Hanover Ends '12 Up, Despite A Down Q4
The Hanover Insurance Group of Worcester managed to have an overall better year in 2012, despite being hit hard by losses from Superstorm Sandy in the fourth quarter.
In that period, Hanover posted a loss of $55 million, or $1.24 per share. That was down from a gain of $49.6 million in 2011. Catastrophe losses were $132.1 million after taxes, $128.8 million of which Hanover said were caused by Sandy. However, the value of net premiums written during the quarter were up 6 percent to $1 billion.
"While Superstorm Sandy clearly had a significant impact on our bottom line, we expect losses from this storm will be substantially lower than our market share would indicate, validating the effectiveness of our exposure management actions and underscoring the quality of our underwriting," CEO Frederick H. Eppinger said in a statement.
Hanover benefitted from its first full year of owning London-based Chaucer. Net premiums for the year were $4.4 billion, 22 percent higher than 2011, which Hanover said was driven by the acquisition.
"We added scale and further improved our operating model in Commercial Lines, and we continued to benefit from the diversification of business and earnings that Chaucer brings," Eppinger said. "As a result, we improved our 2012 accident year results, excluding catastrophe losses, setting up a stronger basis going forward."
Net income for the full year was $55.9 million, or $1.23 per share, up more than 50 percent from $36.7 million in 2011.
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Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated net income for the year was in billions.
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