Property and casualty insurer State Auto Financial Corp. said Thursday it swung to a loss during the first quarter due to a record level of catastrophe losses during the first three months of the year.
State Auto Financial lost $12.5 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with earnings of $30.8 million, or 74 cents per share, during the same period the previous year.
Catastrophe losses totaled $35 million during the first quarter for State Auto Financial.
The results met the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
"On February 14, we reported that a series of catastrophic storms would significantly impact our first quarter results," Bob Restrepo, the company's chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement. "As the quarter developed, additional catastrophes occurring in the central states resulted in a record level of first quarter catastrophe losses totaling $35.0 million."
Because of the catastrophic claims, State Auto Financial's first-quarter combined ratio rose to 111.3 from 91.3 during the year-ago period.
Combined ratio measures an insurer's claims and expenses compared to its revenue generated by writing premiums. A ratio above 100 indicates the insurer is paying out more in claims and expenses than it is taking in from writing premiums.
Net premiums written increased to $325.2 million during the first quarter, from $247.5 million during the year-ago period.
Shares of State Auto Financial fell 59 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $27.76 in morning trading. Shares have traded between $23.29 and $32.41 during the past year.
Terms & Conditions
RSS Headlines
Fool UK