20th Century Profit Triples in 1st Quarter

20th Century Industries, a Woodland Hills insurance company, said its first-quarter profit more than tripled from a year earlier, to $29.1 million from $7.6 million.

In recent quarters the company had lost money on its core business of underwriting auto and housing insurance, but had offset those losses with investment income. In the latest quarter, however, 20th Century reported operating income of $20.4 million compared with a year-earlier operating loss of $4.5 million.

At the same time, 20th Century’s investment income jumped 27% from a year ago, to $15.6 million from $12.3 million, further boosting its overall profit.

20th Century also noted that the latest results compared favorably to last year because, in the year-earlier quarter, heavy rain and flooding in Southern California--where 20th Century does most of its business--led to sharply higher claims costs.