Cincinnati Financial announces preliminary Q4 pretax catastrophe losses of $141M

Cincinnati Financial announced that its consolidated fourth-quarter results are expected to include pretax catastrophe losses of approximately $141M, representing an impact on the fourth-quarter combined ratio of approximately 7.8 percentage points, based on estimated property casualty earned premiums. The company's five-year historical average contribution of catastrophe losses to the combined ratio is 3.9 percentage points for the fourth quarter. The catastrophe loss estimate includes $161M from Winter Storm Elliott, net of reinsurance and excluding any effects of reinstatement premiums assumed or ceded, in addition to less severe storms and favorable loss reserve development on previous catastrophe events, primarily ones that occurred in 2022. The estimate for total Q4 catastrophe losses incurred includes approximately $100M for the commercial lines insurance segment; $38M for the personal lines insurance segment; $2M for the excess and surplus lines insurance segment and $1M in total for Cincinnati Re and Cincinnati Global Underwriting Ltd. Estimated losses and expenses from catastrophe-related claims are expected to bring the company's fourth-quarter property casualty combined ratio to approximately 95%. The combined ratio before catastrophe losses for the quarter was approximately 2.5 percentage points better than that ratio for the first nine months of 2022 but continued to reflect increased uncertainty of estimated ultimate losses, due in part to elevated paid losses reflecting economic or other forms of inflation. Net written premium growth is estimated to be approximately 10% for the quarter.