Elevated levels of risk in the market will curtail M&A activity across the insurance industry for the near future, according to Chubb Ltd.'s top executive.

A lot of deals in the insurance space claim to be strategic, but many of them are "done out of weakness where people feel pressure," Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg said during a conference call. "They want to continue growth or they have a balance-sheet hole problem."

The bar has been raised on M&A with costs of capital up and with more risk in today's environment, Greenberg said. Companies are likely to be cautious for now, he added.

Greenberg said integration planning is "quite active" surrounding Chubb's impending $5.75 billion acquisition of Cigna Corp.'s personal accident, supplemental health and life insurance business across six markets in Asia-Pacific. However, CFO Peter Enns said the insurer amended its purchase agreement to remove the joint venture in Turkey.

Enns said the change will have a "de minimis" impact on the transaction. Greenberg expects to receive regulatory approvals that would lead to closing during the second quarter.

Cyber attacks have Russian roots

While the war between Russia and Ukraine is "a human tragedy of epic proportions with profound geopolitical implications," Chubb's actual incurred losses to date from the conflict will not represent a meaningful event for the company, according to Greenberg. Cyber attacks have neither increased nor decreased in the wake of the conflict, Greenberg said, though Russia remains the single biggest source of cyberattacks against the U.S.

When it comes to ransomware attacks across the globe, "more comes out of Russia than any other jurisdiction."

Enns said that Chubb's Russian entities have been "separated operationally" and have been deconsolidated. Chubb impaired the full carrying values of those entities at a realized loss of $87 million.

Operating income spikes

For the first quarter, the insurer reported a 43.6% rise in core operating income to $1.64 billion, or $3.82 per share, from $1.14 billion, or $2.52 per share, a year earlier. Net income fell 14.2% to $1.97 billion, or $4.59 per share, from $2.3 billion, or $5.07 per share, a year ago.

Property and casualty underwriting income was $1.28 billion for the period, with a combined ratio of 84.3%, compared with 91.8% a year ago. P&C current accident year underwriting income, excluding cat losses, was $1.38 billion, up 21.7% year over year.