Swiss Re, RenRe issue cat loss estimates

Swiss Re Ltd. on Thursday said it will incur an estimated $1.1 billion in claims net of retrocession and before tax from natural catastrophes in the third quarter of the year.

The Zurich-based reinsurer said it expects claims of $500 million from Typhoon Jebi and claims of about $120 million from Hurricane Florence. Other catastrophes mainly from Japan such as Typhoon Tramji and North America, including the Carr Fire in California, are expected to result in an additional $500 million in losses.

Swiss Re also expects claims of about $300 million from multiple man-made disasters. These include the collapse of the motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy, a shipyard fire in Germany and the Ituango dam flooding in Colombia.

“While the third quarter losses are large for an individual quarter for Swiss Re, the cumulative losses for the first nine months are broadly in line with year-to-date expectations,” said Swiss Re in a statement.

Meanwhile, Pembroke, Bermuda-based RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. announced Wednesday that it estimates to post losses of about $155 million from 2018 third-quarter catastrophe events.

“The estimated losses for these events are primarily driven by Typhoon Jebi and Hurricane Florence, which will have an estimated net negative impact of approximately $70 million and $55 million, respectively,” said RenRe in a statement. It said estimated losses from other third-quarter catastrophe events, including typhoons Mangkhut and Trami, and the California wildfires, will amount to about $30 million.