RenaissanceRe has revealed a significant initial estimated net negative impact from recent severe catastrophe events of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the Mexico City earthquake of $625 million.
Losses from hurricanes Harvey and Irma will have an expected net negative impact of approximately $225 million and $175 million, respectively, on the firm’s third quarter 2017 results.
Combined hurricane Maria and Mexico City earthquake losses will leave a net negative impact of approximately $225 million on its third quarter 2017 results.
Kevin O’Donnell, CEO of RenaissanceRe, commented; “We extend our sympathies to all those affected by these recent catastrophic events, and recognize their enormous human impact.
“As we have always done, we stand ready to help rebuild the many affected communities by serving our customers and paying claims.”
However, the company cautioned that these loss estimates are still prone to considerable uncertainty, particularly those for the two more recent events, Hurricane Maria and the Mexico City earthquake because, “among other things, recovery, insurance loss adjusting and exposure estimates are at earlier stages.
“Furthermore, seismic events such as the Mexico City Earthquake generally have longer development periods than windstorm events, which may be amplified in this instance by dynamics such as the risk of geological liquefaction and the potential for uncertainty in claims adjudication.
“In respect of Hurricane Maria, recovery efforts are ongoing and expanding, with power outages, infrastructure damage, communications disruptions and other issues complicating loss mitigation and estimation,” explained RenaissanceRe.
