NU Online News Service, July 27, 2:07 p.m.EDT
|Zurich, Switzerland-based insurer ACE Ltd. says second quarternet income decreased 10 percent primarily on catastrophelosses.
|The company says pretax catastrophe losses, includingreinstatement premiums, were $134 million for the quarter, comparedto $81 million during the same time last year.
|ACE reports net income for the second quarter dropped $70million to $607 million. Net premiums written jumped 16 percent, or$533 million, to $3.9 billion in the quarter. The carrier'scombined ratio increased 2.9 points to 92.6, compared to 89.7 lastyear during the second quarter.
|Given the size of the catastrophes, ACE “had an excellentquarter,” says Evan G. Greenberg, ACE's chairman and chiefexecutive officer, during a conference call.
|In the benefits area Greenberg says payrolls are showing growth,but the growth is “anemic.”
|Insurance rates are increasing, he notes, by single- anddouble-digits in some lines. However, the increases are notbroad-based. Greenberg says that casualty rates are “bouncing alongthe bottom.”
|Property and casualty net premiums written increased 15 percentcompared to the 2010 second quarter.
|ACE increased its earnings guidance for the full year for 2011with after-tax operating income now expected to be in the rangebetween $6 and $6.20 per share.
|“We are quite bullish about the second half of the year,” saysGreenberg. “We are well-positioned to capitalize on a modestlyimproving commercial p & c environment,” he says in astatement.
|The guidance includes $544 million in after-tax catastrophelosses for the first half of the year and an additional $200million in catastrophe losses for the balance of the year.
|For the first six months of the year, net income has dropped 40percent, or $566 million, to $866 million. Net premiums writtenrose 6 percent to $7.4 billion. The combined ratio for the firsthalf of the year is 98.4, up 7.2 points.
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