Life insurance industry showed signs of improvement whereas the property and casualty insurance industry continued to decline
Highline Data Performance Monitor has revealed that the property and casualty insurance industry has continued to decline in the second quarter of 2009, with a 54.3% year-over-year drop in net income.
This drop comes on the heels of last quarter’s 89% year-over-year decline in net income. The continued global economic downturn contributed to the industry-wide decline, leaving 60% of the property and casualty companies included in the Highline Hundred suffering from drops in net income, claims Highline Data.
Four companies had losses greater than $500 million year-over-year. Positive signs were seen in total assets and policyholder surplus, which increased in the second quarter after showing declines in the first quarter.
The Performance Monitor also revealed that the life insurance industry’s net gain from operations totalled $36 billion, a 30.7% increase over last year’s $27.5 billion. Capital and surplus for the life insurance industry showed a slight increase of 1.7%, and separate account assets, which had seen the worst losses, increased 4.3%. The Net premiums continued to decline by 6.5% overall in the second quarter, primarily driven by an 8.4% decrease in group insurance.