Travelers Profit Rises on Stronger Underwriting, Lower Catastrophe Losses

Property/casualty insurance giant Travelers reported a jump in first-quarter profit, buoyed by robust underwriting gains and lower catastrophe losses than a year earlier when results were severely hit by the Los Angeles wildfires.

Shares of the company, whose earnings often serve as a bellwether for the sector as well as broader underwriting trends, were down marginally in volatile trading on Thursday.

Global insurance spending remained resilient in the first quarter of 2026, as heightened geopolitical risks spurred demand for protection even as a military escalation in the Middle East led to a spike in energy prices and worsened inflation.

Industry data showed a strong appetite for both personal and commercial policies.

Travelers reported a core profit of $1.7 billion, or $7.71 per share, compared with $443 million, or $1.91 per share, a year earlier.

Its underwriting gain came in at $1.17 billion, compared with an underwriting loss of $305 million in the year-ago period.

“Catastrophe losses for the quarter totaled $761 million pre-tax, with the largest events being the winter storm that impacted much of the country in January and a large tornado-hail event in March,” said CFO Dan Frey on a call with analysts.

That compares with $2.27 billion in catastrophe losses a year earlier.

The company also has a diversified investment portfolio, a massive chunk of which goes into fixed income, which helps it maintain a good return even during a stock market downturn such as in the first three months of 2026.

Net investment income rose 9% after tax to $833 million in the first quarter.

“These results, along with our exceptionally strong balance sheet, enabled us to return more than $2.2 billion of excess capital to our shareholders during the quarter, including $2.0 billion of share repurchases,” said CEO Alan Schnitzer in a statement.

Shares of the company have gained about 3.2% so far in 2026, outperforming broader markets.

(Reporting by Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)