- The Hartford (HIG, Financial) reported a 16% decrease in first quarter 2025 net income to $625 million.
- Property & Casualty written premiums grew by 9% in Q1 2025.
- Employee Benefits segment showed improved margins and a 23% increase in net income.
In the first quarter of 2025, The Hartford (HIG) announced a net income available to common stockholders of $625 million, or $2.15 per diluted share, representing a 16% decrease from $748 million, or $2.47 per diluted share, during the same period in 2024. Core earnings also saw a decline, falling 10% to $639 million, or $2.20 per diluted share, from $709 million, or $2.34 per diluted share, in the prior year.
The decrease in net income was largely attributed to Property & Casualty (P&C) current accident year (CAY) catastrophe losses, which amounted to $467 million, before tax. This included $325 million related to the January 2025 California Wildfire Event. Despite these setbacks, The Hartford saw a 9% increase in P&C written premiums driven by a 10% rise in Business Insurance premiums and an 8% rise in Personal Insurance premiums.
Business Insurance reported a strong quarter with a 10% growth in premiums and an underlying combined ratio of 88.4. However, the segment's net income fell to $477 million, compared to $573 million in the first quarter of 2024, due to increased CAT losses. Personal Insurance also recorded improvements with a 6.4 point betterment in the underlying combined ratio, although net income dropped to $5 million from $34 million in the previous year, primarily due to higher catastrophe losses.
The Employee Benefits segment saw significant improvements, with net income reaching $133 million, up from $108 million in the previous year, and a core earnings margin of 7.6%. The performance was driven by a favorable loss ratio in both group life and disability insurance, coupled with increased investment income.
The Hartford returned $550 million to stockholders during the first quarter, comprising $400 million in share repurchases and $150 million in dividends. CEO Christopher Swift emphasized the organization's focus on disciplined underwriting, pricing execution, and customer-centric solutions as key drivers in the company’s performance amid a challenging market environment.
