Swiss Re's first-half profit declined to $1.9 billion, 17 percent down from the same period in 2015, the company said in a statement today. The reason for the drop was a series of catastrophes.

Claims piled up following the wildfires in Canada, earthquakes in Japan and floods in Europe, Swiss Re said, affecting net income at the Property & Casualty unit. The total losses from these events amount to about $350 million, according to the company.

«Pronounced Natural Catastrophe Losses»

Corporate Solutions also posted a drop in net after two large claims in the U.S. Swiss Re CEO Christian Mumenthaler said it was years since the company had to compensate for quite as many major damages in one quarter.

«We have a solid result for first half 2016 despite a challenging second quarter that was marked by a difficult macroeconomic environment as well as more pronounced natural catastrophe losses and large reported claims in our Corporate Solutions Business unit,» Mumenthaler said in the statement, adding that «the focus on underwriting discipline together with our excellent capitalization will help us navigate, and potentially benefit from, the turbulent times.»

Increase in Premiums

Net premiums at P&C rose 11.3 percent to $8.1 billion, mainly driven by large transactions in the U.S. and Europe. The division had a combined ratio of 97.2 percent in the first half, compared with 88.3 percent a year ago, when the company benefited from an unusually low occurrence of natural catastrophes.

The Life & Health unit premiums and fee income increased to $5.7 billion from 5.1 billion, with premiums up across all regions.

Man-Made Casualty Losses

At Corporate Solutions, the decline of net to $55 million from $248 million a year ago reflected two large man-made casualty losses in North America, which occurred in the second half of 2015. The magnitude and responsibility for these losses were only established in the second quarter of 2016.