Allianz has reported third-quarter net income of €1.44 billion ($2.19 billion), down 14.7% on the corresponding period last year.

The drop is partly due to one-off tax benefits in the third quarter last year, the insurer says.

Property and casualty gross written premium (GWP) increased 2.4% to €11.52 billion ($17.54 billion), while natural catastrophe losses soared to €144 million ($219.24 million) from an “extraordinarily low” €7 million ($10.66 million) in the corresponding period last year.

Australia “continued its strong growth”, particularly in motor and property, with GWP up 4.2% to €802 million ($1.22 billion).

“Our property and casualty business continued with a strong underwriting margin despite an increase in weather-related claims compared with the year before, as well as several large claims,” CFO Dieter Wemmer said.

“The overall development of the segment is on track.”

The combined operating ratio for the quarter deteriorated slightly to 94.1%.

For the first nine months of this year, net income was up 3.8% to €5.49 billion ($8.36 billion).

“In a volatile financial market environment, Allianz’s fundamentals remained at a solid level in all business segments in the third quarter,” Mr Wemmer said.

“We expect the full-year operating profit to grow and arrive in the upper end of our target range of €10-10.8 billion ($15.22-$16.44 billion).”