The Group mentioned it absorbed higher-than-expected large natural catastrophe claims of USD 524 million across its P&C businesses as well as COVID-19 claims of USD 515 million. In addition, Swiss Re booked USD 283 million in reserves related to the war in Ukraine. At the same time, Swiss Re continued to grow net premiums earned and fee income for the Group, increasing it by 4.0% compared with the prior-year period to USD 10.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
P&C Re reported a net income of USD 85 million for the first quarter, compared with USD 481 million in the same period in 2021. The result reflects the robust technical performance of the business as well as lower investment results and reserves in relation to the Ukraine war of USD 154 million. In addition, P&C Re absorbed large natural catastrophe claims of USD 449 million, compared with USD 316 million in the prior-year period, mainly relating to February storms in Europe and flooding in Australia. At the same time, P&C Re with net premiums earned was up by 5.8% to USD 5.3 billion, driven by continued price improvements while, the combined ratio was 99.3%.
L&H Re reported a net loss of USD 230 million for the first quarter of 2022, compared with a net loss of USD 193 million for the first quarter of 2021. This reflects COVID-19 claims of USD 501 million and lower investment results. Overall, COVID-19 claims in the first quarter of 2022 were at the higher end of expectations, resulting from the persistently high mortality rates in the US in the first two months of the year. Net premiums earned and fee income marginally decreased by 1.7% to USD 3.8 billion in the first quarter, primarily driven by adverse foreign exchange developments as well as one-off effects from an accounting reclassification.
For the first quarter of 2022, Corporate Solutions reported a net income of USD 81 million, compared with USD 96 million in the prior-year period. This solid result was achieved in spite of USD 129 million of reserves related to the Ukraine war - equaling a 9.3 percentage-point impact on the combined ratio - and significantly lower investment results. In addition, the Business Unit absorbed large natural catastrophe losses of USD 75 million, mainly driven by the flooding in Australia and the European winter storms in February. Net premiums earned grew by 14.3% compared with the prior-year period to USD 1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022, while the Q1 2022 combined ratio was 95.2%.
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