Travelers, Chubb and Aflac report strong insurance results

According to CNBC, Travelers Cos. reported second-quarter core earnings per share of $10.04, nearly double the consensus estimate of about $5.39, and its stock rose almost 8% to a record high. The company said income was $2.2 billion, return on equity was 24.9%, catastrophe losses fell to $518 million from $927 million a year earlier, and investment income increased 14% year over year. Management said about half a point of the Business Insurance underlying loss ratio improvement came from AI-driven claims processing, while Travelers bought back $1.31 billion of stock and paid $266 million in dividends in the quarter. The article also said Chubb Ltd. raised its dividend 5.2% in May to $4.08 a year, marking its 33rd consecutive annual increase, while Aflac Inc. continued its 43-year streak of dividend growth. Chubb reported first-quarter operating EPS of $6.82, net premiums written of $14 billion and net investment income growth of 9.5%, and management guided second-quarter net investment income to $1.825 billion to $1.85 billion. Aflac said Japan sales rose 25.5% in the first quarter, margins widened to 35.0% from 31.8%, and the company returned $1.3 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.