Zurich: Swiss insurer Zurich Insurance Group on Thursday said net profits fell by 17 per cent to $1.85 billion (Dh6.8 billion, €1.39 billion) in the first half of the year on the back of weather-related disasters.
Analysts polled by Swiss financial newswire AWP had expected the group’s net income for the first six months of 2013 to be between $1.8-2.0 billion.
From April to June, net profit was down 27 per cent to $789 million compared to last year’s second quarter, the insurer said in a statement.
The group’s first-half operating profit was down by 9 per cent to $2.2 billion compared with the same period last year.
Its combined ratio — a measure of an insurers’ profitability — increased slightly to 95.6 per cent from 94.8 per cent in the first half of 2012.
Natural catastrophes
The insurer said it had achieved these results in a period “characterised by natural catastrophes and large weather-related events”, such as widespread flooding in central Europe and tornadoes in the United States, including a deadly twister in Oklahoma in May.
Zurich Insurance was still feeling the challenges of a weak global economy, the group added.
“The economic environment remains challenging with continued low interest rates exerting pressure on our investment income,” chief executive officer Martin Senn said in the statement.
The group said it was on track to meet some of its targets, such as those set for Global Life and expense savings.
But it said targets for General Insurance and Farmers “remain more challenging”.
