Italian earthquakes take toll on Generali, RSA
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LONDON (Reuters)—Deadly earthquakes that struck northern Italy in May took their toll on European insurers Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. and RSA Insurance Group P.L.C. on Thursday, wiping almost 200 million euros ($245.94 million) from their combined half-year profits.
Italy's Generali, Europe's No.3 insurer, said earnings at its non-life unit fell 6% in the first half of 2012, weighed down by a 155 million euro hit from two quakes that struck the Emilia-Romagna region in late May, killing 25.
Britain's RSA, whose Italian business focuses mainly on the quake-hit north of the country, absorbed a 35 million pound ($55.11 million) loss from the tremors, contributing to a 23% drop in its half-year operating profit.
The Emilia Romagna quakes, expected to cost insurers up to 700 million euros in total, clouded the outlook for an industry that had until May been enjoying a largely catastrophe-free year.
That was in sharp contrast to 2011, the insurance sector's second-costliest natural catastrophe year on record after disasters including Japan's Tohoku earthquake and Thailand's worst floods in half a century triggered $116 billion in claims.
Generali, which in June ousted Chief Executive Giovanni Perissinotto amid investor discontent over its stock market performance, still managed to beat analysts' profit forecasts thanks to a strong performance from its life insurance arm.
The insurer's first-half net profit rose 4.5% to 842 million euros in the first six months, ahead of the 810 million euros pencilled in by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Shares in Generali and RSA were up 1.1% and 0.8% respectively by 09:30 GMT, while the Stoxx 600 European insurance index was 0.2% higher.
Generali and RSA are the first major European insurers to report interim results. Others in the sector are expected to report broadly lower profits, reflecting weaker financial markets and sluggish economic growth over the second quarter.
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OAKLAND, Calif.—A May 20 earthquake followed by two May 29 aftershock quakes that struck Italy's Emilia-Romagna region caused an estimated $375 million to $875 million in insured losses, catastrophe modeler EQECAT Inc. said Tuesday.
