Chubb reports $579 million net income for Q2

The Chubb Corp. reported Thursday a net income for $579 million for the second quarter of the year, up from $404 million in the same quarter of 2012.

Operating income, which the company defines as net income excluding after-tax realized investment gains and losses, was $463 million in the second quarter of 2013, compared to $374 million in the second quarter of 2012.

The impact of catastrophes in the second quarter of 2013 was $237 million before tax, related mainly to various severe storms in the central United States and storms and flooding in southern Alberta. In the second quarter of 2012, the impact of catastrophes was $223 million before tax.

Chubb’s second quarter combined loss and expense ratio also improved to 88.8% in 2013 from 93.8% in 2012. The impact of catastrophes accounted for 7.9 percentage points of the combined ratio in the second quarter of 2013, compared to 7.5 points in the second quarter of 2012. Excluding the impact of catastrophes, the second quarter combined ratio was 80.9% in 2013 and 86.3% in 2012.

For the first six months of 2013, net income was $1.2 billion compared to $910 million in the first half of 2012. Net income per share for the first half increased 42% to a record $4.69 from $3.31.

The impact of catastrophes in the first six months of 2013 was $255 million before tax, compared to $247 million before tax in the first half of 2012.

The combined ratio for the first six months was 86.7% in 2013 compared to 92.0% in 2012.