Net income at Swiss Re declined slightly in the first quarter as several events led to major claims. Premiums increased in all business units.
Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, recorded a profit of $429 million in the first three months of 2019, down from $457 million in the same period of 2018, according to a statement released on Friday.
Property and casualty, the biggest business of the reinsurer, posted a profit of $13 million, down from $345 million a year ago. The combined ratio was 110.3 percent, compared with 92 percent a year ago, a reflection of the large claims that followed the floods in Australia ($210 million) and the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max crash and subsequent grounding of the fleet of similar aircraft ($90 million). Net premiums increased 11 percent to $4.2 billion.
Life and health insurance, the second major unit at Swiss Re, had a profit of $328 million, up from $201 million a year ago, while net premiums dropped to $3.1 billion from $3.3 billion. The decline in net premiums was attributed to unfavorable foreign-exchange movements and the termination of an intra-group retrocession agreement with Life Capital.
IPO of ReAssure Evaluated
The corporate solutions business had a net loss of $55 million (prior year: net income of $41 million). The result was affected by large and medium-sized man-made losses. The combined ratio increased to 116.3 percent. «The business unit is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of all business lines and reserve positions,» the company said in the statement.
Life capital, the smallest division, had net earnings of $7 million, up from $3 million. Premiums rose substantially from $301 million to $426 million. Swiss Re continues to evaluate an initial public offering of the ReAssure closed book business later this year.
Share Buyback
Swiss Re will launch the first tranche of its public share buyback program of as much as 1 billion Swiss francs (US$980 million) on May 6.
