Storms cost Travelers more this summer than last. The insurer says catastrophe losses reached $538 million in the third quarter, up from $402 million a year earlier. The same company still earned $1.917 billion in the quarter, a little more than the $1.888 billion it earned a year before.
The quarter is a mixed picture for homeowners and for the year. Over nine months, the insurer’s storm losses are about half of what they were in 2025. Its home and auto unit still made an underwriting profit in the heavier quarter.
What the quarter shows about storm costs
Travelers’ third-quarter release, dated October 16, puts catastrophe losses at $538 million before taxes and after reinsurance. It attributes them to “severe wind and hail storms in multiple states.”
Chairman and CEO Alan Schnitzer said in the release, “We are pleased to report excellent third quarter results.” Core income rose to $1.947 billion from $1.867 billion. The combined ratio, a measure where anything under 100% means an underwriting profit, was 86.8% against 87.3%.
The bigger picture runs the other way. For the first nine months of the year, catastrophe losses were $1.817 billion, down from $3.595 billion in 2025. That is roughly half as much. The nine-month combined ratio improved to 86.3% from 93.2%. A hard third quarter sits inside a much easier year.
Where homeowners and drivers show up
The company’s Personal Insurance unit sells home and auto coverage to individuals. Its segment income fell to $706 million from $807 million, the release says. Catastrophe losses inside that unit were $380 million in the quarter, compared with $263 million a year earlier, according to the company’s filing with the SEC.
Those storm costs added 9.2 points to the unit’s combined ratio, up from 6.0 points. The unit’s combined ratio came in at 83.5%, against 81.3% a year earlier. That is still well under 100%, which means the home and auto business made an underwriting profit even in the heavier quarter.
For a homeowner, the number that matters is the renewal price, and the release does not give a renewal premium change for Personal Insurance. It gives one for Business Insurance, at 4.1% overall, but that covers commercial customers. Anyone with a renewal coming should read the new premium line against the old one, since the insurer’s national figures do not speak to a single policy.
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Homeowners and Other net written premiums were $2.511 billion in the quarter, up 1%, the release says. Automobile net written premiums were $1.892 billion, down 8%. Total Personal Insurance premiums written fell 7%, to $4.403 billion The company’s quarterly report shows International premiums at zero, against $167 million earned a year earlier, after the Canadian sale.
Will the bill keep climbing, and what Travelers is doing with its profit
The question for households is simple to state. Travelers’ own numbers do not forecast a bill. They show a company with a $1.917 billion quarter and a combined ratio of 86.8%, well below the 100% line where underwriting turns to a loss.
The SEC filing shows where much of the money went. Travelers repurchased 4.0 million of its shares in the quarter at an average price of $376.00, for a total of $1.508 billion. It has $2.415 billion of repurchase authorization left. The board also declared a regular dividend of $1.25 a share, payable December 31 to shareholders of record on December 10.
None of that says what a particular homeowner will pay next year. Travelers’ release is national and covers the whole company. A policyholder’s renewal notice is the real figure.
The Travelers numbers also show how uneven catastrophe costs are. The third-quarter figure is about a third higher than a year ago, while the nine-month total is about half of last year’s. A single quarter can point in the opposite direction from the year.
The cost on the other side of the ledger
Travelers’ premiums earned from Homeowners and Other were $2.264 billion in the quarter and $6.715 billion for nine months, against $6.563 billion a year earlier, according to its quarterly report. Homeowners premiums are growing slowly, by about 1% in the quarter. Total Personal Insurance premiums earned were $4.138 billion, against $4.393 billion a year earlier, the report shows.
The 10-Q’s Personal Insurance tables also show net favorable reserve development of $98 million in the quarter, against $104 million a year earlier. That is money the company set aside for past claims and did not need.
The open question for homeowners is whether the next renewal will be higher and where to turn if it is. The company’s report cannot answer the first part. For the second, the rest of the housing bill is where help sometimes sits, such as property-tax breaks that a county has to be asked for.
Opening a homeowners renewal notice this winter?
A homeowners renewal notice arrives with a deadline attached, and the household that opens it has a short window to decide. Property-tax breaks and circuit-breaker credits offset part of a housing bill, but only for people who apply.
The Benefits Checklist scans 11 benefit programs, property-tax breaks among them, and lists the 2026 income limits for each. One proof point: it covers the circuit-breaker credits that counties and states hand out against housing costs, with a printable tracker for the dates.
Check property-tax breaks and 10 other programs in the Benefits Checklist →
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This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
