CHARLOTTE, N.C. — AIG said Friday that it lost $8.87 billion in the fourth quarter as its general insurance business remained weak and the company ran up expenses from paying back government loans.
The troubled insurer also said in an annual regulatory filing that it may need additional support from the government. However, AIG has included such warnings in past filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The fourth-quarter results were an improvement from the $61.7 billion AIG lost in the year-ago period, but they were worse than analysts expected. They also followed two straight profitable quarters.
The company reported a 2.2 percent drop in new premiums in its Chartis general insurance business, compared with a year earlier.
AIG attributed the slide in part to the weak economy. That was a better result than in previous quarters, as the company said it was able to hold on to current customers while bringing in new business.
AIG also had lower sales of life insurance products, and it added $2.3 billion to its reserves against losses in its commercial insurance business.
CreditSuisse analyst Thomas Gallagher said the company would benefit from premium price increases, but he doesn’t think management will take “strong pricing actions.” Gallagher lowered his 2010 earnings outlook by $2.25 to $3 per share. Analysts, on average, forecast earnings of $7.28 per share.
