US P/C insurance swings to first-quarter net underwriting loss
- June 18, 2025
- Posted by: Web workers
- Category: Workers Comp
The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry swung to a $1.1 billion net underwriting loss in the first three months of 2025 from a $9.4 billion gain during the same period last year, according to rating agency A.M. Best Co.
The loss was driven mainly by the January wildfires in California, Best said in a report Monday.
Net income for the sector was off 50.4% to $19.8 billion on a 74.6% reduction in net realized capital gains to just $3.6 billion.
The preliminary data is derived from companies’ annual statutory statements received as of May 29, 2025, representing an estimated 96% of the total P/C industry’s net premiums written.
Net premiums written increased 7.7% to $236.4 billion, while net investment income crept up 2.4% to $20.5 billion.
The industry’s combined ratio weakened to 99.4% for the first three months of 2025 from 94.4% in the year-ago period. Catastrophe losses accounted for an estimated 14.7 percentage points in first-quarter 2025, more than double the 5.4 points in the first quarter of 2024.
