AIG's income from premiums fall, shares down

(Reuters) - American International Group Inc posted a 27 percent fall in quarterly income, hurt by a drop in earnings from premiums and higher disaster losses in its core property and casualty insurance business. The company's shares fell as much as 3 percent in extended trading on Monday. The U.S. insurer is in the middle of a turnaround after almost collapsing under the weight of soured derivative bets during the 2008 financial crisis. It has since repaid the $180 billion in bailout funds it received in 2008 and has focused on its core insurance business. Net premiums earned in its property casualty unit fell 4 percent to $8.23 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, AIG said on Monday. After-tax operating income from the company's insurance operations fell 11 percent to $2.65 billion, while the combined ratio worsened to 101.2 from 97.3 in the same quarter of 2013. A combined ratio below 100 indicates an underwriting profit, meaning an insurer is receiving more in premiums than it is paying out in claims. The company said results were impacted by disaster losses of $262 million, compared with $41 million in the year-ago period. AIG's net income fell 27 percent to $1.61 billion, or $1.09 per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, from $2.2 billion, or $1.49 per share, a year earlier. On an operating basis, the company earned $1.78 billion, or $1.21 per share. Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.07 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. AIG shares were trading at $51.31 after the bell. They closed at $52.72 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Aman Shah in Bangalore and Luciana Lopez in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)