(Reuters) – American International Group Inc beat market estimates for first-quarter profit on Thursday, as record insurance profits cushioned the blow from lower alternative investment returns.
AIG, one of the world’s largest commercial insurers, said net premiums written in its general insurance business for the quarter ended March rose 5% to $6.97 billion.
Adjusted earnings after tax attributable to the company’s common stockholders rose to $1.63 per share, from $1.49 per share a year ago. Analysts on average had expected $1.42 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Total consolidated net investment income rose 9% to $3.5 billion, partially offset by lower alternative investment income, AIG said.
Rising interest rates and a banking crisis that led to the failure of three US lenders rattled markets and posed a risk to parts of the insurance companies̵
7; investment portfolio.“The environment we operate in is constantly changing and remains volatile and unpredictable,” said CEO Peter Zaffino.
The New York-based company’s general insurance underwriting increased 13% to $502 million, the strongest underwriting performance for the first quarter, the insurer said.
Non-life insurance’s total accident rate for the year was 88.7%, compared to 89.5% a year earlier. The measure excludes catastrophe losses, and a ratio below 100 means the insurer earns more in premiums than it pays out in claims.
Last month, peer insurer Travelers Companies Inc. reported a drop in profit as catastrophe losses soared due to storms in the United States in March.
Corebridge Financial, whose largest shareholder is AIG, will report quarterly results next week.
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