What does interest coverage mean?

How many times the company's operating profit covers its interest bill.

How do you interpret interest coverage?

Higher is safer; below ~2× is a warning that earnings provide little cushion against the debt burden. Debt-free companies have no interest expense and the ratio is left blank.

How does interest coverage compare across companies?

Comparable across leveraged non-financials; less relevant for net-cash companies with negligible interest.

The Hartford Financial Services Group HIG Interest coverage

Interest coverage at other companies

Cincinnati FinancialCINF

65.8×+31.3×

ProgressivePGR

52.5×+12.7×

The Travelers CompaniesTRV

22.4×+7.9×

ChubbCB

19.4×+4.3×

American International GroupAIG

10.7×+1.1×

Berkshire HathawayBRK.A

18.5×-1.9×

Other financials

Income statement

See full

Revenue$7.2B+6.1%

Net income$856.0M+35.9%

EPS (diluted)$3.04+41.4%

Balance sheet

See full

Cash & equivalents$166.0M+20.3%

Total debt$4.4B+0.1%

Total equity$18.9B+12.1%

Total assets$86.3B+4.9%

Cash flow

See full

Operating cash flow$1.0B+6.1%

CapEx$31.0M-18.4%

Free cash flow$1.0B+7.1%

Valuation

See full

Market cap$35.16B+5.6%

Enterprise value$39.36B+5.0%

P/E8.7×-2.5×

P/S1.2×0.0×

Profitability

See full

Net margin14.1%+3.0pp

Returns & leverage

See full

Return on equity22.7%+4.2pp

Debt / equity0.2×0.0×

Questions, answered.

What does interest coverage mean?: How many times the company's operating profit covers its interest bill.
How do you interpret interest coverage?: Higher is safer; below ~2× is a warning that earnings provide little cushion against the debt burden. Debt-free companies have no interest expense and the ratio is left blank.
How does interest coverage compare across companies?: Comparable across leveraged non-financials; less relevant for net-cash companies with negligible interest.