Net income soars at Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual Holding Co. reported second-quarter net income of $1.8 billion, up from $717 million for the year-earlier period.

“The strong performance reflects our ongoing, disciplined underwriting” across all lines, “positioning us well to achieve the full-year 2025 profit target we set for ourselves two years ago,” President and CEO Tim Sweeney said during an earnings webcast Thursday.

The results included a 1.9-percentage-point improvement to 82.1% in the underlying combined ratio, “backed by improved frequency trends in personal lines and better loss experience in our global risk solutions business,” he said. The total combined ratio was 87.2%%, a 12.4-point improvement over the year-earlier period.

Pretax net catastrophe losses for the quarter were $808 million, down more than 50% from $1.74 billion in second-quarter 2024, “reflecting a reduction of severe weather events in the U.S.,” Mr. Sweeney said.

Net written premium for the second quarter was $11.2 billion, down 1.9% from the same period last year.

Looking forward, the company is bracing for unknowns, including weather events and political and legal changes, Mr. Sweeney said, adding that “the ultimate impact of tariff-related cost impacts remains uncertain, and our industry continues to be burdened by rampant abuse within the legal system.”