US P&C insurers impacted by Los Angeles fires: Q1 results

Initial figures published by AM Best indicate that the US non-life (P&C) market posted an underwriting loss of 1.1 billion USD at end-March 2025, compared with an underwriting profit of 9.4 billion USD for the same period in 2024.

This decline was primarily due to the heavy losses incurred as a result of the Los Angeles Forest fires in January 2025.

The combined ratio deteriorated by 5 points to 99.4%, against 94.4% a year earlier. This indicator includes, among other things, a natural catastrophe-related charge of 14.7%.

The operating result before tax fell by 34.4% to 19.6 billion USD. The market's net profit was down 50.4% year-on-year to 19.8 billion USD.