Italian insurer Generali is set to report catastrophe losses of around $888 million (EUR 840 million) for the first nine months of 2023, exceeding its budget for the full year, according to a Reuters report.
Reuters reports that during an event held today in Munich, the global insurer’s Group Chief Financial Officer, Cristiano Borean, said that the firm has recorded catastrophe losses above budget for the year as of the end of September.
2023 has continued the trend of more frequent and severe adverse weather events, notably from so-called secondary perils such as floods, severe convective storms, and wildfires.
At the same time, the move away from aggregate covers and lower layers of programmes by reinsurers has meant that primary insurers have absorbed more of the losses than in the past, which could be part of the reason for the elevated loss experience for Generali in 9M 2023.
The $888 million (EUR 840 million) of cat losses recorded by Generali for 9M 2023 compares with around $712 million (EUR 673 million) for the same period in 2022.
In August, Generali reported that natural catastrophes, driven mostly by floods in Italy in the second quarter, impacted its H1 2023 combined ratio by 1.2 percentage points, an improvement on the prior year period impact of 1.9 percentage points.
Reuters reports that Borean failed to provide a figure for the annual budget, although this could become clear when the insurer announces its 9M 2023 results next month.
