Chubb posts higher net income in first quarter

WARREN, N.J.--Chubb Corp. registered $710 million in net income during the first quarter of 2007, the insurer reported late Monday, an increase of 5.6% over the amount reported for the same period a year earlier.

Overall net written premiums for the first quarter stood at $2.87 billion, a drop of about 2% from those of the same period in 2006.

The insurer's combined ratio for the first three months of the year stood at 83.4%, a slight deterioration from the 82.9% registered during the same period a year earlier.

"All three business units made substantial contributions to first-quarter earnings," said John D. Finnegan, Chubb's chairman, president and chief executive officer in a statement announcing the results. "We continued to produce superior earnings in a challenging insurance market by maintaining our underwriting standards while competing effectively to retain existing accounts and write new business at adequate rates."