A new report from AM Best’s special report series, entitled First Look: 6-Month 2023 US Property/Casualty Financial Results, summarizes that industry’s underwriting losses for the first half of the year saying the industry’s homeowners’ line of business was primarily responsible for the decline in results.
The ratings company, compiling data from companies which account for an estimated 98 per cent of total industry net premiums written, found that the U.S. property and casualty (P&C) industry recorded a $24.5-billion net underwriting loss in the first half of 2023, “nearly eclipsing the $26.5-billion in total losses recorded for all of 2022,” the report’s authors state.
They add that catastrophe losses accounted for 9.6 percentage points on the six-month 2023 combined ratio, up from an estimated 5.6 points in the prior year. All told, the industry’s combined ratio deteriorated to 104.5.
“Secondary perils continued to drive poor loss experience as we see in the catastrophe losses for the first half of 2023,” says AM Best’s senior industry research analyst, Christopher Graham.
