By John Letzing
ZURICH--Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN.VX) said Thursday that
profit for the first nine months of the year rose slightly compared
with the same period in 2012.
Zurich said operating profit for general insurance, the firm's
largest business, rose 2% to $2.1 billion in the first nine months
of 2013. Mounting losses from severe weather-related events were
countered by tight expense management, Zurich said in a
statement.
The general insurance business saw a 3% increase in gross
written premiums and policy fees in the period to $28.2 billion,
Zurich said.
The life and pension products business saw profit rise 1% in the
period.
Zurich's financial report Thursday was the first since the
insurance giant was rocked by the suicide of former Chief Financial
Officer Pierre Wauthier and the subsequent resignation of former
Chairman Josef Ackermann. Mr. Wauthier had left a note behind
blaming Mr. Ackermann for creating an intolerable work environment,
though a later review uncovered no misconduct.
Overall, Zurich reported that profit in the first nine months
rose 2% to nearly $3 billion. Return on shareholder equity was flat
at 11.8%.
The company's combined ratio, a measure of how much is paid out
on claims and other costs per dollar earned, improved slightly to
95.3%. A ratio of less than 100% means an insurer is wringing
profits from its core underwriting business.
Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com
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