Spain's Mapfre 9-month net profit surges on benign weather, higher prices

(Reuters) - Spain's largest insurer Mapfre said on Tuesday its net profit rose 39% in first nine months of the year as higher prices and more benign weather and less severe natural disasters lifted its non-life business' profitability.

The firm's net profit jumped to 654 million euros ($803.80 million) on 21.62 billion euros in premiums.

Non-Life combined ratio = the industry's key profitability measure - has improved by 2 percentage points, settling at 94.8%. This favourable shift is attributed to premium increases on insurance policies and fewer and less severe natural disasters as a result of more benign weather. A devastating earthquake in Turkey in early 2023 had cost the company more than 100 million euros in the first half of last year.

Mapfre also recorded a 90 million-euro accounting loss on the writedown of the value of Verti Germany, its auto insurance unit.



The company had already booked a 75 million euro writedown on its car insurance business last year in the U.S. where prices of cars and car parts were rising faster than insurance premiums.

($1 = 0.9250 euros)

Source: Investing.com