Home and vehicle insurer QBE has had a bump in full-year earnings on the back of higher premiums and fewer natural disaster payouts.
The listed entity, which also has a business insurance arm and operations in Australia and overseas, reported a 21 per cent rise in first-half net profit to $US2.2 billion ($A3.1 billion).
QBE Insurance said it had a “favourable catastrophe experience” across its operations with claims totalling $US751 million ($A1.1 billion), or about four per cent of net insurance revenue, for calendar 2025.
That represented an almost six per cent improvement from the previous year, and was significantly below its 2025 year budget of $US1.2 billion ($A1.7 billion).
“QBE delivered a strong performance in 2025, exceeding our financial plan for the year,” group CEO Andrew Horton said, adding that the year ahead looked constructive for further growth.
Full year gross written premiums totalled $US24 billion ($A34 billion), up seven per cent, compared to its forecast for a rise in the “mid-single digits”.
“Underwriting profitability tracked ahead of our plan for the year, following a similar outcome in 2024,” it said on Friday in a statement.
“The combined operating ratio improved to 91.9 per cent, from 93.1 per cent in the prior year, supported by favourable catastrophe outcomes.”
Looking ahead, QBE is again forecasting full-year gross written premium growth in the mid-single digits in constant currency terms.
The Sydney-based insurer will pay a final dividend of 78 cents, taking the total for 2025 to $1.09, up from 87 cents in 2024.
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