What are Chubb's thoughts on potential 'excess profit laws' and their implications for the profitability of the personal lines business?

Evan Greenberg noted that U.S. personal lines combined ratios fluctuate due to catastrophe losses but generally run in the high 80s to low 90s over time. He cautioned against politicizing affordability, highlighting that rising loss costs (7.5-8% for homeowners, 7-9% for liability) are driving pricing, not insurer profiteering, and that regulatory intervention could lead to availability problems. “I would be careful of politicizing the affordability question as you point to homeowners insurance or it's going to create ultimately an availability problem and that will exacerbate affordability.”

Beyond Mexico, what are the growth opportunities and momentum in other Latin American countries?

Evan Greenberg explained that growth is strong in consumer businesses across Latin America, driven by partnerships with major banks like Banco de Chile, Nubank (Brazil), and Banco Guayaquil (Ecuador) for digital and consumer insurance distribution. He also noted a good business growing in Argentina and potential new opportunities with Banamex in Mexico. “It's more in our consumer than in our commercial businesses. We have -- as I'm sure you know, Banco de Chile, largest bank in Chile is our long-term partner for distribution of consumer-based insurances as an example. Nubank is our partner in Brazil for digitally distributed insurance, consumer insurance.”

Given the excitement and competition in Asia, how should one think about the competitive dynamics and Chubb's strategy there?

Evan Greenberg stated that Asia offers immense opportunity but is diverse and can be volatile. He emphasized that competing effectively requires years of building local franchises, leveraging technology, data, and global scale. He noted that Chubb's growth in Asia is primarily in small and middle market commercial and consumer lines, making it difficult for new entrants. “Market by market, it is very hard to compete in that business for anybody to just come in and want a piece of that pie. It's a lot of countries every culture is different. They're economically different.”

Chubb (CB) Q4 FY25 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Dec 2025 (Q4 FY25)· Financials· Feb 4, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Chubb Q4 FY25 — Record Underwriting and Investment Income Drive Strong Earnings

Chubb delivered a record Q4 FY25, marked by outstanding P&C underwriting, robust life income, and record investment income, driving core operating income and EPS significantly higher. Despite a competitive market and increased full-year catastrophe losses, the company's diversified global operations and strategic investments in digital transformation position it for continued strong growth in operating earnings and double-digit EPS and tangible book value growth in FY26.

Highlights

Core operating income reached nearly $3 billion or $7.52 per share in Q4, up about 22% and 25% respectively.
Total company net premiums grew almost 9% in Q4, with P&C up 7.7% and Life up 17%.
P&C underwriting income was $2.2 billion in Q4, up 40%, with a record low combined ratio of 81.2%.
The underlying current accident year combined ratio (ex-agriculture) was 80.9% in Q4, almost a full point better than prior year.
Record adjusted net investment income of $1.8 billion in Q4, up 7.3%, contributing to $7 billion for the full year.

Concerns

The commercial P&C market is growing incrementally more competitive, particularly in large account property and upper middle market.
International retail commercial P&C rates were down 3.6% and financial lines rates were down almost 9% in Q4.
London wholesale business premiums were down about 1% in Q4 due to competitive conditions.
Property pricing was down 1.5% overall in North America, with large account and E&S property pricing down over 13.5%.
Full year catastrophe losses were higher than prior year, totaling $2.9 billion versus $2.4 billion.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Adjusted net investment income	$1.81 billion to $1.84 billion medium materiality	Q1 · FY26	High
Annual core operating effective tax rate	19.5% to 20% medium materiality	FY26	High
Operating earnings growth	strong growth high materiality	FY26	High
EPS growth	double-digit growth high materiality	FY26	High
Tangible book value growth	double-digit growth high materiality	FY26	High

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Total Company Total company net premiums grew in the quarter.	—	almost 9%	—	—
P&C Strong underwriting performance with a record low combined ratio in the quarter. Underwriting income was up 40%. Combined ratio: 81.2%Underlying current accident year combined ratio (ex-agriculture): 80.9%	—	7.7%	—	$2.2 billion underwriting income
Life Pretax income was up just shy of 20% in the quarter.	—	17%	—	$322 million pretax income
International P&C (Overseas General) Very good growth result, with rates declining in P&C and financial lines. Constant dollar growth: over 8%P&C rates: down 3.6%Financial lines rates: down almost 9%	—	10.8%	—	—
Global Retail (90% of Overseas General) Strong growth driven by consumer lines. Consumer premiums (A&H and personal lines): up 18.7%Commercial lines: up almost 7.5%	—	12.5%	—	—
Latin America (within Global Retail) Significant growth across both consumer and commercial lines. Consumer: up almost 18%Commercial: up 10.5%	—	14.7%	—	—
Asia (within Global Retail) Growth primarily driven by consumer lines, with commercial lines flat. Consumer: up 25%Commercial: flat	—	13%	—	—
Europe (within Global Retail) Solid growth in the region.	—	over 7%	—	—
London wholesale Impacted by more competitive market conditions across property, marine, aviation, and professional lines.	—	down about 1%	—	—
North America P&C Total P&C premiums grew. Excluding agriculture, premiums were up 4.7%.	—	over 6.5%	—	—
Agriculture (within North America P&C) Predominantly due to the profit sharing formula with the government.	—	over 45%	—	—
North America Personal Lines (ex-Agriculture) Strong growth in personal lines.	—	more than 6%	—	—
North America Commercial (ex-Agriculture) Comprised of middle market, small E&S, and large account divisions.	—	4.3%	—	—
North America Middle Market and Small Commercial Strong growth and new business generation. P&C: up 7.5%Financial lines: up 1.5%New business: up more than 17%	—	over 6%	—	—
North America Major Accounts and Specialty Growth impacted by property and fewer one-off LPT transactions in major accounts. Major/large account business: up 0.5%Westchester (E&S): up over 7.5%	—	3%	—	—
North America High Net Worth Personal Lines Premiums grew solidly.	—	over 6%	—	—
International Life Insurance (Asia) Strong growth in Asia life business. Constant dollar growth: almost 18%	—	almost 18%	—	—
North America Chubb Worksite Benefits Significant growth in this business.	—	over 16.5%	—	—

CB operating KPIs by quarter

CB operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPI	Mar 2025 Q1 FY25	Jun 2025 Q2 FY25	Sep 2025 Q3 FY25	This call Dec 2025 Q4 FY25	Mar 2026 Q1 FY26	Jun 2026 Q2 FY26	Change vs prior quarter
Combined ratio	95.7% Our published combined ratio was 95.7% with underwriting income of $441 million, a notable result given $1.6 billion of cat losses. Source: earnings call transcript	85.6% Published underwriting income of $1.6 billion was up 15% from a year ago, leading to a combined ratio of 85.6%, more than 1 percentage point better than a year earlier. Source: earnings call transcript	81.8% Published underwriting income of $2.3 billion was up 55% from a year ago, with a record combined ratio of 81.8%, about 6 percentage points better than a year earlier. Source: earnings call transcript	81.2% P&C underwriting income was $2.2 billion, up 40% with a record low combined ratio of 81.2%. Source: earnings call transcript	84% P&C underwriting income was $1.8 billion with a combined ratio of 84%. Source: earnings call transcript	83.8% P&C underwriting income was more than $1.9 billion, up almost 19%, with a combined ratio of 83.8%. Source: earnings call transcript	-0.2 pt
Return on tangible common equity (ROTCE)	13% Our annualized core operating return on tangible equity in the quarter was 13%. Source: earnings call transcript	21% Our annualized core operating return on tangible equity in the quarter was 21%, very strong result. Source: earnings call transcript	24.5% Our annualized core operating return on tangible equity in the quarter was 24.5%, simply an outstanding result. Source: earnings call transcript	23.5% Our core operating return on tangible equity and core operating ROE in the quarter were 23.5% and 15.9%. Source: earnings call transcript	20.6% Our annualized core operating return on tangible equity was 20.6% and our core operating ROE was 14%. Source: earnings call transcript	21.2% Our annualized core operating return on tangible equity was 21.2% for the quarter, and core operating ROE was 14.5%. Source: earnings call transcript	+0.6 pt
Policy retention rate North America high net worth personal lines	—	—	—	—	92% On the consumer side of North America, our high net worth personal lines business had a very good quarter with premium growth of 8.3% and renewal retention on an account basis of 92%. Source: earnings call transcript	90% On the consumer side of North America, our high net worth personal lines business, the clear market leader in that category had a really good quarter with premium growth of 6% and renewal retention on an account basis of 90%. Source: earnings call transcript	-2 pt

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Risks & headwinds

Market Competitiveness Q4 FY25

International retail commercial P&C rates down 3.6%; financial lines rates down almost 9%; London wholesale premiums down about 1%.

Property Pricing Pressure Q4 FY25

Property pricing down 1.5% overall in North America; large account and E&S property pricing down over 13.5%.

Financial Lines Softness Q4 FY25

Financial lines remained soft.

Mitigation:Some signs of firming in discrete classes.

Catastrophe Losses FY25

Full year cat losses higher than prior year ($2.9 billion vs $2.4 billion); annual industry cat losses approached $129 billion.

Affordability and Regulatory Scrutiny in Personal Lines

Rising loss costs in homeowners (7.5-8%) and liability (7-9%) are driving pricing.

Mitigation:Caution against politicizing affordability to avoid availability problems; pricing is based on technical actuarial filings.

Headwinds in AI Infrastructure Build-out

Availability and affordability of energy to power data centers; pushback on data center locations; labor availability for construction; supply chain and cost of supply issues.

Mitigation:Chubb is structured to provide broad global coverage and services for data centers, but acknowledges market uncertainties.

Q&A highlights

Can Chubb sustain its excellent underlying margins in U.S. commercial lines in 2026 given the current pricing environment?

Evan Greenberg stated that while some lines face pricing pressure, the company's broad business mix helps mitigate this. He expressed confidence in the growth of underwriting income, which contributes to EPS, but declined to give specific forward guidance on margins.

“I'm very comfortable with the combined ratios we are publishing, and I do not prognosticate the future, but I do have confidence and underwriting income for this company, growth in underwriting income contributing to that growth in EPS.”

asked by Brian Meredith · answered by Evan G. Greenberg

2 min read 7 chapters

Detailed narrative

Record Performance Across Key Metrics

Chubb delivered record earnings for both the fourth quarter and the full year 2025. Core operating income reached nearly $3 billion or $7.52 per share in Q4, representing increases of 22% and 25% respectively. For the full year, core operating income was just shy of $10 billion or $24.79 per share, up 9% and 11% respectively, driven by strong contributions from P&C underwriting, life income, and record investment income.

Underwriting Excellence and Combined Ratio

The company achieved an outstanding P&C underwriting income of $2.2 billion in Q4, a 40% increase, with a record low combined ratio of 81.2%. The underlying current accident year combined ratio, excluding agriculture, was 80.9%, almost a full point better than the prior year, demonstrating strong performance across global P&C businesses. This was achieved despite full-year catastrophe losses being higher than the prior year.

Investment Income Growth

Adjusted net investment income reached a record $1.8 billion in Q4, up 7.3%, and totaled almost $7 billion for the full year, a 9% increase. The fixed income portfolio yield stands at 5.1%, with current new money rates averaging slightly above that. Invested assets grew significantly to $169 billion from $151 billion a year ago, reflecting strong operating cash flow and positive marks to market.

Global Growth Dynamics and Regional Performance

Total company net premiums grew almost 9% in Q4, with P&C up 7.7% and life up 17%. International P&C and U.S. agriculture businesses showed particularly strong growth, with premiums up nearly 11% and over 45% respectively. Consumer premiums in global retail, especially in Latin America and Asia, were key drivers, growing 18.7% overall, with Asia consumer up 25% and Latin America consumer up almost 18%.

Market Competitiveness and Pricing Trends

The commercial P&C market is transitioning and becoming incrementally more competitive, particularly in large account property and upper middle market. While casualty pricing continues to firm in necessary areas, property pricing was down 1.5% overall, with large account and E&S property pricing down over 13.5%.

Financial lines remained soft but showed some signs of firming in discrete classes, while international retail commercial P&C rates were down 3.6%.

Digital Transformation and Efficiency Initiatives

Chubb is actively investing in digital transformation, focusing on 9-10 discrete projects across various geographies including North America, UK, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The company anticipates a 150 basis points combined ratio improvement over the next 3-4 years, primarily driven by efficiencies in operating expenses and claims costs, reflecting a cultural willingness to adapt and leverage technology.

Capital Management and Shareholder Returns

The company returned $1.5 billion of capital to shareholders in Q4, contributing to a total of $4.9 billion for the full year, which represents about half of its core operating income. This included $3.4 billion in share repurchases at an average price of $282.57 per share and $1.5 billion in dividends, underscoring strong operating cash flows and a healthy balance sheet.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.