So, Travelers reported year-end results this morning — an event that many folks in the insurance industry have an interest in. Travelers is, after all, an 800-pound gorilla in insurance circles (outside, perhaps, of personal lines), and under almost any rock in the industry, you can find an ex-Travelers, ex-St. Paul, ex-USF&G or ex-”old Aetna” professional. (Sometimes it’s a professional satisfying several or all of those ex-es, since we are a small, incestuous industry.)
If you were just skimming the headlines, you might get a misleading or conflicting impression of what the results looked like.
For instance, one AP reporter lead with:
Travelers 4th-Quarter Earnings Fall 11 Percent on Lower Premiums
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones wire announced (WSJ.com subscriber link):
Travelers Posts 11% Drop in Net Amid Higher Claim Costs
So, which is it?
Well, the answer is a bit more complicated than that. To avoid my own rule about not posting on matters “too close to home” (part of the day job involves analyzing competitors) I’ll just direct you to the Travelers’ investor page for you to judge for yourself.
