The Hartford reported first quarter core earnings of $866 million, or $3.09 per diluted share, a 36% increase from the prior year, on total revenues of $7.23 billion. The results missed analyst estimates for both revenue and EPS but showed significant underlying improvement in profitability, particularly within the Personal Insurance segment.
Key Highlights
- The Personal Insurance combined ratio dramatically improved to 87.7% from 106.1% in the prior-year quarter, driven by 14.3 points of lower catastrophe losses and a 4.7 point improvement in the underlying combined ratio to 85.0%.
- Business Insurance saw written premiums grow 6% to $3.9 billion, delivering a solid underlying combined ratio of 89.2.
- Net investment income increased 13% year-over-year to $739 million, supported by higher income from alternative investments and reinvesting at higher rates.
- The company returned $617 million to shareholders during the quarter, including $450 million in share repurchases and $167 million in dividends.