Zurich Insurance Beats Estimates Despite California Wildfire Hit

Zurich Insurance Group AG posted a 6% gain in profit for the first half of the year as the insurer shook off losses from the California wildfires.

Group operating profit rose to a record $4.22 billion the insurer said on Thursday, beating an analyst estimate of $4.16 billon. Net income increased 1% to $3.07 billion from the same period a year earlier.

Zurich Insurance’s key property and casualty unit was up by 9% on a like-for-like basis from the same period a year earlier, with $2.4 billion in operating profit. It has a 92.4% combined ratio with better risk management ...