US-based insurer Chubb has posted a 26% rise in net income in the first quarter of 2010 to $US464 million ($500 million), despite rising catastrophe claims.

The company says it lost $US344 million ($370 million) in cat claims during the first three months of 2010 – $US318 million ($344 million) more than the corresponding period last year.

Rising claims were marginally offset by an $US83 million ($89.5 million) gain after income tax, taking Chubb’s total post-tax income to $US313 million ($337.5 million). This was 2% up on the first quarter of 2009.

“The headline for the property and casualty insurance industry in the first quarter was the extraordinary level of natural catastrophes worldwide, including the earthquake in Chile, storms in Australia and Europe and several severe storms on the east coast of the US,” CEO John Finnegan said.

Chubb’s combined ratio, a measure of the insurer’s overall profitability, rose 5.5 percentage points to 93.6%.