Some insurance companies are releasing estimated catastrophe loss figures on the heels of major events, such as Europe is reeling from historic flooding that struck in June, and hit Germany particularly bad. Munich Re said recently that industry losses from the June European flooding could tally $3.9 billion.
Flooding in the Canadian province of Alberta could bring insured losses of US$3.6 billion. Floods were brought after heavy rains drenched Alberta, sending several major rivers over their banks. The area inundated with rain is not typically prone to heavy rain events, according to a recent report from Aon's Impact Forecasting.
Among the events to strike the U.S. in the second quarter were spates of tornadoes that swept through Oklahoma. One of those destroyed the town of Moore, Okla., and the other brought the largest tornado ever recorded in the U.S. Insurers in Oklahoma have already paid out at least $688 million from the twisters.
Scor SE
The company says the June floods in Alberta may become the largest insured loss in the country's history. The company pegged its net before-tax losses from the floods at 40 million euros (US$52.4 million), after retrocession and reinstatements. There are still uncertainties about the extend of the insured losses, which could result in material impacts and deviations to the estimate.
Scor is preparing for flood losses not only from Alberta, but also from the June flooding in Europe, the company said in a separate statement. Those before-tax losses could come in at 80 million euros, after retrocession and reinstatements. Rated Scor companies currently have a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent).
PartnerRe Ltd.
Company expects before-tax losses from the European flooding between $50 million and $60 million, net of retrocession and reinstatement premiums. It also expects losses from the Alberta flooding between $45 million and $60 million, but also noted uncertainties in estimating the losses.
Partner Reinsurance Co. Ltd. currently has a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior). The afternoon of July 18, shares of PartnerRe Ltd. (NYSE: PRE) were trading at $92.54, up 0.67% from the previous close.
Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd.
Second-quarter cat losses could be about $59 million, net of reinsurance and reinstatment premiums. The estimate is made up of about 85% reinsurance business and 15% from insurance operations, the company said. Aspen's losses from floods in Europe, India and Canada, as well as hailstorms and tornadoes in the U.S. The largest event was the European flooding, which is expected to cost the company about $31 million.
Aspen Insurance companies currently have a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent). The afternoon of July 18, shares of Aspen Insurance Holdings (NYSE: AHL) were trading at $38.51, up 0.21% from the previous close.
Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.
Second quarter before-tax cat losses are estimated at $140 million, net of estimated recoveries from reinsurance and including estimated reinstatment premiums. The losses stem from the company's insurance and reinsurance operations, it said in a statement. Axis' insurance segment accounted for about $90 million of the estimate, with those losses coming from U.S. hailstorms and tornadoes, and flooding in Argentina and Canada. The reinsurance segment will have about $50 million of estimated losses from floods in Europe and Canada.
Rated Axis companies currently have a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent). The afternoon of July 18, shares of Axis Capital Holdings were trading at $47.08, down 1.79% from the previous close.
Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd.
Several events contributed to the company's second-quarter cat loss estimate of $47.4 million, which is a pre-tax and net of reinsurance and reinstatement premium figure. About half of those losses stem from the flooding in Europe, the company said, but Canadian flooding and U.S. tornadoes also contributed.
Endurance Specialty Insurance currently has a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent). The afternoon of July 18, shares of Endurance Specialty Holdings were trading at $53.14, down 0.02% from the previous close.
Platinum Underwriters Holdings Ltd.
The company reported second-quarter cat losses of $18.6 million, but did not specify from where the losses stemmed. The losses were reported in the company's quarterly earnings statement, in which it said it had a second-quarter net income of $50 million, down 26.2% from the prior-year period.
Rated Platinum Underwriters companies currently have a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent). The afternoon of July 18, shares of Platinum Underwriters Holdings were trading at $58.74, down 1.51% from the previous close.