Swiss Re has posted a first-quarter net loss of $US248 million ($349 million), compared with a year-earlier net income of $US333 million ($469 million), as elevated natural catastrophe claims and covid dented earnings.

Concerns over potential exposure to the Russia-Ukraine conflict also weighed on the results, as the business booked $US283 million ($398 million) in reserves related to the war.

Swiss Re says its Property & Casualty Reinsurance (P&C Re) arm made $US85 million ($119 million) in net income for the March quarter, down from $US481 million ($677 million) a year earlier.

Despite the sharp fall in net income, Swiss Re says the P&C Re business’s technical underwriting performance remains robust.

During the quarter, the P&C Re business absorbed large natural catastrophe claims of $US449 million ($632 million), compared with $US316 million ($445 million) in the prior-year period. The jump in claims related mainly to the February storms in Europe and flooding in Australia.

The P&C Re results also reflect $US154 million ($217 million) in reserves set aside for the Ukraine conflict.

“The first quarter turned out to be a challenging one,” Group CEO Christian Mumenthaler said.

“While the situation remains highly uncertain and we do not believe we have an outsized exposure, we decided to take a proactive and cautious approach to establishing reserves for potential impacts from the war.

“Despite this and other headwinds in the quarter, Swiss Re’s property and casualty businesses delivered robust underwriting results, and we remain focused on delivering on our financial targets for the year.”

The P&C Re arm renewed contracts with $US2.4 billion ($3.4 billion) in treaty premium volume on April 1, a 15% volume increase compared with the business that was up for renewal.

P&C Re has achieved treaty premium volume growth of 8% since the start of the year and a price increase of 3%, which covers more conservative loss assumptions.