US property/casualty profits jump: A.M. Best

The U.S. property/casualty industry’s net income rose $25.2 billion to $61.40 billion in 2018, driven by a reduction in catastrophe losses and an increase in net investment income, according to a report Friday from A.M. Best Co.

The data is derived from companies’ 2018 annual statutory statements received as of March 11, 2019, representing an estimated 96% of the total property/casualty industry’s net premiums written, Best said.

Net premiums written increased 11.1% to $600.26 billion and net investment income rose 17.3% to $57.4 billion, the data showed.

The property/casualty industry’s combined ratio for 2018 improved 4.4 points to 99.3% in 2017.

Best said it estimates catastrophe losses accounted for 5.9 points on the 2018 combined ratio, down from an estimated 10.1 points in the prior year. “After a record year for catastrophe losses, CAT losses returned to a more normalized level in 2018,” the report said.

The industry’s underwriting loss in 2018 was $794.8 million, compared with $22.80 billion in 2017, the data showed.