Bermuda domiciled insurer and reinsurer, AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, expects to report modest operating income for the fourth-quarter of 2019, driven in part by pre-tax catastrophe losses of $140 million.
The firm’s Q4 2019 results were impacted by a pre-tax loss for catastrophes and other weather-related events of $140 million, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums.
AXIS Capital notes that this includes a pre-tax loss of $93 million as a result of typhoon Hagibis in Japan, which will mostly be assumed by its reinsurance business. Other weather-related events included the Australian wildfires and also regional weather events in the U.S.
Additionally, AXIS Capital has warned that its fourth-quarter 2019 results included net favourable prior year reserve development of $14 million, primarily as a result of motor, credit, surety and political risk. However, this was somewhat offset by further loss development attributable to 2017’s hurricane Irma, which AXIS says is consistent with industry trends.
Furthermore, the Bermudian re/insurer has revealed that its Q4 2019 results also included a pre-tax underwriting loss of around $29 million for its reinsurance agriculture operation, driven mostly by poor weather conditions that hit the firm’s U.S. and India books of business.
As a result of these impacts, AXIS states that it anticipates reporting modest operating income for the fourth-quarter, and says that following careful consideration of these items, it noted further improvements in both pricing and performance in core insurance lines in Q4 2019.
The announcement from AXIS comes soon after global re/insurer Chubb announced net catastrophe losses of an estimated $430 million pre-tax for the fourth-quarter of 2019.
At the same time, Chubb also said that it would fall to an underwriting loss of $23 million pre-tax in its North America Agricultural Insurance unit for the period, mostly driven by crop yield shortfalls as a result of poor growing conditions.
