- Travelers Companies' first-quarter profit rose 13%, driven by higher investment income and strong underwriting that offset a hit from a jump in catastrophe losses, the insurance bellwether said on Wednesday.
Renewal premium - the estimated average premium on renewing policies - was 10.6% higher in the reported quarter from a year earlier in the business insurance unit, Travelers' biggest, while growth in personal insurance was driven by higher prices, the company said.Underwriting gains jumped 57% to $577 million, while net investment income rose about 28% to $846 million, thanks to a string of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve to curb inflation, the company said.
The company's core income rose to $1.1 billion, or $4.69 per share, for the three months ended March 31, compared with $970 million, or $4.11 per share, a year earlier. Jerry Dean McLain first bet on former president Donald Trump’s Truth Social two years ago, buying into the Trump company’s planned merger partner, Digital World Acquisition, at $90 a share. Over time, as the price changed, he kept buying, amassing hundreds of shares for $25,000 - pretty much his “whole nest egg,” he said.
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