Shareholders' equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Shareholders' equity

Shareholders’ equity

All of Chubb’s Common Shares are authorized under Swiss corporate law. Though the par value of Common Shares is stated in Swiss francs, Chubb continues to use U.S. dollars as its reporting currency for preparing consolidated financial statements. Under Swiss corporate law, dividends, including distributions through a reduction in par value (par value reduction) or from legal reserves, must be stated in Swiss francs though dividend payments are made by Chubb in U.S. dollars. At September 30, 2020, our Common Shares had a par value of CHF 24.15 per share.

At our May 2019 and 2018 annual general meetings, our shareholders approved annual dividends for the following year of up to $3.00 per share and $2.92 per share, respectively, which were paid in four quarterly installments of $0.75 per share and $0.73 per share, respectively, at dates determined by the Board of Directors (Board) after the annual general meetings by way of a distribution from capital contribution reserves, transferred to free reserves for payment.

At our May 2020 annual general meeting, our shareholders approved an annual dividend for the following year of up to $3.12 per share, expected to be paid in four quarterly installments of $0.78 per share after the general meeting by way of distribution from capital contribution reserves, transferred to free reserves for payment. The Board will determine the record and payment dates at which the annual dividend may be paid until the date of the 2021 annual general meeting, and is authorized to abstain from distributing a dividend at its discretion.

The following table presents dividend distributions per Common Share in Swiss francs (CHF) and U.S. dollars (USD):

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30						September 30
	2020			2019			2020			2019
	CHF	USD		CHF	USD		CHF	USD		CHF	USD
Total dividend distributions per common share	0.71	$	0.78	0.73	$	0.75	2.18	$	2.31	2.20	$	2.23

Common Shares in treasury are used principally for issuance upon the exercise of employee stock options, grants of restricted stock, and purchases under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). At our May 2020 annual general meeting, our shareholders approved the cancellation of 2,178,600 shares purchased under our share repurchase program during the period beginning September 23, 2019 and ending December 31, 2019. The capital reduction by cancellation of shares was subject to publication requirements and a two-month waiting period in accordance with Swiss law and became effective August 3, 2020. At September 30, 2020, 26,229,070 Common Shares remain in treasury after share repurchases, share cancellations, and 1,670,777 net shares issued under employee share-based compensation plans.

Chubb Limited securities repurchase authorizations

In December 2018, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to $1.5 billion of Chubb's Common Shares from December 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019. In November 2019, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to $1.5 billion of Chubb's Common Shares from November 21, 2019 through December 31, 2020. We suspended share repurchase activity during the second and third quarters of 2020, given the economic environment. Subsequently, we resumed share repurchases on October 29, 2020 as disclosed below.

The following table presents repurchases of Chubb's Common Shares conducted in a series of open market transactions under the Board authorizations:

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended				October 1, 2020 through October 29, 2020
			September 30				September 30
(in millions of U.S. dollars, except share data)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Number of shares repurchased	—		3,079,618		2,266,150		8,417,838		52,500
Cost of shares repurchased	$	—	$	478	$	326	$	1,221	$	7
Repurchase authorization remaining at end of period	$	1,124	$	258	$	1,124	$	258	$	1,117