Selective Insurance’s Q2 Profit Rises 8% to $29M

July 31, 2014

Selective Insurance Group in Branchville, New Jersey, reported its 2014 second quarter net profit rose to $29.341 million, up 8.2 percent from $27.122 million profit during last year’s second quarter.

Total net premiums written (NPW) for the second quarter rose to $479.8 million, up 3.8 percent from $462.2 million last year.

Looking at the second quarter NPW by segments, Standard Commercial Lines NPW rose to $363.8 million, up 3.8 percent from $350.6 million last year. Standard Personal Lines NPW were $78.2 million, down 0.9 percent from $78.9 million last year. Selective said that decrease was due to the company’s strategic non-renewal of dwelling fire business and the reduction in monoline homeowners. And in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, NPW rose to $37.8 million, up 15.6 percent from $32.7 million last year.

The overall GAAP combined ratio for the second quarter improved to 97.8 percent, compared to 98.9 percent in the prior-year second quarter.

The second quarter catastrophe losses, pre-tax, were $27.2 million, compared to $19.6 million in the prior-year second quarter. Meanwhile, the company also experienced higher non-catastrophe property losses, pre-tax, of $73 million in the second quarter, compared to $52.1 million last year.

The company said favorable prior year statutory reserve development on casualty lines, pre-tax, totaled $17.5 million, compared to $1.5 million during last year’s second quarter.

The second quarter net investment income, after tax, was $27.4 million, up 6.6 percent from $25.7 million last year.

“Our underwriting results continued to improve despite the impact of severe weather in the second quarter and we expect ongoing improvements over the balance of the year,” said Chairman and CEO Gregory E. Murphy. He said the increase in overall net premiums written was driven by strong renewal pure price increases.

Murphy said the Standard Commercial Lines renewal pure price increased 5.9 percent and retention was solid at 82 percent. Additionally, Standard Personal Lines renewal pure price increased 6.5 percent.

Topics Profit Loss

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