Property & casualty industry income plummeted in 2020
Insurers’ finances took a hit in Q1-Q3 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and a historic catastrophe season.
It’s been nearly one year since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and an understanding of how much the health crisis has impacted property & casualty (P&C) insurers’ profits is emerging.
According to a new report from Verisk and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), major losses last year caused the P&C industry’s net income after taxes to drop 27.5% to $35.1 billion in the first nine months of 2020. Net underwriting gains also declined to $0.3 billion from $5.4 billion a year prior.
“Insurers’ financial results deteriorated in nine-months 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a historic catastrophe season,” write the report’s authors Neil Spector, president at ISO, and Robert Gordon, SVP, policy, research and international at APCIA. “The declines stemmed from a significant increase in the losses and loss adjustment expenses from catastrophes.”
Impact of COVID-19, catastrophes on underwriting
The U.S. experienced a record number of natural disasters in 2020, with 19 events exceeding $1 billion in direct insured losses. Riots and civil unrest events also resulted in billions of dollars in damage within the past 12 months.
At the same time, the pandemic and ensuing economic downfall prompted many consumers and businesses to cut back on insurance coverage, and cancel large purchases and capital investments, which caused an immediate reduction in insurer premium activity.
Underwriting results across business lines showed some variation in direct premium and loss performance. Direct pure loss ratios deteriorated in general liability, fire and allied lines, and homeowners, which experienced a 22.2% increase in losses in nine-months 2020. Auto insurers, however, saw their pure loss ratios improve from 65% to 56.6% for the same period last year compared to a year before. This was largely due to reduced driving activity and insurers’ readiness to account for changes in losses by providing partial premium refunds and adjusting rates, the report notes.
Q3 2020 review and 2021 outlook
“Insurers in the third quarter of 2020 continued to be hammered by COVID-19, natural catastrophes and civil unrest losses. Net underwriting losses climbed to $4.3 billion, with premium growth significantly slowing and net income plummeting nearly 30%,” said Gordon.
Insurers’ net income after taxes dropped to $10.9 billion in third-quarter 2020 from $15.4 billion in third-quarter 2019, while net written premiums rose 3% to $171.3 billion and net earned premiums grew 2.3% to $162.9 billion.
Although industry surplus restabilized in the third quarter, insurance companies face potentially severe COVID-19 related losses and long-term claims down the road, explained Gordon. However, efforts to innoculate populations worldwide provide a glimmer of hope for the insurance industry that has dealt with historic losses in the past year.
“The beginning of COVID-19 vaccination efforts has provided some hope for people in the United States and across the globe,” said Spector. “But the U.S. economy and the insurance industry still face many challenges, which will depend on our progress in ending the pandemic… Now more than ever, insurers that make it easy for customers to buy coverage and settle claims online will have the biggest advantage in the evolving marketplace,” Spector said.
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