AIG Q1 Underwriting Income More Than Halved on Wildfire Losses

First quarter underwriting income in AIG’s General Insurance segment dropped 59% compared to last year, to $243 million.

The unit—North America commercial, International commercial, and global personal—recorded $525 million in catastrophe-related charges in Q1 2025, compared to $106 million for Q1 2024. About $460 million in losses were from the California wildfires.

AIG’s personal lines business recorded a Q1 underwriting loss of $126 million compared to a gain of $30 million a year ago. The combined ratio for global personal lines was 107.9 from 98.3 for Q1 2024 due to this year’s wildfires. However, net premiums written (NPW) grew 3% on a comparable basis (constant-dollar basis), in large part from growth in personal auto.

Looking beyond the catastrophe losses, AIG CEO Peter Zaffino in a statement said the insurer had an “excellent start” to the year, producing “very strong results.” The combined ratio for General Insurance was 95.8, and the accident-year combined ratio was 87.8, the best Q1 result since the financial crisis, he said.

Related: AIG: Turning One Human Underwriter Into Five, ‘Turbocharging’ E&S

“While the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical environment remains uncertain, AIG is navigating these challenges from a position of strength given our global diversified portfolio, disciplined underwriting, and resilient balance sheet,” Zaffino added.

Underwriting income fell 45% and 27% for North America commercial and International commercial, respectively. The Q1 combined ratio for North America commercial worsened 5.8 points to 93.9 and International commercial was 88.2 compared to 83.6 last year.

But AIG said NPW of North American commercial grew 14%, thanks primarily to its Lexington Insurance division. International commercial NPW grew NPW 8% on a comparable basis.

AIG reported first quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $698 million, down 41.5% from the same period a year ago. The company said the decrease was largely attributable the inclusion of Corebridge Financial in results for the first quarter a year ago, prior to its deconsolidation. Adjusted aftertax income for Q1 attributable to shareholders was $702 million, down from $862 million a year ago during the same period.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Profit Loss Wildfire Underwriting AIG