American International Group (AIG) has posted a net loss of $6.7bn for last year’s fourth quarter, compare to $3bn for the same period in 2016.
The company stated that it suffered around $762m in losses from catastrophes in the general insurance category, including $572m for California’s wild fires.
The one-off charge related to the recent tax reform law resulted in the company's present loss.
Its adjusted after-tax income was $526m for the last quarter, compared to an adjusted after-tax loss of $2.8bn last year.
In January, AIG agreed to acquire Bermuda-based Validus for $5.5bn to enter reinsurance business. The company also expects to enter Lloyd’s market by adding Talbot.
AIG’s general insurance segment saw an adjusted pre-tax income of $13m in the fourth quarter of last year.
Net premiums written in the general insurance category had fallen by 10% to $5.89bn during last year’s fourth quarter.
AIG president and CEO Brian Duperreault said: “The fourth quarter was another important step forward in positioning AIG for the future. Since I joined the company in May, we’ve added to our talent base, assessed and initiated underwriting actions, and established a new operating structure.
“2017 represents a starting point from which we expect to build and 2018 will be a year of execution. Our actions to diversify our business and pursue profitable growth were further reflected in our January announcement of the acquisition of Validus.”
AIG said that the despite the $4.2bn in catastrophe losses, the company recorded about $1.5bn in pre-tax income and more than $3bn in adjusted pre-tax income.
Image: AIG in New York. Photo: Courtesy of Marc Bryan-Brown/Wikipedia.org.