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# Travelers Core Earnings Hit $9.18 A Share As A $295 Million Asbestos Charge Sits Inside Reserve Gains
- URL: https://www.bullished.co/travelers-core-earnings-hit-9-18-a-share-as-a-295-million-asbestos-charge-sits-inside-5f3116c7/
- Published: 2026-10-16T11:21:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-16T11:21:51.000Z
- Description: Third-quarter net income rose to $1.917 billion as reserve releases and record investment income outweighed heavier catastrophe losses.
- Author: Matteo Parrino
- Tags: Earnings, TRV, Industry: Financials

[Travelers](https://www.bullished.co/tag/trv/) earned [$1.917 billion, or $9.04 per diluted share](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000086312/000008631226000180/a991pressrelease93026.htm?ref=bullished.co), in the third quarter, up from $1.888 billion, or $8.24, a year earlier, according to the earnings release attached to an 8-K filed Friday. Core income, which strips out investment gains and losses, was $1.947 billion, or $9.18 per share, against $1.867 billion, or $8.14.

## What drove the quarter

The company said core income rose mainly on higher favorable prior-year reserve development and higher net investment income, partly offset by higher catastrophe losses. Favorable reserve development was $234 million pre-tax, versus $22 million a year earlier.

Catastrophe losses were $538 million pre-tax, versus $402 million, and the company attributed them mainly to severe wind and hail storms in multiple states. Net investment income was a record $1.098 billion pre-tax, up 6%, on a higher yield and more invested assets.

The combined ratio, where a figure under 100% means an underwriting profit, improved to 86.8% from 87.3%. The underlying ratio, which excludes reserve development and catastrophes, edged up to 84.1% from 83.9%.

Chairman and CEO Alan Schnitzer called it "another in a run of successful quarters."

## The catch: asbestos and Personal Insurance

Reserve development in Business Insurance was net favorable at $41 million, versus $125 million unfavorable a year earlier. That figure includes a $295 million addition to asbestos reserves, which offset better-than-expected loss experience in all major product lines.

Personal Insurance is where the pressure showed. Segment income fell to $706 million from $807 million, mainly on catastrophe losses of $380 million versus $263 million. Net written premiums fell 7% to $4.403 billion. Excluding $167 million of Canadian premiums in the prior-year quarter, from operations Travelers divested in the first quarter of 2026, the decline was 3%. Domestic automobile premiums fell 8% to $1.892 billion.

Business Insurance premiums rose 3% to $5.868 billion, or 4% excluding Canada. Bond & Specialty premiums rose 12% to $1.209 billion.

## Balance sheet and capital returned

Net unrealized investment losses reached $8.049 billion pre-tax at September 30, versus $1.862 billion at year-end 2025, driven by higher interest rates. Book value per share fell 6% from year-end to $141.48, while adjusted book value per share, which excludes those losses, rose 9% to $172.47.

Travelers repurchased 4.0 million shares for $1.508 billion, an average of $376.00, and had $2.415 billion of buyback capacity left. Its board declared a $1.25 quarterly dividend, payable December 31, 2026, to holders of record on December 10.

Management discussed the results on a webcast at 9:00 a.m. ET Friday.

The debt-to-capital ratio stood at 25.3%, or 21.7% excluding the unrealized losses, inside the company's 15% to 25% target range only on the latter measure.

### Sources

- [8-K Filing — TRAVELERS COMPANIES, INC. (TRV)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000086312/000008631226000180/trv-20261016.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit a991pressrelease93026.htm — TRAVELERS COMPANIES, INC. 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000086312/000008631226000180/a991pressrelease93026.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit a992finsupp93026.htm — TRAVELERS COMPANIES, INC. 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000086312/000008631226000180/a992finsupp93026.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR

### More on Travelers Companies

- [Travelers Adds $295 Million To Asbestos Reserves, Though Open-Claim Policyholders Are Flat](https://www.bullished.co/travelers-adds-295-million-to-asbestos-reserves-though-open-claim-policyholders-are-flat-a45ca0b3/)

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