Property and casualty (P&C) insurer The Hartford has reported a net income of $584 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, a 19% decrease compared to $724 million from the same period last year.
According to the firm, this was primarily due to a decrease in P&C underwriting results and a decrease in net realized gains, partially offset by a reduction in excess mortality in Group Benefits and higher net investment income.
The insurer also reported a net income of $1.8 billion for the full year, a 23% decrease from 2021’s $2.3 billion.
The Hartford’s P&C written premiums rose 8% in the quarter and 9% for the full year, which was driven by Commercial Lines premium growth of 9% in the quarter and 11% for the full year, as well as Group Benefits fully insured ongoing premium growth of 9% in the quarter and 6% for the full year.
This quarters P&C CAY CAT losses were $135 million, which included $167 million from Storm Elliott in December and $68 million of favorable development on prior quarter catastrophes, compared to CAY CAT losses of $22 million in Q421.
Commercial Lines written premiums were up 9%, from $2.5 billion in Q421 to $2.7 billion Q422. Combined ratio for the segment was 89% for the quarter compared to 84.6% from the prior year quarter. For the full year, the segments combined ratio stood at 90.2%, compared to 2021’s 95.8%.
Additionally for 2022’s fourth quarter Commercial Lines included CAY CAT losses of $114 million, which included $151 million for Storm Elliott and $56 million of favorable development on prior quarter catastrophes, compared to CAY CAT losses of $6 million in the fourth quarter 2021.
Meanwhile, The Hartford’s Personal Lines segment reported a net income of $44 million for the quarter, a 46% decrease from $81 million in the prior year quarter.
Chairman and CEO Christopher Swift, commented: “Fourth quarter results were excellent contributing to an outstanding 2022 that delivered a core earnings ROE of 14.4 percent. Results reflect strong underwriting with solid premium growth across the business, excellent margins, and a significant contribution from the investment portfolio. With another quarter of strong financial performance, The Hartford continues to demonstrate the power of our strategy and superior execution.”
Chief Financial Officer Beth Costello added: “Our P&C results for the year were excellent. Commercial Lines written premium exceeded $11 billion, up 11 percent for the year, and fourth quarter pricing in our U.S. Standard Commercial Lines book, excluding workers’ compensation, accelerated one point from the third quarter to 7.9 percent. In Personal Lines, we are driving significant rate increases to address industry-wide loss cost pressure. In Group Benefits, a core earnings margin of 6.5 percent for the year benefited from 6 percent growth in fully insured ongoing premium and a reduced impact from excess mortality. We continue to actively manage our capital and, in 2022, returned $2.1 billion to shareholders through repurchases and dividends.”
Swift continued: “I am confident that our diverse, yet complementary portfolio of businesses, underwriting expertise, distribution relationships and best in class talent will continue to drive consistent and sustainable returns. The Hartford franchise has never been better positioned to deliver industry-leading financial performance while creating value for all our stakeholders.”
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