Spanish insurer MAPFRE saw it’s earnings for the first half of 2020 drop 27.1% from the previous year to €271 million due to COVID-19 claims recorded in its reinsurance unit.
Reinsurance losses in H1 reached €86.5 million, €76.5 million of which correspond to business interruption coverage.
Alongside this, earthquakes in Puerto Rico cost the reinsurance unit €83 million, while Storm Gloria in Spain cost €22 million.
The reinsurance unit’s premiums at the half-year close were €2.12 billion, a 5.1% drop from the previous year.
In the insurance units, COVID-19 is expected to have a neutral effect on MAPFRE.
Revenue for H1 amounted to €13.28 billion, an 11.8% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Premiums totalled €10.98 billion, down 12.3%, a decrease that MAPFRE says is within the context of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
However, the company notes that factors such as currency devaluations, the Pemex two-year policy, and a €412 million reduction in Life Savings premiums in Spain also played a part in the €1.55 billion reduction in premiums.
The group’s combined ratio at the end of June was 96.7%, +0.8 percentage points compared to a year ago.
Group investments stood at €51.35 billion at the end of the first half of the year, 4.1% less than in December 2019.
The majority of these investments pertain to sovereign debt, while 18.5% are in corporate fixed income and 4.8% are in equity.
