Mercury General Corp. on Monday reported a loss for the first quarter due to a drop of almost $60 million on its investments during the quarter.

Mercury reported that it lost $4 million (-7 cents per share) during the quarter ending March 31, compared with a profit of $60.5 million ($1.11) from the same period a year earlier. The results fell far below Wall Street’s expectations of $1.01 per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Mercury General attributed the shortfall to $59.9 million in losses tied to investments costing $1.09 per share from net income, the insurer said in a statement. The statement said the investment losses were due to changes in “fair value” of fixed maturity in equity securities. The statement did not identify the securities, but blamed the overall market.

Net premiums written for the Los Angeles-based company fell 7 percent to $729 million during the first quarter.

Shares in Mercury were fluctuating on Monday morning, at one point down by 57 cents per share to $50.79.