The Bermuda reinsurance market emerged “relatively unscathed" from the unprecedented hurricane and typhoon landfalls in 2004, according to the Benfield Bermuda quarterly report.
The report surveyed 18 Bermuda reinsurers and put total losses at $3.5bn. It said the average return on equity for Bermuda reinsurers was 13.3% in 2004, down from 19.1% the year before. The impact of the storms, it claimed, was softened by a high degree of retention and disproportionate losses in the primary insurance market.
Net income for Bermuda reinsurers was down 3% to $5.7bn. The average combined ratio was 96.4%, up from 90.7% in 2003 and balance sheets increased by 14% to $45bn.