PartnerRe Catastrophe Leadership Changes
Bermuda reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd. today [Feb. 23] announced leadership changes in its Catastrophe business unit, effective April 1, 2011.
Brian Secrett, currently Chief Underwriting Officer and Deputy Head, Catastrophe, has been appointed Head of Catastrophe. Mr. Secrett will be responsible for PartnerRe’s worldwide catastrophe reinsurance business and will report to Emmanuel Clarke, CEO PartnerRe Global.
Mr. Secrett succeeds Ted Dziurman, who has been appointed to the new position of General Manager and Executive Director of Partner Reinsurance Europe Limited, the Dublin-based European reinsurance company of the PartnerRe Group.
Mr. Secrett has more than 20 years of reinsurance underwriting and market experience. He joined PartnerRe as an underwriter in 1994, and was appointed Head of Bermuda Catastrophe Underwriting team in 2002 and Chief Underwriting Officer Catastrophe in 2008.
Concurrent with Mr. Secrett’s appointment, Dr. Erik Rüttener, currently Head of Catastrophe Research, will be appointed Chief Underwriting Officer and Deputy Head of Catastrophe, reporting to Mr. Secrett. Dr. Rüttener joined PartnerRe in 2008 as Head of Catastrophe Research. Dr. Rüttener is currently Chairman of the Board of PERILS AG, a European insurance industry initiative providing natural catastrophe exposure and claims data.
Emmanuel Clarke, CEO PartnerRe Global, commented, “Brian’s strong reinsurance experience and extensive knowledge of the catastrophe reinsurance market will be essential in managing our catastrophe business unit. Erik brings deep analytical skills, strong experience and knowledge in both catastrophe research and modeling. I am confident that together with the team they will ensure that our clients continue to benefit from our support in assessing, pricing and reinsuring their catastrophe risk.”
He continued, “I’d like to thank Ted for the leadership he provided in further developing our Catastrophe business unit over the past four years, and extend my congratulations to him, Brian and Erik on their new appointments.”
PartnerRe recently announced its fourth quarter profits plunged 83 percent to $57 million compared to last year as catastrophe losses in New Zealand and Australia mounted. In December PartnerRe said it was revising its estimated losses from the September, 2010 earthquake in Christchurch to $140-$160 million, up from an initial figure of $61 million.
Shares in the Bermuda reinsurer — which has substantial exposure in New Zealand – dropped yesterday after a second quake devastated large sections of the South Island city.
And last week PartnerRe Ltd. estimated that the total net impact of loss events in Australia that have occurred to date in the first quarter of 2011 will be between $80-$110 million.
Loss estimates are pre-tax, net of retrocession and reinstatement premiums, and relate to all reinsurance contracts expected to be impacted by these events.
During January 2011, torrential rain and widespread flooding impacted large areas of Australia, including Queensland and Victoria. Additionally, on February 3, 2011, Tropical Cyclone Yasi made landfall as a Category 4 storm in North Queensland, causing widespread property damage and flooding across the region. The total net loss for these events of $80-$110 million is expected to be primarily recorded within the company’s Global (Non-U.S.) Property & Casualty and Catastrophe sub-segments.
Headquartered on Pitts Bay Road, PartnerRe Ltd. is a leading global reinsurer, providing multi-line reinsurance to insurance companies. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, also offers capital markets products that include weather and credit protection to financial, industrial and service companies. Risks reinsured include property, casualty, motor, agriculture, aviation/space, catastrophe, credit/surety, engineering, energy, marine, specialty property, specialty casualty, multiline and other lines, mortality, longevity and health, and alternative risk products.
For the year ended December 31, 2010, total revenues were $5.9 billion, and at December 31, 2010, total assets were $23.4 billion, total capital was $8.0 billion and total shareholders’ equity was $7.2 billion.
