News: QBE UPDATE 1-Australia's QBE Insurance posts bigger annual loss as virus costs bite

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Feb 19 (Reuters) - QBE Insurance (QBE) posted a bigger annual loss than it forecast two months ago and decided against a final dividend on Friday, as COVID-19-related provisions and catastrophe claims surged.

The company incurred an adjusted net cash loss of $863 million for the year ended Dec. 31, larger than the $780 million it forecast in December. It had last year posted an adjusted profit of $733 million.

Pandemic-induced lockdowns have led to a spike in claims related to business interruptions, while wildfires, hurricanes and bad weather have hit its U.S. crop insurance business.

QBE posted a combined operating ratio of 104.2%, which indicates that claims, costs and expenses for the year exceeded premiums earned.

Excluding $655 million in COVID-19 impacts, combined operating ratio would have been 94%, the company said.

The insurer had upwardly revised its risk margins for COVID-19-related claims by $185 million in January after a defeat in UK courts over paying business interruption claims to policyholders impacted by lockdowns.