Reinsurance Group of America Inc. RGA reported first quarter 2016 operating income of $1.85 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.98 by 6.6%. The bottom line, however, improved 4.5% from the year-ago quarter. The lower-than-expected earnings were primarily due to adverse foreign currency movement of 10 cents per share and higher claims in the U.S. Individual Mortality Business. Reinsurance Group's total revenue of $2.5 billion was flat year over year. Net premiums of $2.2 billion improved 6.6% year over year. Excluding negative foreign currency effect, premium increased 10%.Investment income decreased 2% from the prior-year quarter to $417.3 million. The average investment yield was down 32 basis points to 4.5% Total benefits and expenses of Reinsurance Group increased 2.9% year over year to $2.4 billion, owing to higher claims and other policy benefits as well as other operating expenses. Quarterly Segment UpdateU.S. and Latin America: Total pre-tax operating income increased 56.7% to $114.4 million in the first quarter. The Traditional segment reported a pre-tax operating income of $53.2 million, up 162% year over year. The increase was due to better than expected results last year and with mortality results being as expected for this year. Net premiums increased 11% from the year-ago quarter to $1.2 billion. Non-Traditional segment’s pre-tax operating income increased 12.4% to $45.3 million. The Financial Reinsurance business reported pre-tax operating income of $15.9 million compared with $12.4 million in the prior year quarter. Canada: Total pre-tax operating income declined 6.5% to $20 million due to the negative effect of a weaker Canadian dollar. Traditional segment’s pre-tax operating income increased 12.8%. Net premiums increased 1% to $215.5 million. Non-Traditional segment’s premiums decreased over 85% to $0.6 million year over year due to unfavorable experience on longevity treaties. Asia Pacific: Total pre-tax operating income declined 22.4% year over year to $48.6 million during the quarter. The traditional segment reported a pre-tax income of $41.1 million, down 21.9% year on year mainly due unfavorable year-over-year comparisons and adverse foreign currency effect. The segment otherwise had a strong quarter. Premiums were up 1% to $374.1 million. Non-Traditional segment’s pre-tax operating income declined 26.7% to $7.4 million due to adverse experience on various treaties and unfavorable foreign currency movements. Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”): The EMEA region reported pre-tax operating income of approximately $24.5 million, down 15.9% year over year. The Traditional segment reported a pre-tax operating loss of $1.1 million as against a $10.4 million profit in the same quarter last year. This was the result of unfavorable claims experience in U.K. Net reported premiums increased 2%. The Non-Traditional segment reported a 37.6% surge in pre-tax operating income to $25.6 million due to favourable longevity experience in the U.K, partially offset by unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations.Corporate and Other: Pre-tax operating loss came in at $30.3 million, wider than $5.7 million loss incurred in the prior year. Financial Update As of Mar 31, 2016, Reinsurance Group had assets worth $52.2 billion, up 16.8% year over year.As of Mar 31, 2016, Reinsurance Group’s book value per share excluding Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI) was $84.11,up 6.1% year over year. Dividend and Share Repurchase UpdateThe company’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 37 cents payable on May 31 to shareholders of record as on May 10. The company repurchased 1.2 million shares for $105 million this quarter. Zacks Rank and Other StocksReinsurance Group has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some other stocks in the insurance sector such as Amerisafe AMSF, Unum Group UNM, and Aflac AFL beat Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AFLAC INC (AFL): Free Stock Analysis Report UNUM GROUP (UNM): Free Stock Analysis Report AMERISAFE INC (AMSF): Free Stock Analysis Report REINSURANCE GRP (RGA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research