Evan Greenberg’s Shareholder Letter
Chubb had a “hell of a run” in 2024, according to CEO Evan Greenberg, delivering record-breaking financials and positioning itself for continued global growth.
1. A Record-Setting Year
Chubb achieved its best performance in company history, with pre-tax operating income reaching $9.2 billion (+11.2%) and record underwriting and investment results. “Over the past three years, operating income has grown 65% and is nearly double the amount from pre-Covid 2019.”
2. Strong Underwriting Discipline
With an 86.6% combined ratio, Chubb continues to outperform industry peers. “The most important line on the P&C insurance scorecard is the published combined ratio, which measures underwriting profitability. Ours was 86.6% in 2024 and has averaged 86.9% over the past three years, a gold standard among insurers globally.”
3. Growth Across P&C and Life
Global P&C premiums increased 10%, while life insurance premiums surged 18.5% in constant dollars, demonstrating Chubb’s diversified growth strategy.
4. Investment Income Powerhouse
Chubb’s adjusted net investment income grew 19.3% to $6.4 billion, benefiting from a $151 billion portfolio.
5. Expanding Global Footprint
Chubb is pushing deeper into Asia, Latin America, and Europe, with Asia now accounting for 20% of total company premiums. “Our Asia operation, with more than 800 offices in 15 countries and territories, is the second largest region in the company after North America. It now produces about 20% of total company premiums. Korea is the second largest country for Chubb after the U.S. More than 75% of our business in Asia (and half of our Asia non-life premium) is consumer-focused – accident and health (A&H), life and personal lines – and these businesses as well as our commercial P&C business have a lot of opportunity for growth.”
6. Digital and Direct Distribution
The insurer is doubling down on digital distribution and direct-to-consumer partnerships. “Our distribution network spans 50,000 independent brokers and agents, hundreds of thousands of exclusive life and health agents, and hundreds of direct-to-consumer partnerships that give us access to hundreds of millions of existing and potential customers through fully digital, phone and face-to-face sales. By example, we are the #1 or #2 insurer with 15 of the top 20 brokers in the U.S., yet the largest direct marketer of insurance in Asia.”
7. AI
Chubb is aggressively investing in AI and analytics to enhance underwriting, claims, and marketing. “We receive about 290 million emails a year, 90 million of which have data-rich attachments. In a short period of time, the vast majority will be ingested into our systems with limited-to-no human intervention.”
8. Litigation Inflation Concerns
Greenberg warned about the rising costs of excessive litigation, calling it an “unproductive tax on business and on society” that threatens economic stability. Chubb is actively funding tort reform efforts. “commercial auto accidents that once led to $1 million jury awards now produce awards of $10 million and even some as high as $100 million. There is an increasing volume of individual and class action suits costing billions that are based around clever theories designed to find or assign fault where it simply doesn’t exist. On the other hand, there is plenty of appropriate litigation – our court system was built to remedy legitimate wrongs.”
9. The Catastrophe Challenge
With $140 billion in insured CAT losses globally in 2024, Greenberg criticized regulatory constraints that limit insurers’ ability to price risk adequately. “The public needs greater certainty of insurance availability, and that begins with regulation that supports an adequate price for the risk.”
10. U.S. Landscape
Greenberg remains bullish on the U.S. economy despite concerns over fiscal deficits and political uncertainty. “While our country has many issues, mostly derived from our politics, I am long the United States, and I wouldn’t easily bet against it.”
11. Looking Ahead
Chubb delivered a 12% annualized shareholder return over 20 years. “We have a limitless number of opportunities, ambitious objectives, and the balance sheet, people, capability and patience to deliver. We have come a long way in the last two decades, and I have no doubt that our best days are ahead of us.”
