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Insurer American International Group Inc. on Monday posted a 56% fall in quarterly adjusted earnings, spurred partly by higher catastrophe losses and lower private-equity returns.

Adjusted after-tax income attributable to ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ common shareholders fell to $571 million in the second quarter ended June 30, from $1.3 billion a year earlier.

Excluding items, ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ earned a profit of 66 cents per share compared with $1.43 per share a year earlier, exceeding Factset expectations of 50 cents per share, the company said.

Shares of ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½, one of the largest U.S. insurers, rose 3.7% in after-hours trading.

ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ posted an underwriting loss of $343 million in its general insurance business, compared with a $147 million profit a year earlier.

The loss included $674 million of catastrophes, net of reinsurance, partly reflecting $458 million related to COVID-19 and $126 million for civil unrest claims.

A decline in travel during the pandemic affected ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s travel insurance business.

Net adjusted investment income dropped $537 million from a year ago to $3.2 billion. Performance was hurt by $276 million in private-equity losses compared with $238 million in private-equity income a year ago which included a large gain from one of the holdings.

ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s general insurance accident year combined ratio excluding changes from losses incurred in past years, was 94.9 for the quarter, compared with 96.1 a year ago.

ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ has been using the metric to gauge the success of a turnaround plan launched by Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreault upon taking the insurer’s helm in 2017.

A ratio below 100 means the insurer earns more in premiums than it pays out in claims.

Gross premiums written fell 2% to $8.47 billion in the general insurance business.

ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s life and retirement unit posted $881 million in adjusted pretax income compared with $1.0 billion a year ago, driven partly by private-equity losses and deaths from COVID-19.

ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ completed selling a 76.6% stake in its run-off company, Fortitude Group Holdings LLC, to Carlyle Group Inc and T&D United Capital Co Ltd on June 2. The deal reduces risk on ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s balance sheet, the company said.

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in Washington Crossing, Pa. Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Topics Catastrophe Profit Loss ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½