Generali: Good Business Growth and Operating Profit Over the First Nine Months

Generali's property and casualty business is delivering fair results. The business has written 9.8% more gross premium so far in 2024 than it did over 2023. This rise is mainly from higher motor insurance sales, but excluding Argentina, the rise in written gross premiums in motor is over 10 percentage points lower at 6.3%. The undiscounted 2024 loss ratio is better by around 1.3 percentage points to 65.9% and the impact of natural catastrophes is flat. The EUR 952 million in natural catastrophe claims include weather events in Austria, Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, and Italy. On top of the 50-basis-point improvement in the undiscounted loss ratio, Generali has improved its expense ratio by 90 basis points over the first nine months. These improvements in underwriting have flowed through to EUR 2.2 billion of operating profit, though the lower discounting benefit has been a substantial offset.