Universal Insurance Holdings’ Property & Casualty Insurance Company (UPCIC) has revealed estimated gross losses of $350-450 million from Hurricane Irma from across Florida and other Southeastern U.S. states.
The insurer’s reinsurance programme will cover the majority of losses, with the UPCIC only retaining its first event net pre-tax loss of $35 million.
UPCIC said this retention figure could be reduced further should it experience any additional reinsurance recoveries from its supplemental Non-Florida reinsurance programme.
At this estimated loss level, UPCIC said it still has a full reinsurance tower of $2.65 billion available for any future events.
American Platinum Property and Casualty Insurance Company (APPCIC) anticipates Hurricane Irma gross losses of $1-2 million, all of the net pre-tax losses will be retained in light of APPCIC’s $2 million retention reinsurance programme.
Universal Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sean Downes commented; “We are thankful that our dedicated staff, disaster preparedness planning and conservative reinsurance programme placed with strong reinsurance partners helped to limit the overall financial impact of these events.
“We have had approximately 50,000 claims reported relating to Hurricane Irma to date, over 90% of reported claims have already been inspected, and nearly 50% of reported claims have already been closed. We also highlight our extensive second event coverage and our solid financial position as we move through the remainder of the 2017 hurricane season.
“Additionally, as we begin to look forward, it is important to note that over 60% of the UPCIC reinsurance capacity estimated to be impacted is part of multi-year deals with dedicated limit and pricing already determined for future years, which will serve to protect UPCIC in the event of a hardening reinsurance market.”
The Company expects no impact to third quarter 2017 financial results from Hurricane Harvey or Hurricane Maria, as neither of Universal’s insurance company subsidiaries have exposure in the affected areas.
Additionally, the Company said it expects to incur little or no losses relating to Hurricane Nate.
