TRAVELERS SEES Q1 EARNINGS FALL 32%

US p/c group Travelers Corp saw Q1 net income fall 32% to $662m owing to reductions in both underwriting and investment income. The Connecticut-based group reported a 27% drop in net investment income to $474m and saw net realised investment loses more than triple to $137m. Travelers’ pre-tax underwriting income dropped by 26% to $465m on net earned premiums of $5.30bn, down 1%, as favourable prior-year reserve development dropped to $258m from $400m. The combined ratio for the period rose three full points to 90.6%. Chairman and chief executive Jay Fishman noted that the “solid underwriting performance” and the group’s pleasure with “the quality of our investment portfolio” despite turbulent investment conditions. The group projects full-year operating income to be in a range of $4.50 to $4.90 a share versus analysts’ projections of $5.39 a share.