Results Were First Reported on April 24, 2025
The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG) reported a 16% decline in first quarter 2025 net income available to common stockholders, totaling $625 million, or $2.15 per diluted share, compared with $748 million, or $2.47 per diluted share, in the same quarter a year ago. Core earnings fell 10% to $639 million, or $2.20 per diluted share, from $709 million, or $2.34 per diluted share, in Q1 2024.
The quarter’s results reflected $467 million in pre-tax current accident year catastrophe losses, including $325 million tied to the January 2025 California Wildfire Event. The Hartford also reported a shift from net realized investment gains in 2024 to net losses in 2025.
Chairman and CEO Christopher Swift said, “The Hartford is off to a strong start in 2025, delivering a trailing 12-month core earnings ROE of 16.2 percent. Disciplined underwriting and pricing execution, exceptional talent, and innovative customer-centric solutions continue to drive our performance in a dynamic market environment that included elevated industry-wide catastrophe losses.”
Return on equity (ROE) based on net income was 18.8% for the trailing 12 months, while core earnings ROE stood at 16.2%. Book value per diluted share rose 14% to $57.07, or 10% to $65.99 excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI).
Property & Casualty Results
Total written premiums in the P&C segment increased 9%, driven by 10% growth in Business Insurance and 8% growth in Personal Insurance.
Business Insurance net income fell to $477 million from $573 million, while core earnings declined to $471 million from $546 million. The segment’s combined ratio rose to 94.4 from 90.1, reflecting a 4.8-point increase in catastrophe losses. The underlying combined ratio remained flat at 88.4.
Business Insurance’s written premiums totaled $3.7 billion, supported by premium growth across all sub-segments and strong new business gains, particularly in Small Business and Global Specialty.
Personal Insurance results were significantly impacted by catastrophe losses, with net income dropping to $5 million from $34 million. Core earnings declined to $6 million from $33 million. The segment posted a combined ratio of 106.1, up from 101.6, driven by 14.4 points of higher CATs. However, the underlying combined ratio improved 6.4 points to 89.7.
Personal Auto posted a combined ratio improvement of 10.4 points to 93.5, while Homeowners’ combined ratio surged to 133.2 due to significant CAT losses. Written premiums grew to $913 million, with renewal pricing increases of 15.8% in auto and 12.3% in homeowners.
Employee Benefits and Investment Performance
The Employee Benefits segment delivered strong growth, with net income rising 23% to $133 million and core earnings up 27% to $136 million. The segment’s core earnings margin improved to 7.6% from 6.1% a year earlier. The loss ratio improved by 1.6 points to 71.9, driven by favorable group life and disability experience.
Net investment income across the enterprise grew 11% to $656 million, supported by higher yields and income from limited partnerships. The annualized investment yield increased to 4.3% from 4.1%. LP income rose to $39 million, up from $16 million in Q1 2024.
Capital Return and Financial Position
The Hartford returned $550 million to shareholders during the quarter, including $400 million in share repurchases and $150 million in dividends. The company ended the quarter with $60.1 billion in total invested assets, a $0.9 billion increase from year-end 2024.
CFO Beth Costello noted, “Business Insurance had a strong quarter with top-line growth of 10 percent and an underlying combined ratio of 88.4. Personal Insurance achieved 6.4 points of underlying combined ratio improvement. Employee Benefits continued to outperform with a core earnings margin of 7.6 percent.”
Swift added, “We are well positioned to sustain our momentum, achieving profitable growth with industry-leading ROEs in 2025 and beyond.”
