(Corrects to say 'adjusted' annual loss in headline and 1st paragraph)
Feb 19 (Reuters) - QBE Insurance QBE.AX posted a bigger adjusted 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.