NU Online News Service, Oct. 14, 12:42 p.m.EDT

Hamilton, Bermuda-based insurer Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd.estimates its third-quarter catastrophe losses will stand at around$60 million before taxes, and along with Aspen Insurance losses,reported cat insurance losses in the third quarter are well over$500 million in the past two weeks.

The estimate is comprised of $30 million from U.S. eventsincluding Hurricane Irene and the Texas wildfires, $20 million fromU.S. regional aggregate covers, and $10 million from the JulyDanish floods, the company says.

In addition, the company estimates it will incur $10 million ofnet losses from the June 2011 New Zealand earthquake.

All of these amounts are net of retrocessional recoveries andreinstatement premiums.

Montpelier adds that in view of the uncertainties associatedwith preliminary estimates, its actual losses may differ, perhapssignificantly, from these amounts.

Hamilton, Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., alsoannounced a total of $24 million in catastrophe losses in thequarter.

The company estimates losses from Hurricane Irene of $10 millionand $14 million for other natural-catastrophe events which occurredin the third quarter of 2011, including weather-related events inthe United States, Scandinavia and Asia.

In addition, the company increased its second-quarter 2011 U.S.severe-weather-related losses by $17 million, from $65 million atJune 30, 2011 to $82 million. Aspen says the “increase isconsistent with the increase in estimated market losses from theseevents to $20 billion from $15 billion.

Aspen says its losses are net of applicable reinsurance,reinstatement premiums and tax.

Within the past two weeks, NU Online News Service has reportedseven insurers' pre-tax catastrophe losses totaling between $500million and $555 million.

The insures are:

• Hanover Re

• XL Group

• Cincinnati Financial Group

• Selective Insurance Group

• W.R. Berkley

• Endurance

Catastrophes have taken a bite out of insurers' earnings atleast for the first half of this year, according to at least tworecent reports.

The Insurance Services Office, based in Jersey City, N.J., inconjunction with the Des Plaines, Ill.-based Property CasualtyInsurers Association of America and the New York-based InsuranceInformation Institute report that private U.S. property andcasualty insurers' net income fell to $4.8 billion for the first half of 2011compared to $16.8 billion for the same period a year ago—a drop of71 percent.

Driving the decline were net losses on underwriting, growing $19billion to more than $24 billion for the first half of theyear.

Insurance rating service A.M. Best says U.S. P&C industry underwriting for the first half of 2011 fell 67percent to $6.9 billion, and its statutory combined ratiodeteriorated more than 9 points to nearly 110 through the firsthalf of 2011.