Decline of over 29 percent in net income compared to 2016
The private U.S. property/casualty insurance industry saw its net income after taxes drop to $15.5 billion in first-half 2017 from $21.8 billion in first-half 2016—a 29.2 percent decline—and its overall profitability as measured by its annualized rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus fall to 4.4 percent from 6.4 percent, according to ISO, a Verisk (NASDAQ:VRSK) business, and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).
The industry experienced $17.1 billion in direct catastrophe losses—$3.2 billion above the direct catastrophe losses for first-half 2016. Insurers’ combined ratio deteriorated to