Earnings

Chubb had previously recorded more than $1.4bn in pandemic claims, most in the form of IBNR, and its Q4 claims takedown is the most substantial reserve release to date by a publicly-traded insurer.

The two brokers reported quarterly earnings and were optimistic about the coming year.

The company’s 79% jump in underwriting income to $109mn benefitted from $61mn in reserve releases.

The Chicago-based insurer also grew NPW by 11.1%, its fastest clip in recent memory.

Both firms posted results and looked towards future pricing, loss cost trends, and renewals.

CFO Douglas Howell told analysts that the giant broker currently has $4bn to spend on M&A opportunities over the next four years.

The CEO said he so far had seen no slowdown of business moving into the non-admitted channel.

The consolidated organic growth number was Gallagher’s best of the year, and a sharp increase from its 2.6% growth level a year ago.

The carrier’s 88.2% combined ratio was its lowest since at least 2007; it also boosted GWP by 25%.

Rates across Axis’s insurance book rose by 14% in 2021, roughly matching the 14% rate increases Axis said it achieved across its insurance portfolio in 2020.

The executive also said that in many cases, the increases in ceding commissions that buyers were looking for were “too much”.

The broker went on a hiring spree in 2021, a year that also saw the business post its best-ever results.