Nationwide Insurance has reported its third quarter financial results for this year. The report details a turbulent third quarter, which has been wracked by severe storms and other natural disasters along with costly investment mishaps. Overall, the report shows that the insurer has lost billions in investments and millions in claims relating to storm damage. While Nationwide has an optimistic outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, there can be no doubt that recent events will encourage changes to be made to the company’s policies.
Nationwide reports that its net operating income dropped to $21 million. This is a far cry from the $225 million it had been only a year previous. This is being connected to the approximate $400 million increase in insured losses caused by severe storms and natural disasters. All together, natural disasters in the third quarter cost the insurer more than $2.9 billion, up from $2.5 billion last year.
The insurer also lost some $850 million on investments in the third quarter, which is barely mitigated by the scant $85 million profit the company made on similar investments last year. Thus far this year, Nationwide has lost a total of $1.2 billion on investments, up from $214 million last year.
Premiums remain stable, however, despite the financial challenges faced by the insurer. The company has plans to raise premiums slightly next year to help recover from insured losses from natural disasters.
