Combined ratio improves for American reinsurers

The Reinsurance Association of America has reported that the combined ratio for the carriers it represents improved to 78.9% in the first three months of 2013, from 95.6% during the first three months of 2012.

RAA, a trade association of 19 property and casualty reinsurers in the U.S., said its members wrote $9.1 billion in net premiums during the three months ending March 31. All figures are in U.S. currency.

Net premiums written for the last three months of 2012 were $7.7 billion.

The loss ratio for the group was 52% in the first three months of 2013 while net income was $3.38 billion and investment income was $3.405 billion.

The top three members, ranked by net premiums written for the first three months, were Berkley Insurance Company, National Indemnity Company and Munich Re America Corp., at $2.216 billion, $1.741 billion and  $814.9 million respectively.

Berkley had net premiums written of $430.1 million in the first three months of 2012, while National Indemnity and Munich Re America had net written premiums of  $2.61 billion and $785 million respectively in Q1 2012. RAA noted the results for National Indemnity “exclude assumptions from General Re Group.”

The association noted that as of Jan. 1 of this year, Berkley “entered into a 100% intercompany reinsurance pooling agreement with its U.S. property casualty insurance company subsidiaries.”

Munich Re’s results included the combined results of Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., American Alternative Insurance Corp. and The Princeton Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Co.

In 2012, the RAA members had gross written premiums of $43.6 billion and direct premiums written of $29.48 billion. Net income for 2012 was $7.98 billion and the combined ratio was 96.2%. Investment income for the group was $8.409 billion.