Core earnings of the insurance firm came down by 4% to $527m compared to Q3 2019
Hartford's Q3 2020 net income down by 14% compared to Q3 2019. (Credit: The Hartford)
Hartford has reported a 14% fall in its net income available to common stockholders for the third quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020) at $453m compared to $524m in the same quarter of the previous year.
The US insurance major said that the decrease in net income was driven by $87m of restructuring costs, before tax, and also a reduction of $83m in net realised capital gains, before tax.
COVID-19 resulted in losses of $37m, before tax, in the reported quarter.
These were offset partially by a loss of $90m on extinguishment of debt, before tax, in Q3 2019.
Hartford’s net realised capital gains in the reported quarter included a loss of $51m before tax, incurred on the sale of its operations in continental Europe.
Core earnings of Hartford in Q3 2020
The core earnings for the US insurance major in Q3 2020 came down by 4% to $527m compared to $548m reported in Q3 2019.
Its core earnings per diluted share dipped by 3% to $1.46 in the reported quarter compared to $1.5 in the third quarter of 2019.
Hartford said that the decrease in Q3 2020 core earnings was largely because of an increase in catastrophe losses of $123m, before tax, and a $35m, before tax, change from income to loss on the equity interest retained in life and annuity insurance company Talcott Resolution.
These were offset slightly by an increase of an $89m, before tax, in property and casualty (P&C) underlying underwriting results, and an increase of $28m, before tax, in net favourable P&C prior accident year development.
Hartford’s written premiums in Q3 2020 came down by 2% to $2.19bn compared to $2.23bn in Q3 2019. The underwriting gain for the insurer in the reported quarter was $92m compared to $82m in Q3 2019.
Hartford chairman and CEO Christopher Swift said: “Investments in recent years in the digital transformation of our platform have enabled us to support our customers and distribution partners, while navigating the challenges the pandemic has brought to our daily lives.
“We entered this crisis with strong business fundamentals and are well-positioned to continue to effectively manage through these unprecedented times. As always, the enterprise remains focused on building greater value for all our stakeholders.”