Liberty Mutual reports $1.5 billion Q1 profit

Liberty Mutual Holding Co. Inc. Thursday reported first-quarter net income of $1.54 billion, compared with a $74 million net loss for the same period last year.

Liberty Mutual President and CEO Tim Sweeney in a statement attributed the performance to “strong core underwriting results” along with a $663 million after-tax benefit from the sale of its GRM West Operations.

Total net written premium was $10.96 million, a decrease from $11.16 million in the prior quarter.

The first quarter saw a 2.8-point improvement in the total underlying loss ratio, while catastrophe losses improved 2.3 points from the previous year, Mr. Sweeney stated.

The insurer’s total combined ratio was 95.8%, an improvement from 104.2% for the year-earlier period.

“Overall, it was a strong quarter, and we are pleased with the solid progress we continue to make on profit improvement as we march towards our 95% combined ratio target in 2025,” Mr. Sweeney said.

The insurer said its U.S. retail markets segment saw a 5.2-point improvement in underlying loss ratio compared with the prior-year quarter, a change it attributed to “targeted rate actions continuing to earn in and favorable frequency trends.”