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Catastrophes hit first-half results of ACE, RenaissanceRe, PartnerRe

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Insurers' and reinsurers' first-half results took further hits after recent catastrophes, including tornadoes in the U.S.

ACE Ltd. and RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. had weaker earnings between January and June, and PartnerRe Ltd. announced its losses related to recent events.

Zurich-based ACE said it earned $866.0 million in the first half of the year, down from $1.43 billion during the same period in 2010. In the second quarter, the insurer's net income slipped to $607.0 million from $677.0 million in 2010.

“For the industry, this was another difficult quarter for natural catastrophes, while the challenges of a competitive insurance market globally and sluggish economic conditions in developed markets continue to weigh on growth,” ACE Chairman and CEO Evan G. Greenberg said in a statement Tuesday.

RenRe hit by tornado losses

ACE wasn't the only one to earn less in recent months. RenRe said Tuesday that had losses of $223.3 million during the first half of this year, compared with a profit of $375.3 million during the same period of 2010. For the second quarter, the Pembroke, Bermuda-based reinsurer and insurer reported net income of $24.8 million, compared with $210.2 million in the same period of 2010.

Tornadoes in the U.S. caused RenRe $70.8 million of losses in the second quarter. The company estimated in April that it also lost $328.6 million from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, $197.1 million from the New Zealand earthquake, and $39.6 million from Australian floods.

PartnerRe increases loss estimate

PartnerRe estimated Tuesday that U.S. tornadoes in April and May will cause it $89 million in losses. The Pembroke, Bermuda-based reinsurer and insurer also increased its previous loss estimate for the New Zealand earthquake in February, and said it expects to record $59 million in losses as a result of such changes. It didn’t materially change its estimate related to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

In May, PartnerRe estimated its losses from the series of catastrophes early this year at $1.07 billion, pretax and net of reinstatements, reinsurance and commission adjustments.