QBE Insurance posted a bigger adjusted annual loss than it forecast two months ago and decided against a final dividend on Friday, as COVID-19-related provisions and catastrophe claims surged.
The company incurred an adjusted net cash loss of $863 million for the year ended Dec. 31, larger than the $780 million it forecast in December. It had last year posted an adjusted profit of $733 million.
Pandemic-induced lockdowns have led to a spike in claims related to business interruptions, while wildfires, hurricanes and bad weather have hit its U.S. crop insurance business.
QBE posted a combined operating ratio of 104.2%, which indicates that claims, costs and expenses for the year exceeded premiums earned.
Excluding $655 million in COVID-19 impacts, combined operating ratio would have been 94%, the company said.
The insurer had upwardly revised its risk margins for COVID-19-related claims by $185 million in January after a defeat in UK courts over paying business interruption claims to policyholders impacted by lockdowns.
(This story corrects to say 'adjusted' annual loss in headline and 1st paragraph)
(Reporting by Arpit Nayak in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Arun Koyyur)
