Brought to you by:

Talanx profit declines after catastrophe losses

HDI Global parent Talanx has reported a 30% decline in nine-month earnings after warning its third quarter would be hit by hurricanes in the US and Caribbean and earthquakes in Mexico.

Earnings fell to €444 million ($691.9 million), while the combined operating ratio deteriorated to 103.1% from 96.6% in the corresponding period last year.

Chairman Herbert Haas says Talanx still expects a dividend payout at least equal to a year earlier.

“This shows the group is in a solid and robust position and can also cope with exceptionally severe loss events,” he said.

Losses worth €327 million ($509.6 million) are attributed to primary insurance, while €894 million ($1.39 billion) is attributed to reinsurance.

Gross written premium grew 6.3% to €25.2 billion ($39.3 billion), with the industrial lines division reporting gains in Australia, Hong Kong, the UK, France and Japan.

HDI Global Australasia MD Stefan Feldmann says Australia generated double-digit growth in the first three quarters, delivering solid underwriting results.

“The Australasian office is nicely positioned to benefit from the firming of the insurance market in Australia,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Talanx forecasts full-year net profit will rise to about €850 million ($1.32 billion) next year from its €650 million ($1 billion) forecast for this year.