U.S. reinsurers' net income falls in 2011: RAA

The 2011 net income of a group of U.S. property/casualty reinsurers surveyed by the Reinsurance Assn. of America fell 26.6% to $6.89 billion from the net income registered a year earlier, according to a study released Thursday by the RAA.

Net premiums written by the group of 19 reinsurers increased 13.2% over those of 2010 to $26.39 billion, according to the Washington-based RAA. Policyholder surplus remained virtually flat, increasing by less than 1% to $108.41 billion in 2011, the RAA said.

The group’s combined ratio deteriorated nearly 12 points, to 107.2% from 95.4% in 2010.

The 2011 combined ratio reflected a loss ratio of 77.0%, up from 64.2% in 2010; and an expense ratio of 30.2%, which was a slight improvement over the 31.3% posted in 2010.