FAIRFAX RETURNS TO PROFIT ON UNDERWRITING AND INVESTMENT GAINS

Canadian re/insurance and investment group Fairfax Financial Holdings swung to first-quarter net earnings of $806.0m from a net loss of $1.26bn after posting a 45% increase in underwriting income and a positive $2.38bn swing in investment gains. Operating income rose by 32% to $298.2m in the re/insurance business and by 16.7% to $197.0m overall. The combined ratio improved by 0.8 points to 96.0% as underwriting income rose to $149.0m despite $210.8m in catastrophe losses. All of Fairfax’s main re/insurance operating units posted underwriting gains, with improvements posted by Northbridge, Brit, Allied World and Fairfax Asia. Gross written premiums grew 17.3% to $5.43bn, driven by Allied World, Odyssey Group, Northbridge and Brit.