According to the Benfield Group, global reinsurers survived this year's turbulent storm season without any serious dents in their earnings.
Benfield said “most companies still reported a third quarter profit”. Profitable noncatastrophe business and strong earnings in the first two quarters of the year helped reinsurers weather the storms, Benfield said.
Aggregate storm losses for the six biggest European reinsurers were $2bn. Despite this, earnings from noncatastrophe business remain "remarkably resilient," according to Benfield.
It said disciplined underwriting continued for the Europeans, which with the exception of Converium all showed lower gross premium figures. Converium was expected to see lower gross premiums, as it entered the process of divesting its troubled North American operations, said Benfield.
