Liberty Mutual will hone its focus on property and casualty insurance after selling its life unit and reporting an earnings dive.

Net profit dropped to $US17 million ($21.7 million) last year from $US1 billion ($1.3 billion) in 2016 due to record catastrophes, a weaker commercial motor performance and tax law changes. The combined operating ratio deteriorated to 105.6% from 98.3%.

“While the results… did not meet expectations, we are encouraged by signs of market firming across each of our businesses,” Chairman and CEO David Long said.

The group says it is realigning into “global risk solutions” and “global retail markets” businesses to better meet customer demands.

“These actions will allow the organisation to focus on property and casualty insurance and to take full advantage of our scale, products and capabilities globally,” Mr Long said.

Fourth-quarter net income improved 43.4% to $US205 million ($261.3 million), while net written premium grew 8.8% to $US8.9 billion ($11.3 billion).

The combined operating ratio for the final three months was 100.5%, compared with 97% in the corresponding period of 2016.