The Hartford has posted a net income of $766 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, a substantial rise from $587 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The company noted that this was primarily driven from a higher property & casualty (P&C) underwriting gain, including strong premium growth in Commercial Lines, and improvement in the Group Benefits loss ratio.
P&C current accident year (CAY) catastrophe (CAT) losses sat at $81 million before tax, for Q4, compared with CAY CAT losses of $135 million in the prior year period.
For the full-year 2023, The Hartford posted a net income of $2.5 billion, compared to $1.8 billion in the 2022 period.
P&C CAY CAT losses for 2023 were $676 million, before tax, compared to $649 million in 2022.
Meanwhile, P&C written premiums increased 10% in fourth quarter and full year 2023. The Hartford noted that this was driven by Commercial Lines and Personal Lines premium growth of 9% and 12% in the quarter, respectively, and 10% and 8% in the full year, respectively. Group Benefits fully insured ongoing premium growth of 6% in fourth quarter and 7% in the full year.
The Hartford’s Chairman and CEO Christopher Swift, commented: “Fourth quarter and full year 2023 results were simply outstanding, demonstrating the effectiveness of our strategy, and our ability to consistently execute. Our 2023 core earnings ROE of 15.8 percent reflects exceptional underwriting in Commercial Lines, record core earnings from Group Benefits, and continued solid performance from our investment portfolio.”
The Hartford’s Chief Financial Officer Beth Costello said: “Commercial Lines had a superb quarter with an underlying combined ratio of 86.6. Personal Lines achieved sustained double-digit written pricing increases with acceleration in auto to 21.9 percent in the quarter, responding to the dynamic loss cost environment. Group Benefits continues to deliver excellent results driven by 6 percent growth in fully insured ongoing premiums and a core earnings margin of 9.8 percent. Our investment performance remains strong benefiting from attractive new money yields and a diversified portfolio of assets. We are actively managing our capital and returned $479 million through repurchases and dividends in the quarter contributing to total capital return of $6.2 billion to shareholders over the last three years.”
Swift continued: “Building on another quarter and full year of exceptional performance, we are well positioned to sustain these results in 2024. Our diverse yet complementary portfolio of businesses, coupled with our ongoing investments in growth and innovation, give me great confidence in our ability to deliver for customers and sustain industry leading core earnings ROEs anchored at 15 percent.”
