Argo Group has released its Q3 results, saying that net income dropped to -$51.4m from $19.8m in the same period in 2021.
The firm said in its earnings release that gross written premiums had also fallen in this period from $875.6m to $750.9m, with earned premiums also falling from $487.5m to $455m.
Loss ratio, it added, went from 64% to 65.7% between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022. It said that the fall in gross written premiums had been due to businesses that the firm had exited.
Earned premiums of $455m decreased $32.5m, or 6.7%. Reinstatement premiums primarily associated with catastrophes in the current and prior year third quarters were $12.5m and $5.6m, respectively. Adjusting for reinstatement premiums, earned premiums decreased $25.6m, or 5.2%
Thomas A. Bradley, executive chairman and CEO of Argo (and who was named to his position in June), said: “Over the past two years, we have transformed Argo, better positioning the company to advance our business strategies. In September, we announced the sale of our Lloyd’s operation, which marks a significant milestone in Argo becoming a focused, pure- play U.S. specialty insurer. Importantly, this transaction further simplifies our corporate structure, enables greater focus on our diverse portfolio of profitable and scalable US specialty businesses, and better positions us to explore additional strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.”
He added: “Argo’s third quarter financial performance benefited from growth in earned premiums in attractive business lines, reduced underwriting volatility, and lower expenses. In particular, our U.S. operations produced a strong current accident year performance primarily driven by disciplined underwriting and positive rate continuing to earn through. While our thoughts are with those impacted by Hurricane Ian, we are pleased the company’s quarterly catastrophe losses once again decreased year-over-year despite elevated industry catastrophe losses.
“These results are a testament to the success of our volatility reduction efforts through exiting businesses with property catastrophe exposure.”
Internationally, the firm said that it had seen gross written premiums of $250.1 decreased $62.8m, or 20.1% primarily due to the businesses the company has exited. However, earned premiums across this space reached $125.2m, having decreased $38.7m, or 23.6%.
Reinstatement premiums primarily associated with catastrophes in the current year and prior year third quarters were $11.5m and $5.1m, respectively. Adjusting for reinstatement premiums, earned premiums decreased $32.3m, or 19.1%.
