We are seeing some tough competition in our smallest case market, and we have some sense that smaller employers may be experiencing greater economic pressures than their larger counterparts,” StanCorp Chairman Eric Parsons said during the company’s earnings conference. “This manifests itself in pressures on persistency and requests to quote only the lowest cost options.” But Parsons said his company is getting more looks at larger cases.
- The group insurance benefit ratio fell to 75.8%, from 76.6%. “The company has not experienced an increase in claims incidence in its group long-term or group short-term disability during the current economic downturn,” StanCorp says.
Torchmark Corp., McKinney, Texas
1 Q 2009 Results
NET INCOME: $77 million
NET REALIZED INVESTMENT CHANGE: $46 million loss
REVENUE: $810 million
1 Q 2008 Results
NET INCOME: $118 million
NET REALIZED INVESTMENT CHANGE: $7 million loss
REVENUE: $872 million
