Catastrophes Result In Major Loss For Aspen
Bermuda speciality re/insurer Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited today [Apr. 28] reported first-quarter net loss of $151.7 million or $2.23 a share, including losses of $255.9 million, net of reinsurance recoveries, reinstatement premiums and taxes, resulting from a recent series of natural catastrophe events.
This compares with net profit of $18.3 million or $0.16 a share in the same quarter in 2010.
Operating loss for the quarter totaled $163.4 million or $2.40 a share, compared to operating profit of $6.1 million or $0.01 a share last year.
Operating loss of $2.40 a share included $3.63 of loss per share from the natural catastrophe events that occurred in the first quarter of 2011, the company noted.
Net earned premiums for the quarter amounted to $452.4 million, lower than last year’s $467.6 million.
Earlier this month Aspen estimated its initial losses from the March Japanese earthquake and tsunami as approximately $160 million, post tax and net of reinstatement premiums, consistent with an industry insured loss of $25-30 billion. This represents five percent of shareholders’ equity as at December 31, 2010.
Aspen also had exposure to the New Zealand quake which devastated large sections of Christchurch in the South Island as well as the catastrophic flooding and cyclone damage in Australia.
ASPEN CEO Chris O’Kane said: “The first quarter of 2011 saw an exceptionally high level of natural catastrophes which, combined with historically low investment returns and significant changes implied in new exposure modelling, continue to support a potential improvement in market conditions.
“These natural catastrophes had a material impact on our reinsurance segment results, while our insurance segment reported a modest profit in the quarter. Aspen’s diversified model and solid capital base continue to provide the flexibility to allocate resources to business lines that experience the most pronounced price improvements. Our balance sheet remains strong and we believe that we are well positioned to benefit as the pricing environment improves.”
