MAPFRE is the largest private passenger auto insurer in Massachusetts
Webster-based MAPFRE USA says that it has returned to profitability in 2016, will a $54-million-dollar net profit for the first nine months of 2016. In addition, the company also announced that it had generated insurance revenue of $2,157 million in the U.S. market through September. This was largely driven by its dominant market share positions in both Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The P&C insurance business was also strong, showing a 7.4 percent increase in premiums, for the same period. This is good news for the insurer which had suffered a $56-million-dollar loss in 2015 stemming from the heavy snowstorms through the Northeast during the winter of 2014.
As for its North American business, which includes Puerto Rico and Canada in addition to the USA, also saw an uptick in profits. The company recorded premiums of $2.5 billion for the first nine months of 2016. In total, MAPRFRE’s North American Region accounts for 12 percent of the company’s total global premiums and approximately 9 percent of its profits.
Safety Insurance is the second largest auto insurer in Massachusetts
On November 1, 2016, Safety Insurance released its Third Quarter Results for 2016. A publicly traded company (NASDAQ:SAFT), Boston-based Safety Insurance is the second largest P&C insurer in the Commonwealth.
According to its quarterly results, net income for the Commonwealth’s second largest P&C insurer was $52.6 million for the first nine months of 2016 which ended on September 30, 2016, or $3.48 per diluted share. Like MAPFRE, 2016 has seen a return to profitability for the company which had a net loss of $24.1 million, or $1.62 per diluted share, during the same comparable time period in 2015.
Net income for the third quarter only, totaled $18.6 million, or $1.23 per diluted share while Direct written premiums for the same quarter also increased by $8.8 million, or 4.3%, to $213.2 million. As for Direct written premiums for the first nine months of 2016, those increased by $18.1 million. This represents a 3 percent increase from $612.4 million to $630.5 million when compared during the same nine-month period from 2015 to 2016.
In explaining the increase in its report, Safety noted that, “The 2016 increase occurred primarily in our homeowners and commercial automobile lines of business, which experienced increases in average written premium per exposure of 8.0% and 7.0% respectively. Our private passenger automobile line of business has also experienced an increase of 2.7% in average written premium per exposure.”
In addition to announcing a return to profitability in 2016, the insurer also noted that its Board of Directors has “…approved and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.70 per share on the issued and outstanding common stock, payable on December 15, 2016 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 1, 2016.”
Both MAPFRE & Safety announced changes to their top leadership this year
The year 2016 saw changes at the top for both of the Commonwealth’s largest Property & Casualty insurers. In January of this year, Safety Insurance announced the retirement of its President and CEO David Brussard. In his place, the Board of Directors named George M. Murphy, a 27-veteran of the company as Safety’s new President and CEO, effective April 1, 2016.
For its part, MAPRE USA also announced a leadership change in 2016. In May of this year, The Board of Directors, of MAPFRE. S.A., promoted MAPFRE USA CEO, Jaime Tamayo, to CEO of the International Territorial Area of MAPFRE. It also announced that Alfredo Castelo will succeed Mr. Tamayo, as the new CEO of MAPFRE USA on January 1, 2017.
