Strong underwriting results and excellent investment performance drove record operating results, says Finnegan, which increased net income per share by 35 percent to $2.48 a share, the highest of any quarter in the company's history.

He attributes the company's profitability to underwriting initiatives it took in the second half of 2011 to cull its existing book of unprofitable risks and enhance underwriting discipline on new business.

Finnegan struck a cautious note saying that underwriting alone cannot account for the company's performance, saying the company has “enjoyed a great run of good fortune in terms of non-cat related weather” and an “unusually low level” of large losses.

Chubb's Commercial Property and Marine line is a prime example of luck, where an extremely low combined ratio of 64.7 benefited from the absence of any major fires or large losses, “an unusually positive occurrence which cannot be attributed to underwriting discipline alone,” says Finnegan.

Discussing pricing, Finnegan says the insurance market remains firm as Chubb continued to achieve mid-single-digit renewal increases in all of its business units “with generally stable retention levels.” While maintaining current renewal levels will allow Chubb to expand its margins in the future, Finnegan cautioned that large losses could adversely impact earnings in the future, but the company is optimistic about its performance for the rest of the year.