RenRe taking $180M hit from Winter Storm Uri
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RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. said Thursday first-quarter earnings will take a $180 million hit from Winter Storm Uri, the major wind and ice storm that thrashed the U.S. in February 2021 causing substantial damage in Texas and elsewhere.
As a result, Pembroke, Bermuda-based RenaissanceRe expects to report a net loss for the first quarter of 2021.
RenaissanceRe’s estimates of net negative impact - the sum of estimates of net claims and claim expenses incurred, earned reinstatement premiums assumed and ceded, earned and lost profit commissions and redeemable noncontrolling interest - are based on a review of its potential exposures, preliminary discussions with certain counterparties and actuarial modeling techniques.
The reinsurer emphasized the estimates includes “Meaningful uncertainty.”
U.S. severe and winter weather losses have cost $17 billion to date, with the main driver U.S. winter weather, according to a research note Thursday from Jeffries Equity Research.
While claims frequency appears high, there seems to be anecdotal evidence that severity may be relatively low, with policyholders retaining a larger proportion of claims, lessening the cost to underwriters, Jeffries said.
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