Swiss Re AG’s first-half net income beat estimates, as the re-insurer avoided higher claims from natural catastrophes that have impacted the broader insurance industry.
Profit for the second quarter was $996 million, resulting in net income of $2.1 billion for the six months to June, the Zurich-based insurer said in a statement Thursday. Return on the group’s investment portfolio was 4% for the first half of the year, compared with 2.8% a year earlier.
“After a strong start in the first half of this year, we maintain our 2024 targets, including group net income of more than $3.6 billion,” Chief Executive Officer Andreas Berger said in a statement.
In its key property and casualty business, Swiss Re reported $989 million in net income in the first half, mainly due to low reported large natural catastrophe claims that were partially offset by selected additions across natural catastrophe and man-made loss reserves.
Swiss Re’s performance contrasts with the hits taken by insurers during a period when weather events jumped well above the 10-year average. Both Allianz SE and Zurich Insurance Group AG reported weaker property & casualty results on the back of events including flooding in Germany, though they reported higher profit.
The reinsurer attributed part of its result to “disciplined underwriting.” Earlier this month the company warned that global insured losses from natural catastrophes reached $60 billion in the first half.
Swiss Re said that the planned exit from its digital insurance business iptiQ is progressing, while disclosing a net loss of $182 million for the first half of 2024.
Swiss Re to Withdraw From Digital Insurer iptiQ, Reports Strong Q1 Net Income of $1.1B
European insurers saw their stock price taking a hit in the past last month as Hurricane Beryl caused billions in damage after becoming the Atlantic’s earliest Category 5 hurricane on record.
Earlier this year, Swiss Re appointed Andreas Berger as its new CEO in a surprise management reshuffle. Berger took over from Christian Mumenthaler who stepped down after a quarter of a century at the company. The firm also named Anders Malmstrom as its next chief financial officer to replace John Dacey who will retire from his executive role in March 2025.
Photograph: A logo sits on a sign outside Swiss Re AG’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Photo credit: Philipp Schmidli/Bloomberg
Topics Catastrophe Profit Loss Claims
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