Insurer and reinsurer XL Group increased its reinsurance segment gross premiums written (GPW) by a substantial 159.5% in Q4 2016 when compared with the previous year’s quarter, despite pricing in the industry being down.
The re/insurer has released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 results, which reveals an increase in P&C GPW of 19.3% to more than $3 billion for Q4, and roughly $13.6 billion for the full-year.
The majority of the growth comes from its reinsurance segment which increased by 159.5% in the quarter, while its insurance segment recorded P&C GPW growth of 6.9% in the period.
Regarding growth in its P&C reinsurance book the company said; “The increase was primarily due to significant new proportional business in Bermuda in the Property Treaty line of business offset by cancellations in Bermuda and London in the Casualty line of business.”
The company reported increased pre-tax net of reinsurance natural catastrophe losses during both Q4 and the full-year, of $246.1 million and $636.3 million, respectively.
XL Group’s P&C combined ratio, excluding prior year development and the impact of nat cats, improved in the quarter to 89.1%, compared with 92.8% a year earlier. For the reinsurance segment the combined ratio, on this basis, was 81.9% in Q4, and the insurance segment reported a combined ratio of 92.3%.
“Overall, improvements on each component of the combined ratio reflect disciplined underwriting as well as continued emergence of operational efficiencies,” says XL Group.
