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Insurance carriers Q4 2021 earnings call round-up

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By Jasmine Kim
Updated April 13, 2022

The final quarter of 2021 saw personal auto insurance shopping drop 5.9% compared to the previous quarter, and the rate of new policies written declined by 6.9% compared to Q4 2020. In addition, P&C rates increased an average of 4.25% in response to the uptick in claims severity and the shortage of labor and material. 

According to the vice president and general manager of auto insurance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, the auto insurance industry has been marked by shopping ebbs and flows that have been particularly unusual and not what experts are accustomed to seeing. 

Here’s a round-up of some leading carriers’ latest financial results:

Allstate

Allstate’s results missed estimates for the second quarter in a row as inflation, road fatalities and the supply shortage drove up the costs of insuring and repairing cars. The company stated that it would adapt to higher auto claims, labor and material costs that affected the fourth quarter by raising premiums in 2022.

The carrier implemented 30 rate increases across 28 states in the fourth quarter and additionally raised auto rates by 7.7% across five locations in January 2022. Allstate also announced that it would be disclosing auto rate changes every month starting in March 2022 to address catastrophe losses and provide deeper insights into strategic or operational topics. 

Read the full earnings release.

Key Findings

  • Auto combined ratio: 104.3, 18.8 point increase compared to Q4 2020
  • Home combined ratio: 87.1, 8.6 point increase compared to Q4 2020 
  • Net income: $790M, a 69.6% decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • Catastrophe losses: $528M, a 24.5% increase compared to Q4 2020
  • P&C net written premiums: $10.3B, a 19.7% increase compared to Q4 2020
  • Total revenue: $13B, an 18.7% increase compared to Q4 2020

Chubb

According to Chubb’s CEO, Q4 2021 was one of the company’s best quarters in its history and had the best organic growth in P&C in over 15 years. Chubb raised premiums during the quarter by 9.6%, and expects to continue to raise rates to exceed lost costs for some time. 

Read the full earnings release.

Key Findings

  • Combined ratio: 85.5, a 10.6 point decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • Net income: $2.14B, a 11.5% decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • Catastrophe losses: $275M, a 7.1% decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • P&C net written premiums: $8.52B, a 9.6% increase compared to Q4 2020

The Hartford

  • Combined ratio: 84.6, a 7.2 point decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • Net income: $724M, a 36% increase compared to Q4 2020
  • Catastrophe losses: $41M, compared to $51M in Q4 2020
  • P&C net written premiums: $2.512B, an 14% increase compared to Q4 2020
  • Total revenue: $5.8B, a 9% increase compared to Q4 2020


Despite having a relatively profitable year, The Hartford is struggling to keep its headcount. From divesting units to lay-offs, the company’s total workforce is down 2.6% from 2019. 

Read the full earnings release.

Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual stated that the company’s growth in its personal lines business was due to solid retention and new business production, as well as the increase in average written premiums from its growing private passenger auto and personal property policies. The carrier was still impacted by inflation, and more recently shed some office space in Washington state and Texas to save. 

Read the full earnings release.

Key Findings

  • Combined ratio: 99.2, a 3.1 point decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • Net income: $722M, a $560M increase compared to Q4 2020
  • Catastrophe losses: $143M, a 60.2% decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • P&C net written premiums: $11B, a 9.2% increase compared to Q4 2020
  • Total revenue: $12.2B, a 3.6% increase compared to Q4 2020

Progressive

  • Combined ratio: 94.7, a 6.3 point increase compared to Q4 2020
  • Net income: $962M, a 43% decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • P&C net written premiums: $10.7B, a 13% increase compared to Q4 2020

The carrier will discuss its official Q4 results on March 1. Read the full earnings releases for October, November, December and January. 

Travelers

The carrier secured regulatory approvals for 36 homeowner rate hikes in December 2021, and plans to file more rate increases in around40 states over the next three quarters. Travelers also increased auto insurance rates in 11 states since August 2021 to address inflationary pressure and the increase in replacement costs.

Read the full earnings release.

Key Findings

  • Combined ratio: 87, an 2.8 point decrease compared to Q4 2020
  • Net income: 1.33B, a 1.75% increase compared to Q4 2020 
  • Catastrophe losses: $29M, a 20.8% increase compared to Q4 2020
  • P&C net written premiums: $7.9B, a 10% increase compared to Q4 2020
  • Total revenue: $9B, a 7.3% increase compared to Q4 2020
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Jasmine KimB2B Content Manager

Jasmine is The Zebra’s newsroom content writer. With a background in journalism, she reports on breaking news, trends, mergers and acquisitions, and financial reports related to the insurance industry.

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