The Travelers Companies, Inc. has reported net income of $1.711 billion for Q1 2026, up from $395 million in the same period of 2025, driven by lower catastrophe losses and higher net investment income.
Travelers’ core income in the opening quarter of 2026 was $1.696 billion, a considerable increase of $1.253 billion compared with Q1 2025.
Meanwhile, net realised investment gains were $49 million pre-tax in Q1 2026, up from pre-tax net realised investment losses of $61 million in the prior-year period.
As noted, Travelers’ catastrophe losses declined in Q1 2026 compared with the same quarter last year, falling to $761 million pre-tax from $2.266 billion pre-tax. With this in mind, the firm’s combined ratio in Q1 2026 of 88.6% improved by 13.9 points.
Alan Schnitzer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers, observed that underwriting income of $1.2 billion pre-tax benefited from strong levels of underlying underwriting income and net favourable prior year development, while the firm’s high-quality investment portfolio generated after-tax net investment income of $833 million.
Schnitzer continued, “These results, along with our exceptionally strong balance sheet, enabled us to return more than $2.2 billion of excess capital to our shareholders during the quarter, including $2.0 billion of share repurchases.
“In recognition of our very strong financial position and confidence in the outlook for our business, I am pleased to share that our Board of Directors declared a 14% increase in our quarterly cash dividend to $1.25 per share, marking 22 consecutive years of dividend increases with a compound annual growth rate of 8% over that period.”
Through “disciplined marketplace execution” across all three segments, Travelers also generated net written premiums in the opening quarter of $10.3 billion
Schnitzer added, “In Business Insurance, we grew net written premiums to $5.8 billion. We grew our leading Middle Market business and Select Accounts small commercial business by 5% and 3%, respectively.
“Renewal premium change in Business Insurance was 5.8%, while retention increased one point from recent quarters to a very strong 86%. New business was a record $775 million.
“In Bond & Specialty Insurance, we grew net written premiums by 7% to $1.1 billion. In our high-quality Management Liability business, renewal premium change ticked up sequentially, with excellent retention of 87%.
“In our industry-leading Surety business, we grew net written premiums by 14%. In Personal Insurance, we generated net written premiums of $3.5 billion with solid retention and positive renewal premium change in both Auto and Homeowners.
“We are off to an excellent start for 2026. Over time and across a wide range of conditions, we have consistently delivered growth at industry-leading returns with low volatility.
“That performance reflects the strength of our capabilities across both sides of the balance sheet and a focus on creating shareholder value. We are confident that the advantages we have built will continue to drive strong results and extend our record of outperformance.”
Looking at income by segment, all three of Travelers’ key businesses posted higher results in the quarter.
Segment income in Business Insurance rose to $839 million after-tax, an increase of $156 million, with the improvement primarily driven by lower catastrophe losses and higher net favourable prior year reserve development.
In Bond & Specialty Insurance, segment income increased to $254 million after-tax, up $34 million, reflecting a higher underlying underwriting gain, along with higher net investment income and lower catastrophe losses.
Personal Insurance delivered segment income of $704 million after-tax, an increase of $1.078 billion, as results benefited mainly from lower catastrophe losses, a higher underlying underwriting gain, and higher net investment income, partially offset by lower net favourable prior year reserve development.
