The Travelers Cos. Inc. posted an 11 percent drop in first-quarter profits as catastrophe losses ate into the insurer’s bottom line.
For the three months ended March 31, Travelers said Thursday it netted $617 million, or $2.17 a diluted share, compared to $691 million, or $2.30 a diluted share, in the year-ago period.
Travelers, which is based in New York but has major Hartford operations, said that “significant” first-quarter, after-tax property-casualty losses totaled $226 million.
Revenue for the quarter totaled $6.9 billion vs. $6.7 billion in the year-ago period.
CEO Alan Schnitzer said loss trends were “stable and consistent with our expectations” for all of its businesses.”
During the quarter, the company also announced an agreement to purchase Simply Business, a United Kingdom provider of insurance to small businesses, to enhance Travelers’ digital products and services.
