Worcester’s The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. has reported a net loss of $31.8 million for the second quarter, driven by $103.4 million in catastrophe losses after tax. During the same period last year, the company reported net income of $2.3 million.

"An unprecedented number of tornadoes and extreme weather in the U.S. resulted in a net loss for our company this quarter," said Frederick H. Eppinger, chief executive officer at The Hanover. "We recognize the toll these catastrophes have taken on our policyholders. Our claims organization is committed to delivering exceptional claims service and helping our partners and their customers through these events."

He added: "Our underwriting results, excluding catastrophe losses, continued to generate improved results driven by more favorable accident year loss ratios, coupled with an improved expense ratio in our commercial lines business. We are making good progress on our targeted and disciplined growth strategy, which continues to drive a better business mix and improved retention; and we are establishing a strong pipeline of profitable growth opportunities going forward. Additionally, we have started to see some positive trends in the marketplace, providing additional confidence in our continued improvement. We have now successfully completed the Chaucer acquisition and are well along on our integration efforts. This transaction will prove to be an important milestone in our journey to build a world class property and casualty insurance company with a strong specialty focus."