Chubb reports third-quarter profit of $1.23 billion

Chubb Ltd. reported 2018 third-quarter net income of $1.23 billion, the company said in a statement Tuesday after markets closed, swinging back from a loss of $70 million posted during the third quarter of 2017.

Chubb said that total pretax and after-tax catastrophe losses were $450 million and $372 million, respectively, compared with $1.89 billion and $1.53 billion respectively during last year's third quarter, which was hit by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Property/casualty net premiums written rose 2.5% to $7.55 billion.

Net investment income rose 1.2% to $823 million, and the company’s property/casualty combined ratio improved to 90.9% from 110.8% a year ago.

“Commercial (property/casualty) pricing for the business we wrote was consistent with the prior quarter,” said Chubb Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg in the statement. “Given market conditions, we are trading some growth for an underwriting profit — a proven strategy that requires discipline. We’re confident and optimistic about our ability to outperform the balance of the year and beyond.”

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2018, net income was $3.61 billion compared with $2.33 billion for the same period in 2017. The property/casualty combined ratio was 89.8% for the nine months ended Sept. 30 compared with 96.0% in the prior-year period.