Allianz Posts Record 9M Profit Despite EUR 1.07B of Q3 Storm Claims

Storm, hail and wildfire claims cost Allianz more than a billion euros in the third quarter of 2026, yet the German insurer still reported the highest nine-month operating profit in its history and raised its target for the year. The reason is the mix of the group: a weaker quarter in property and casualty insurance was more than covered by asset management and by steady life and health earnings. This article sets out the figures from the company's release and a trade report, explains the main terms, and looks at what the results suggest for policyholders. It is based on public information and is not investment advice.

The headline figures

Operating profit for January to September was EUR 14,099 million, up 7.8% from EUR 13,077 million a year earlier, which Allianz described as a record. Third-quarter operating profit was EUR 4,709 million, up 6.2%. Shareholders' core net income for the nine months rose 10.6% to EUR 9,273 million, and core earnings per share rose 12.7% to EUR 24.15. Net income for the third quarter alone slipped 1.7% to EUR 2,960 million.

Total business volume, the group's measure of premiums and fee income, was EUR 143.0 billion for the nine months, with internal growth of 3.8%. Nine-month operating profit reached 81% of the midpoint of the full-year outlook.

Property and casualty: the weather quarter

The property and casualty segment, which covers motor, home and commercial insurance, earned an operating profit of EUR 2,204 million in the third quarter, down 7.9%. Its combined ratio rose to 93.8% from 91.9%. A combined ratio is claims plus expenses as a share of premium, so a higher figure means a thinner margin, and anything under 100% is still an underwriting profit.

Natural catastrophes added 5.1 percentage points to the ratio, against only 0.3 points in the same quarter of 2025. Beinsure reports that natural catastrophe claims were EUR 1.07 billion, compared with about EUR 60 million a year earlier, and that European storms, hailstorms and wildfires accounted for about EUR 0.9 billion. The trade report adds that subsidence claims in the United Kingdom pushed up everyday claims, and that the undiscounted attritional loss ratio rose to 71.6% from 70.5%.

Two things softened the blow. Reserves set aside for earlier years proved larger than needed, and the release of those reserves contributed 3.5 points against 0.6 points a year earlier, according to Beinsure. The expense ratio also improved to 23.2% from 23.6%. For the nine months, the combined ratio was 92.2%, inside the company's target range of 92% to 93%, and segment operating profit was up 3.2% at EUR 7,075 million.

Life and health

Life and health operating profit rose 4.4% in the quarter to EUR 1,469 million. New business was softer over the nine months: the value of new business fell 5.9% to EUR 3,398 million and the new business margin slipped to 5.5% from 5.7%. The contractual service margin, a store of expected future profit from existing policies, stood at EUR 56.4 billion.

Asset management did the heavy lifting

Allianz owns the fund managers PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors. Their combined operating profit rose 35.1% in the quarter to EUR 1,119 million, a record, and was up 20.3% for the nine months at EUR 2,909 million. Third-party net inflows were about EUR 47 billion in the quarter, of which Beinsure says PIMCO contributed about EUR 41 billion. Third-party assets under management were EUR 2.152 trillion at the end of September, 11.6% higher than a year earlier. The cost-income ratio improved to 56.3% from 60.3%.

Capital and outlook

The Solvency II ratio, the European measure of capital against risk, was 219%, compared with 218% at the end of 2025. Beinsure notes it was 225% at the end of June. Allianz said a full-year dividend accrual would lower the ratio by about four points. A share buyback of up to EUR 2.5 billion announced in February was completed on September 22.

The company raised the upper end of its 2026 operating profit outlook to about EUR 18.6 billion. The earlier range was EUR 17.4 billion plus or minus EUR 1 billion, so the previous top was EUR 18.4 billion. The release does not state a new lower end.

Chief executive Oliver Baete linked the record to disciplined execution of the group's strategy. Chief financial officer Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre said the quarter was strong despite volatile capital markets and high natural catastrophe losses, and that every segment contributed to the nine-month result.

What it means for policyholders

Customers do not feel a group result directly, but the claims inside it matter. Hail, storm and subsidence losses are the costs that insurers recover through home and motor premiums over time, so a quarter in which catastrophe claims rose from EUR 60 million to more than EUR 1 billion adds pressure on property pricing in the affected countries. On the other side, the 219% solvency ratio shows a large capital cushion over the regulatory requirement, which is what protects a policyholder's claim in a bad year.

The result also shows the value of diversification. An insurer that sold only property cover in Europe would have had a difficult quarter. Allianz's asset management profit grew by EUR 291 million in the quarter, more than the EUR 190 million decline in property and casualty profit.

What is not yet known

The release gives the catastrophe effect in ratio points, not the claim amount, so the EUR 1.07 billion figure rests on the trade report. Neither source gives a country-by-country split of the losses or a view of fourth-quarter claims. Full-year results will show whether the raised outlook holds.

What to watch next

Watch Allianz's full-year results early in 2027, the January reinsurance renewals and any update to its capital return plans. The company publishes results and presentations on its investor relations website. This article summarises public reporting and is not financial advice.