Property and casualty insurer Travelers Companies Inc. reported a 20 percent fall in quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by hurricane-related claims and lower returns on its investments.
The company’s core income fell to $526 million, or $2.20 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $655 million, or $2.60 per share, a year earlier.
New York-based Travelers, often seen as a bellwether for the insurance sector as it typically reports before its industry peers, posted record net written premiums growth of 10 percent to $9.2 billion in the quarter.
Hurricanes Ian and Fiona, as well as severe storms in many U.S. regions, pushed the insurer’s pretax catastrophe losses to $512 million from $501 million last year….