OLDWICK, N.J. - (Business Wire) The combined ratio for the total U.S. property/casualty sector hovered above the 100 mark in the first quarter of 2009, according to an A.M. Best Co. Statistical Study in the latest BestWeek U.S./Canada. At 100.6, the combined ratio was 0.8 points higher than the same period in 2008. The ratio was 98.1 for the top 25 property/casualty groups, up 1.1. Among the top 25 property/casualty writers, the highest ratios belonged to Erie Insurance Group, with 112.6; Auto-Owners Insurance Group, 111.4; and, both with 105.1, State Farm Group and Cincinnati Insurance Cos.

 

In BestWeek Europe, U.K. life insurers are facing a trading environment marked by low investment returns and diminishing new business as overall economic uncertainty dampens growth prospects. Across the sector, sales were down or static in the first quarter of 2009. Life companies continued to grapple with the effects of weak U.K. housing market and the resultant lower demand for mortgage-related insurance products. Weak equity prices, both among the stocks the insurers issue and those they own, are hobbling another pillar of financial support, BestWeek reported.

Also, in BestWeek U.S./Canada, when the markets headed sharply downhill last fall, companies suddenly had to re-assess their offers of guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits on variable annuities. The guarantees were great for policyholders who had seen their contract values so rapidly decline. But the declines tested the financial resilience of the insurers, and most have spent this year scaling back benefits and/or raising fees on their new contracts. Some have even temporarily stopped selling variable annuities, according to BestWeek.

BestWeek is published by A.M. Best Co. for insurance professionals. To subscribe, please visit www.ambest.com/sales/BestWeek, or e-mail your request to customer_service@ambest.com.

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.