NU Online News Service, July 1, 8:43 a.m. EST
Bermuda's Hiscox says losses from the Japan earthquake could be at the high end of its previously announced range of between $60 million and $150 million.
A trading statement from the company says "there continues to be considerable uncertainty around the Japanese earthquake."
Simultaneously, the international specialty insurer says rates on U.S. catastrophe reinsurance are up about 10 percent due to recent severe weather and the introduction of a new hurricane model version by catastrophe risk modeler Risk Management Solutions.
Hiscox says net insured losses from U.S. thunderstorms in April and May will be about $56 million, based on estimated insured market losses of $15 billion to $25 billion.
In addition, Luxembourg's Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings says catastrophes during April and May are expected to generate between $25 million and $30 million, net of reinsurance and retrocession.
Add updated loss estimates for catastrophes during the first quarter and Flagstone says it expects between a $20 million and $25 million hit to second quarter financial results.
Flagstone Chief Executive Officer David Brown is already calling 2011 "one of the most unprecedented years for significant global catastrophes the industry has ever seen."
At the same time, the executive says losses have had no impact on capital and renewals "remain strong."
Meanwhile, Bermuda-based Montpelier Re Holdings says weather and flood events in the United States during the second quarter will cost the company about $35 million, pretax and net of reinsurance recoveries and reinstatement premiums.
The reinsurer says is does not expect any losses from the New Zealand earthquake in June.
Other Loss Estimates
Chicago-based Unitrin Inc., a life, home, and automobile insurance provider, says it expects about $20 million in pre-tax catastrophe losses from severe storms in May, and narrows its estimated April losses at about $65 million.
Penn Millers Holding Corp. estimates about $6.7 million in pre-tax catastrophe losses for the second quarter, mostly due to losses in its agricultural insurance business. The Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based company says second-quarter catastrophes normally add 13 points to its loss ratio. This year it expects to add 39 points to the ratio from catastrophe losses.
Baldwin & Lyons Inc., a specialty property-casualty insurer primarily for the transportation industry, says the thunderstorms during the second quarter will result in about $6.5 million in after-tax losses. A majority of the losses are from tornadoes in Alabama and Joplin, Mo., the Indianapolis-based company adds.
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