Reinsurers’ Q1 results see sharp tumble: RAA

A group of 19 U.S. property and casualty reinsurers posted a combined ratio of 129.3% in 2011 Q1, marking a sharp deterioration from 2010 Q1’s combined ratio of 102.2%, reported the Reinsurers Association of America (RAA).The group’s underwriting loss ballooned from $328 million in 2010 Q1 to an underwriting loss of $2.1 billion in 2011 Q1.Net income, on a consolidated basis, also took a hit in the first quarter of 2011. In 2010 Q1, the group of reinsurers posted a healthy net income of $2.4 billion. This figure plummeted to a net loss of $101 million in 2011 Q1.Although the RAA does not provide any narrative context around the numbers, global reinsurers were confronted by extraordinary catastrophic events in 2011 Q1.Two companies, General Re and SCOR US Group/SCOR Re, posted underwriting gains in 2011 Q1 ($39 million and $22 million, respectively). Among the reinsurers included in the RAA’s figures, the following five companies posted the largest underwriting losses in 2011 Q1:* National Indemnity Company, an underwriting loss of $971 million;* TRC/Putnam Reinsurance Company, an underwriting loss of $480 million;* Odyssey Reinsurance Group, an underwriting loss of $238 million;* Everest Reinsurance Company, an underwriting loss of $209 million; and* Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation, an underwriting loss of $85 million.