Hanover, Everest Re Report Expected 2Q Cat Losses

NU Online News Service, July 7, 12:18 p.m. EDT

The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. says it expects losses from second-quarter catastrophes to be between $145 million and $160 million before tax.

The Worcester, Mass.-based insurer says the losses are from tornado-spawning storms in April and May in the U.S., including the May 22 tornado that struck Joplin, Mo., and June 1 tornadoes that struck Massachusetts.

In late May, Hanover said it expected between $70 million and $85 million from April storms.

Meanwhile, Hamilton, Bermuda-based Everest Re Group says it expects to incur second-quarter net catastrophe losses of $80 million, after reinstatement premiums and taxes.

The company says the losses relate to the April and May U.S. storms as well as wildfires in Alberta, Canada and updated loss provisions for first-quarter catastrophe losses. Everest Re says it expects that losses related to the most recent New Zealand earthquake will be less than $10 million and therefore would not be reported as part of its current catastrophe-loss provision. Events with expected losses below $10 million are included as part of the company's attritional losses, Everest Re says.

Joseph V. Taranto, Everest Re's chairman and CEO, says in a statement, “Despite these losses, we expect to have an underwriting profit in the quarter and a solid increase in our already strong capital position.”

Corrected to show “Everest Re” in the last two paragraphs rather than PartnerRe, which was incorrectly included in this story previously