CATASTROPHES PUSHED DOWN US INSURERS’ 2018 OPERATING INCOME BY 6.7%

Hurricane and wildfire losses weighed down US publicly-traded property/casualty insurers for the second consecutive year in 2018, helping to reduce the sector’s operating income for the year by 6.7%, according to a report by AM Best. Loss totals were higher than average in commercial and personal property lines and motor physical damage owing to several hurricanes and California’s record wildfires, the report said. The downturn in equity markets at the end of the year helped reduce annual investment income by 3.2%, outpacing the sector’s 3.1% increase in premiums.