CCBChubb Limited

Chubb is a property and casualty insurer whose profit comes from underwriting and from income on its reserves.

Insurance economics are structurally simple: collect the premium, price the risk better than competitors, invest the reserves until claims fall due. The key metric is the combined ratio — the share of premium consumed by claims and expenses. Below one hundred means underwriting itself is profitable, not merely the investments.

The company operates worldwide and specialises in complex corporate risks, where price is set by expertise rather than a rate table. That protects margins better than mass-market motor insurance, where competition runs on price.

The second income source is the bond portfolio holding the reserves: when rates rise it earns markedly more, which is why insurers benefit from expensive money. The industry's principal risk is catastrophe: hurricanes and wildfires can consume a year's profit in a quarter. Chubb pays a dividend and has raised it for many consecutive years.