Chubb has reported that full-year P&C underwriting income was a record $4.56 billion, up 23.2%, leading to a P&C combined ratio of 87.6% compared with 89.1% in the prior year.
Full-year net income in 2022 totalled at $5.31 billion compared with $8.54 billion in the prior year. Core operating income was a record $6.46 billion, up 15.9%.
Meanwhile, Consolidated net premiums written were up 10.3%, or 13.0% in constant dollars to $41.8 billion.
P&C net premiums written were up 7.7%, or 10.3% in constant dollars, with commercial lines up 11.0% and consumer/personal lines up 8.4%.
for Q4 alone, pre-tax and after-tax catastrophe losses were $400 million and $323 million, respectively, a substantial increase compared with $275 million and $245 million for the same quarter last year.
Chubb’s Q4 P&C combined ratio was 88.0% compared with 85.5% in the prior year.
Excluding Agriculture, the P&C combined ratio was 85.9%, with the firm noting that Q4 included a true-up to projected full-year crop insurance results reflecting late-season development that produced an underwriting loss of $107 million in North America Agriculture. This led to a 94.2% combined ratio and $165 million in underwriting income for the year.
Full-year pre-tax net investment income was $3.74 billion, up 8.3%, and adjusted net investment income was $4.02 billion, up 8.2%. According to Chubb both of these were records.
Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chubb Limited, commented, “We had a strong quarter which contributed to the best full-year financial performance in our company’s history.
“Our quarterly results included record net investment income, double-digit premium growth, and an excellent underwriting performance with an 88% combined ratio despite a true-up to our annual agriculture results reflecting a below-average crop year.”
Per share core operating earnings were $4.05 for the quarter and a record $15.24 for the year, while crop insurance results were 39 cents per share less than Chubb expected. Consolidated net premiums, P&C and life together, increased 12% in the quarter, or 16% in constant dollars, to $10.2 billion.
P&C’s premium growth of 9.8% was broad-based globally with contributions from Chubb’s commercial and consumer businesses, up 10.4% and 8.1%, respectively. Life premiums, reflecting the addition of the Cigna Asia business, were up over 100%.
Greenberg continued, “In P&C, North America grew 9.7%, and so did Overseas General in constant dollars while declining 1.3% on a published basis, impacted by the strongest U.S. dollar in 20 years. We expect future published growth to benefit with the dollar weakening.
“Pricing conditions in commercial P&C remain favourable, the vast majority of our portfolio is achieving good risk-adjusted returns, and we are staying on top of loss cost inflation. On the consumer side, premiums in our North America personal lines business grew a very strong 6% in the quarter with our core high net worth segments up 12.5%.
“P&C premiums in our international consumer lines increased over 10% in the quarter in constant dollars, driven by our A&H business, which grew over 20% with strong growth in Asia, Latin America and the U.K.
“On the asset side of the balance sheet, adjusted net investment income topped $1.1 billion for the quarter, up about $215 million from the prior year, and contributed to a record $4 billion for the year.
“We are reinvesting our strong operating cash flow at substantially higher rates and that’s translating into a growing investment income run rate.
“We are off to a strong start in the new year and are firing on all cylinders. While there’s certainly plenty of risk and uncertainty in the operating environment globally – economic and geopolitical, from what we know and can control, ’23 should be a good year in terms of growth and earnings.”
