Allstate Corp. reported a significant turnaround in its financial performance for the third quarter, with net income attributable to common shareholders reaching approximately $1.2 billion, compared to a loss of $41 million during the same period last year.
The Northbrook, Illinois-based insurer saw an improvement in its property-liability combined ratio, which dropped to 96.4 from 103.4 the previous year. Despite facing $1.7 billion in catastrophe losses, a 44% increase from the prior year, Allstate managed to report property-liability underwriting income of $496 million, reversing a loss of $414 million in Q3 2023. CEO Tom Wilson attributed the Q3 results to hurricanes Beryl, Debby, Francine, and Helene, with Helene alone causing $630 million in pretax losses and generating over 100,000 claims.
The homeowners insurance segment also showed resilience, posting a combined ratio of 98.2 compared to 104.4 a year ago, despite absorbing $1.2 billion in catastrophe losses. Premiums written in this segment rose by 15.5% to about $4.1 billion. In the auto insurance sector, new business sales increased by 26%, driven by higher advertising spend and expanded distribution. Although price increases led to some retention losses, the combined ratio improved to 94.8, down 7.3 points from the previous year. Higher earned premiums, better underlying loss experience, and favorable prior year reserve development contributed to an 11.1% increase in premiums earned. Wilson highlighted that the successful execution of the auto insurance profit improvement plan resulted in $486 million of auto insurance underwriting income for the quarter.
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