Warren, N.J.-based Chubb Corp. announced that despite a modest decrease in its fourth quarter earnings, reports that Google and the growing ACE Group are threats to the company are ill-founded.
During an earnings conference call, Chubb reported a net income of $558 million in 2014’s fourth quarter—a 1.9% drop from its $569 million net income in the year earlier period.
Chubb also fielded questions from analysts, including thoughts on the entrance of Google into the insurance business and the increasing power of ACE, which purchased the US personal lines business of Fireman’s Fund—a market in which Chubb itself is highly invested.
Paul Krump, president of personal lines and claims for Chubb, said neither “threat” is particularly concerning for the company. It is too early to assess whether Google’s price comparison distribution platforms will have a marked effect on busing patterns, he said.
He also suggested that given its experience with similar comparison shopping platforms in the UK—which made “little to no impact” on Chubb’s business—the company is not anticipating Google to represent a serious change in the competitive landscape.
Similarly, Krump dismissed the idea of ACE as affecting Chubb’s presence in the high-net worth marketplace.
“We are the pioneers, we developed it,” he told analysts, also adding that Chubb has fended off competitors in the market before without serious repercussions.
Net income for Chubb was $2.1 billion in 2014, a 10.4% fall from the $2.345 billion it pulled in in 2013.
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