A milder storm season late last year has helped some key Hartford insurers pad their bottom lines.
Property and casualty insurers The Travelers Cos. and The Hartford Financial Services Group both recently reported significant jumps in fourth quarter profits, thanks to steep declines in catastrophic losses.
The Hartford booked $314 million in fourth quarter profits, reversing a $46 million loss a year earlier, while Travelers netted $304 million in the three-month period ending Dec. 31, up from a $439 million loss in 2012.
The wild earnings swings had a lot to do with Superstorm Sandy, which ravaged the East Coast in October 2012 leaving behind upwards of $35 billion in insured property damage. That left insurers like Travelers and The Hartford on the hook for thousands of claims to repair damaged vehicles, homes and businesses.
The October-December 2013 period avoided major storms.
— Greg Bordonaro
