Canadian p&c insurers bolster results in first half of 2012

Federally regulated property and casualty insurers in Canada reported improved financial results for the first half of 2012, posting a collective quarterly profit of $1.52 billion as opposed to $1.09 billion for the same period last year.

Figures from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) show that insurers wrote net premiums of $15.9 billion for the first six months of this year, up from $14.5 billion for first half of 2011. Insurers also saw their investment income rise from $781.3 million from end of June last year to $842.9 million for the same period in 2012.

OSFI’s claims figures indicate that although quarterly claims ratios in the private passenger personal accident category — encompassing accident benefits — are holding steady, auto insurance liability figures are still stubbornly high.

In the auto insurance personal accident category, the claims ratio for Canadian p&c insurers rose marginally in 2012 Q2 to 59.99% (up from 56.87% in Q1). The auto liability claims ratio stayed relatively high, at 79.13% (down slightly from 80.69% in Q1).

Insurers also reported solid results in their claims ratio in personal property lines, although this figure increased from 52.87% in 2012 Q1 to 57.52% in Q2. On the commercial property side, the claims ratio Canadian p&c insurers decreased marginally to 63.18% in 2012 Q2. The total property claim ratio for the first half of 2012 was 59.44%.