Bermuda Cos. Give Japan-Quake Estimates, Speak Of Market Change

NU Online News Service, April 13, 2:52 p.m. EDT

As three more Bermuda companies report estimated losses for the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami, a couple of the company executives commented that a market turn is beginning to occur.

Everest Re Group says it expects losses from the event to be about $320 million, assuming a $25 billion industry loss.

Aspen Insurance Holdings says its losses will be approximately $160 million, assuming a $30 billion industry loss. The company said the loss represents 5 percent of shareholders’ equity as at Dec. 31, 2010.

Alterra Capital Holdings says it expects losses of between $60 million and $100 million for the event, assuming industry losses of between $20 billion and $35 billion. The loss would represent between 2.1 percent and 3.4 percent of Alterra’s 2011 opening shareholders’ equity, which the company says is within its normal risk tolerances for natural catastrophe events in the region.

All loss estimates are pretax and net of reinstatement premiums.

Aspen CEO Chris O’Kane says first-quarter catastrophes, low investment returns and the change in exposure modeling from Risk Management Solutions’ (RMS) latest release will combine to improve pricing for catastrophe-exposed property lines. “Up to 35 percent of our 2011 business could consequently be subject to meaningful positive price changes,” O’Kane says.

Everest Re Chairman and CEO Joseph V. Taranto echoes those comments, stating, “Given the frequency and severity of recent events, we expect market pricing to firm worldwide for property-catastrophe capacity.”