Property/casualty direct premiums up 10% in Q3

U.S. property/casualty insurers’ direct premiums increased 10% in the third quarter of last year, but the industry’s loss ratio deteriorated, A.M. Best Co. said in a report issued Tuesday.

The report said the loss ratio was 62.8% compared with 60.2% for the comparable period in 2020.

The report said also that natural catastrophe insured losses in last year’s third quarter were almost double those of the year-earlier period, mainly from Hurricane Ida, and early reports suggest 2021 could be the second worst year for natural catastrophe losses in the U.S., after 2017, which was driven by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.