Travelers Reports Excellent Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results, Including Strong Earnings and Premium Growth
Excerpts of interest from Travelers’s Press Release
The Travelers Companies, Inc. today reported net income of $1.333 billion, or $5.37 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, compared to $1.310 billion, or $5.10 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. Core income in the current quarter was $1.289 billion, or $5.20 per diluted share, compared to $1.262 billion, or $4.91 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. Core income increased primarily due to higher net investment income and a higher underlying underwriting gain (i.e., excluding net prior year reserve development and catastrophe losses), partially offset by lower net favorable prior year reserve development. Net realized investment gains in the current quarter were $58 million pre-tax ($44 million after-tax), compared to $50 million pre-tax ($48 million after-tax) in the prior year quarter. Per diluted share amounts benefited from the impact of share repurchases.
“We are very pleased to report outstanding results for the fourth quarter and full year, including meaningful top line growth, strong margins and excellent returns from our investment portfolio,” said Alan Schnitzer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Another year of exceptional performance is a testament to our franchise value, underwriting excellence and investment expertise.
“Core income for the quarter was $1.3 billion, or $5.20 per diluted share, generating core return on equity of 19.8%. These results were driven by strong underlying underwriting income and returns from our investment portfolio. Our higher underlying underwriting income was driven by record net earned premiums of $8 billion and an excellent underlying combined ratio of 88.7%. For the full year, record underlying underwriting income of $2.3 billion after-tax contributed meaningfully to the 31% increase in core income to $3.5 billion, or $13.94 per diluted share. Our high-quality investment portfolio generated after-tax net investment income of $2.5 billion for the year. Our impressive operating results, together with our strong balance sheet, enabled us to grow adjusted book value per share by more than 10% during the year, after returning $3.1 billion of excess capital to shareholders, including $2.2 billion of share repurchases, and making important investments in our business.
“Our best-in-class marketplace execution enabled us to grow net written premiums by 10% this quarter to $8 billion, with each of our three segments contributing. In Business Insurance, net written premiums grew by 9%, with renewal premium change of 9.2% near an all-time high, while retention was higher than in the prior year quarter. In addition, new business was up 16% year over year. In Bond & Specialty Insurance, net written premiums increased by 13%, driven by renewal premium change of 10.9% and continued strong retention in our management liability business. In Personal Insurance, net written premiums increased by 10%. Policies in force in both Auto and Homeowners increased to record levels, driven by continued strong retention and new business. Renewal premium change improved in Auto to 1.2% and remained strong in Homeowners at 8.7%.
“Our Perform and Transform call to action once again served us well in 2021. In addition to delivering excellent financial results today, we continue to leverage our scale and resources to execute on our ambitious innovation agenda for tomorrow. We’re enriching 160 years of insurance expertise by investing in digital tools and virtual capabilities, deploying robotics and proprietary AI models, and hiring and developing top data scientists, engineers, roboticists and meteorologists, among others, to build the insurance company of the future. Looking forward, with the best talent in the industry, we remain well positioned to capitalize on opportunities and deliver industry leading returns.”
Source: Travelers
