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HARTFORD, Conn. (Reuters)—Tornadoes and storms that struck the U.S. Southeast are likely to cause higher catastrophic losses for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. in second quarter, the company's chief executive said on Monday after reporting a first-quarter profit that beat analyst expectations.
CEO Liam McGee, in an interview with Reuters, said Hartford expects the tornadoes that swept through the Southeast in recent weeks to cause an increase in its catastrophic insurance losses in the second quarter.
"I don't think there's any question that there will be a bit more to handle," said Mr. McGee, who noted that the company's claims adjusters were still assessing damage in the region.
The Hartford, Connecticut-based insurer, one of the oldest U.S. companies, is shifting its business under Mr. McGee to focus more on wealth management, insurance and retirement planning, and away from the annuities business that wounded the company during the 2008 financial crisis.
Hartford reported net income available to common shareholders of $501 million, or $1.01 per share, compared with a year ago loss of $164 million, or 42 cents per share.
The company's first-quarter 2010 results included a $1.03 per-share charge for repaying the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Excluding one-time charges, Hartford earned $588 million, or $1.16 per share, beating analyst estimates the company would earn 95 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Hartford's wealth management unit reported that core earnings increased 12% to $329 million during the quarter, as assets under management and deposits both rose in the first three months of the year.
In its insurance businesses, written commercial insurance premiums rose 9% during the quarter to $1.6 billion, and written consumer premiums declined 6% to $884 million.
HARTFORD, Conn. (Bloomberg)—Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the insurer that repaid a U.S. bailout last year, is adding to the protection it receives through catastrophe bonds as investors seek to buy securities with higher returns.