Insurance: "Lower catastrophe losses help Allstate top profit estimates" (ALL; CB; TRV)

In late after-hours trade the stock is up 1/2% at $51.22 and is up 40.2% since Aug 2, 2012.
Following last week's report from Travelers:
Insurance: Property Casualty Looks to Be Extremely Profitable This Year (TRV; CB; ALL; AIG)

From Reuters:

* 2nd-quarter oper earnings/share $1.12 vs est. $0.98
* Catastrophe losses down 21 percent
* Underwriting income doubles

July 31 (Reuters) - Home and auto insurer Allstate Corp's quarterly profit handily beat analysts' estimates, due mainly to higher premium income and lower losses from catastrophes such as floods and hurricanes.
Catastrophe losses, a key measure for insurers, fell 21 percent to $647 million in the second quarter from $819 million a year earlier.

Premium earned rose 3 percent to $6.86 billion, while underwriting income doubled to $269 million.
"The company experienced positive momentum in growing insurance premiums in the second quarter," Allstate said in a statement....MORE

The industry, as always, will  be trying to raise premiums. As I said in 2010's

"No Surprise: Chile Leads to Reinsurance Rate Increase Debate" BRK-A; BRK-B:

No kidding.

A brisk breeze gets the boys in Omaha, Zurich, Munich and London (Lloyds) talking about premium increases.

Not to mention the herverzekering crowd in Amsterdam, they're tough bastards.

Or from this year's "K.K.R. Takes 25% Stake in Firm That Invests in Natural Disasters (KKR)":

The headline is slightly deceptive. The cat/reinsurance biz is all about the pricing.
A lot of disasters but even more premiums? Easy Straße.
Not so many disasters but you overcharged for the risk?* Ditto.
Loss ratio over100+your cost of funds? Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

I guess I'm kinda cynical about these fellows.