BERLIN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The profitability of German insurance company Allianz AG has been significantly undermined by extreme weather patterns, corporate earnings data published on Monday showed.
According to the figures, high pay-outs to customers for storm damage led to the Munich-based firm's operating profit shrinking by 11 percent to 2.3 billion euros (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) during the past fiscal year. Net profit fell by 25 percent to 1.48 billion euros.
Expenses covered by the insurer for elemental damage in particular rose faster than expected to 541 million euros in 2017 from 337 million euros the previous year.
In spite of the poor headline figures, chief financial officer Burkhard Keese said Allianz had experienced a successful year for its vehicle and life insurance services.
The new life insurance business, where Allianz is already the undisputed market leader, grew by 21 percent despite a wider trend of decline across the sector. Combined with growth in the number of insured cars to 8.5 million, corporate gross revenue consequently increased by 7 percent to 34.9 billion euros.
