UK-based composite Aviva said this morning that its 2009 non-life profits were reduced by £100m ($161m) because of storm damage in the UK and Ireland in the last three months of 2009. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Greig Paterson concluded that Aviva's reporting of this, and its comments about bad weather in Ireland at the end of the year, "implies that the non-life combined ratio could be 50 basis points to 100 basis points worse than our current estimate of 98% for the full year". The company said that "in our general insurance business we continue to write business for profit not for volume", although it also said that "returning to top-line growth is a priority". On the life side, Aviva said that "sales in the fourth quarter were encouraging and we saw an improvement in customers' propensity to save". Worldwide total sales declined 10% to £36bn. In Europe for the year, life and pensions sales rose 5% to £13.523bn, with a 39% increase from Q3 to Q4. The quarter-on-quarter rise in the UK was 17%, while in the US it was 45%. In the US, new business sales were £4.545bn, down 20% year on year (33% down on a local currency basis). Aviva said that "this reflected our continued focus on increasing capital efficiency by moderating the pace of annuity sales compared to the prior year, growing our life insurance business and our decision not to write funding agreement sales in 2009". Total long-term savings sales in Asia-Pacific were £2.663bn, down from £3.466bn. The Aviva-COFCO joint venture in China reported a 15% increase in sales to £340m, "reinforcing our position as one of the top three foreign insurers in the market". The capital surplus rose to £4.5bn, from £2bn at the end of the previous year, making it one of the most strongly-capitalized insurers in a Solvency 1 basis.

German reinsurer Hannover Re experienced a 0.3% decline in renewal pricing overall at the January 1 renewals, the company said yesterday. It predicted "modest premium growth" this year, despite the rate reductions in catastrophe business because of the exceptionally benign 2009. Rate increases were pushed through in aviation ("lower double-digits virtually across the board") and credit/surety ("sometimes running into double-digit percentages"). Treaty renewals in Germany were termed "more favourable than anticipated", with rate increases in motor business non-proportional treaties up by an average of 5%. About two-thirds of Hannover Re's €4.377bn in non-life reinsurance that Hannover Re writes (not including facultative business and structured covers) came up for renewal on January 1. Of the €2.976bn, €2.714bn was renewed. Treaties worth €263m were either cancelled or renewed in a modified form. Increases of €394m from new treaties or modified existing treaties brought total renewed volume to €3.108bn. Hannover Re expects gross premiums written this year to exceed last year's €4.53bn. It is targeting a return on equity of at least 15%. The company anticipates paying a dividend of 35% to 40% of IFRS consolidated post-tax income.

Bermuda-domiciled re/insurer White Mountains Insurance Group swung to net income of $470m for 2009 from a prior-year loss of $555.3m, as underwriting results benefited from a benign Atlantic hurricane season, and investments results rebounded from deep losses. The group's earned premiums fell 3% to $3.60bn, but that decline was offset by a 15% drop in claim losses to $2.12bn. Net realized and unrealized investment results for the year swung to a gain of $395.8m, from prior-year losses of $1.16bn. Primary insurance unit OneBeacon swung to pre-tax income of $456.9m from a pre-tax loss of $600.6m in 2008, as earned premiums grew 4.3% to $1.96bn and realized and unrealized investment results swung to gains of $248.5m from losses of $763.6m. OneBeacon's combined ratio improved to 94% from 95%. The group's White Mountains Re subsidiary swung to pre-tax income of $386.3m from a prior-year pre-tax loss of $253.1m, as a 14% drop in earned premiums to $858.8m was offset by a 44% decline in claim losses to $418.8m. The reinsurance unit's combined ratio improved to 80% from 106%, while its realized and unrealized investment results rebounded to gains of $101.8 from losses of $284.5m.

Global broker Willis Group Holdings has posted improved earnings for both Q4 2009 and the year as a whole, largely reflecting the added commissions and fees accruing from its acquisition of US broker Hilb Rogal & Hobbs. For the year, net income rose 45% to $438m, as a 17% increase in commissions and fees to $3.21bn offset an 11% rise in total expenses to $2.57bn. Operating margin for the year was 21.3%, up from 17.8% in 2008. For Q4, net income grew 27% to $79m, as commissions and fees increased 4.4% to $809m. Earnings per share for the quarter were 47¢, 10¢ above Q4 2008 but a penny below analysts' forecast. Willis also announced that Stephen Wood, its global group financial controller, has been named interim chief financial officer, with effect from February 19. He replaces Patrick Regan, who is departing to become CFO of UK insurer Aviva.