Mapfre non-life combined ratio improves despite 85 million euro California wildfires hit

By Rebecca Delaney

April 25 - (The Insurer) - Mapfre said on Friday that its non-life combined ratio improved by 1.7 percentage points to 94.1% in the first quarter of 2025, despite an 85 million euro ($96.5 million) hit from January's California wildfires for Mapfre Re.

Total premiums rose by 5.4% – or 8.1% at constant exchange rates – to almost 8.6 billion euros for the quarter, the Spanish insurer said in a statement. Non-life premiums increased 7.4% year on year to 6.79 billion euros.

The general P&C segment accounted for 2.37 billion euros, with non-life reinsurance premiums totalling 2.26 billion euros. Group return on equity was 11.7%, with shareholders’ equity of 8.4 billion euros, the company said.

Mapfre Re, which includes the group's reinsurance and global risks businesses, posted a result of 48 million euros, reflecting the impact of the California wildfires and reserving prudence.

Although the California wildfires in January had an 85 million euro impact on Mapfre Re, net of taxes and minorities, Mapfre said the reinsurance business reported a first-quarter combined ratio of 98.5%.

Premiums at Mapfre Re increased by 10.6% on the prior-year quarter to almost 2.4 billion euros, with the reinsurance business and the global risks business contributing 1.7 billion euros and 645.2 million euros, respectively.

Latin America continued to be Mapfre's largest segment, with its net result up 25.4% to 118 million euros and Brazil remaining a significant contributor. North America had the largest year-on-year increase, with a net result of 30 million euros, up 94.3% on the prior-year quarter.

Iberia reported a net result of 121 million euros, up 65.6% year on year, with a combined ratio of 95.6% driven by strong improvements in the auto business.