Liberty Mutual reports strong Q1 profit growth despite rise in cat losses

Liberty Mutual Holding Company reported strong profit growth for the first quarter of 2021, with strong investment performance making up for a significant increase in cat losses, particularly related to winter storms in the US.

Liberty Mutual reported net profit of $856 million in Q1 2021, up nearly 65 percent on the $519 million reported in the same period of 2020.

Net written premiums (NWP) in Q1 came in at $10.4 billion, up from $10 billion the previous year. The global risk solutions business reported GWP of $3.56 billion, up from $3.52 billion the previous year.   Liberty Mutual’s combined ratio for the quarter was 101.5 percent, up from 96.3 percent in Q1 2020.

David Long, chairman and chief executive officer at Liberty Mutual, said: “Catastrophe losses in the quarter were $1 billion, up $734 million from the prior year quarter, including $690 million from the February winter storms, which impacted Texas and other states.”

Cat losses had been “more than offset” by strong investment results, he added. Long said: “Overall, it was a strong quarter despite an elevated level of catastrophe losses, and we are pleased with the progress we're making toward key business objectives."

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.