General insurer lifts profit as disaster payouts drop
Home and vehicle insurer QBE experienced full-year earnings growth due to higher premiums and fewer natural disaster payouts.
The listed entity, which also has a commercial insurance arm and operations in Australia and abroad, said first-half net profit rose 21 per cent to US$2.2 billion ($3.1 billion).
QBE Insurance said it had a “positive catastrophe experience” across its operations, with claims totaling US$751 million ($1.1 billion) for calendar 2025, or about four per cent of net insurance revenue.
This represented an improvement of almost six percent from the previous year and was significantly below the 2025 budget of US$1.2 billion ($1.7 billion).
“QBE has delivered a strong performance in 2025, exceeding our financial plan for this year,” said Group CEO Andrew Horton, adding that the year ahead looks constructive for further growth.
Gross written premiums for the full year rose seven percent to $US24 billion ($34 billion), compared to forecasts for a “mid-single-digit” increase.
“Insurance profitability remained ahead of our plan this year, following a similar result in 2024,” he said in a statement on Friday.
“The combined operating ratio increased to 91.9 percent from 93.1 percent in the previous year, supported by positive disaster results.”
Looking ahead, QBE again forecasts full-year gross written premium growth in constant currency terms to be in the mid-single digits.
The Sydney-based insurer will pay a final dividend of 78 cents, taking 2025’s total to $1.09 from 87 cents in 2024.
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