Key Takeaways

Shares in The Travelers Companies ( TRV ) rose in intraday trading Wednesday, as increased premiums drove higher-than-estimated quarterly results at the property and casualty insurer.

Travelers reported fourth quarter earnings per share of $8.96, well above the $6.67 average estimate of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Revenue increased 10% to $12.0 billion, also more than estimated.

Core income, which excludes investment gains or losses and discontinued operations, among other things, jumped to a record $2.1 billion during the quarter, Chief Executive Officer Alan Schnitzer said, "driven by strong growth in earned premiums and excellent profitability."

Net written premiums rose across the segments of business insurance, bond & specialty insurance and personal insurance and grew 7% in the fourth quarter year-over-year. The combined ratio —a measure of profitability used by an insurance company to gauge how well it is performing in its daily operations—rose to 83.2%, a gain of 2.6% percentage points.

Of the impact from the destructive Los Angeles wildfires , Schnitzer said, “we will be there for our customers and neighbors to support them as they recover and rebuild.”

Travelers shares are gaining more than 3% Wednesday and have risen around 17% in the past year.

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