Net income up for ACE in third quarter

ACE Ltd. has reported a net income of $916 million for the third quarter of the year, up from $640 million in the comparable quarter of 2012.

The company’s net operating income also increased over last year’s third quarter, from $688 million then to $857 million.

For the first nine months of the year, ACE reported a net income of $2.76 billion, up from $1.94 billion in the first nine months of last year. Operating income for the first nine months was also up slightly, from $2.13 billion last year to $2.39 billion this year.

The property and casualty combined ratio was 86.5% compared with 92.0% last year, while the global P&C combined ratio was 85.0% compared with 84.4% last year, ACE reported.

“ACE had another record quarter driven by exceptionally strong underwriting results and double-digit constant-dollar global P&C premium revenue growth,” Evan G. Greenberg, the firm’s chairman and CEO commented in a statement on the results.

“While we benefited from a relatively benign quarter for catastrophes, more fundamentally, we experienced margin improvement in both North America, as a result of better pricing and mix of business, and internationally, as a result of product and geographic mix.

“We also continued to benefit from our portfolio management capabilities, which are an essential component of good underwriting management, combined with our broad product offering, physical geographic presence and culture of execution discipline.

Global P&C net premiums written, which exclude agriculture, grew 9% in the quarter and over 10.5% on a constant-dollar basis, Greenberg also noted, and the company experienced revenue growth across its insurance businesses, including commercial P&C, accident and health, personal lines and life, and across geographies (North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America).