For Q3 2021, global reinsurance giant Munich Re has pre-announced losses of roughly €600 million from the impacts of windstorm Bernd in Europe in July, and losses of around €1.2 billion from Hurricane Ida in the U.S.
The cost of Bernd, which resulted in severe flooding and flash floods in Germany and neighbouring countries, will hit Munich Re’s property-casualty reinsurance unit and ERGO’s property-casualty arm in Germany.
While the cost of Ida, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, before its remnants went on to impact the North-easterly states of the U.S., will also impact Munich Re’s property-casualty reinsurance division.
Despite the combined roughly €1.8 billion of losses from these two events, the reinsurer still expects to achieve a preliminary result for the quarter of roughly €400 million, which is up on the consensus of a loss of €10 million.
The firm attributes this positive preliminary result to “continued positive performance in all segments and a high investment result – also due in part to large gains on disposals – as well as a high currency translation result”.
Taking into account its preliminary result for Q3, Munich Re says that for the first nine months of the year it has achieved a result of around €2.1 billion.
Furthermore, the reinsurer still expects to meet its overall profit target of €2.8 billion for the full-year 2021.
Interestingly, Munich Re explains that this forecast includes higher COVID-19 losses for life and health reinsurance than it anticipated when it announced its Q2 results.
The company said previously that its L&H reinsurance division would not meet its technical result target of €400 million for the year.
In P&C reinsurance, Munich Re has reported no noteworthy COVID-19 losses in Q3 2021.
