PartnerRe Ike Claims at $175-$200 Million; Lowers Gustav Estimates

Bermuda’s PartnerRe Ltd. announced that its early estimate of claims relating to its exposure to Hurricane Ike is currently between $175-$210 million on a pre-tax basis, net of reinstatement premiums.

The bulletin described Ike’s passage through Texas, which caused significant damage along the coast. PartnerRe said its own “loss estimate is based on the assessment of individual treaties as well as client data and is predominantly concentrated in the Catastrophe sub-segment, with additional losses expected in the U.S and Global (non-U.S.) Specialty sub-segments and the Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) unit. This loss estimate will be refined as additional information is received from clients.”

Following the same method, the Company then said that it has “revised down its estimate of claims relating to its exposure to Hurricane Gustav to $10-$20 million on a pre-tax basis, net of reinstatement premiums, from its original estimate of $25-$45 million [See IJ web site –https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2008/09/12/93633.htm]. The reduction in estimate is primarily concentrated in the Catastrophe sub-segment.”

President & CEO Patrick Thiele commented: “The third quarter has been active in terms of Atlantic hurricanes. We typically expect to incur larger catastrophe related claims in the second half of the year, and as a result, PartnerRe earns a proportionally higher level of catastrophe-exposed premiums in the third quarter and second half of the year. This partially mitigates the impact on results of third quarter and second half catastrophe related losses.”

Source: PartnerRe Ltd. – www.partnerre.com