Swiss Re Forecasts 3Q Loss Following Hurricane Ian Claims

Source: Reuters | Published on October 18, 2022

Swiss Re profits

Swiss Re forecast a third-quarter net loss of around $500 million on Tuesday, after the reinsurance company absorbed $1.3 billion in preliminary claims from Hurricane Ian.

“While the 2022 Group ROE target of 10% is unlikely to be met given the impact of natural disasters, the Ukraine war, and financial market volatility,” the reinsurer said in a statement.
Ian, which made landfall in Florida last month, was one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States, bringing with it high winds, storm surges, and torrential rain.

Swiss Re estimated the total insured market loss from Hurricane Ian to be between $50 and $65 billion.

The Zurich-based company’s shares were expected to trade 0.7% lower.

The company said its (life and health) L&H Re and Corporate Solutions businesses were on track to meet their 2022 targets, while P&C Re was unlikely to meet its normalised combined ratio target of less than 94% in 2022 due to an increase in small- to mid-sized claims.

“Swiss Re’s capital position remains very strong, with a Group (Swiss Solvency Test) ratio of 274% as of 1 July 2022. This enables Swiss Re to pursue profitable opportunities in a reinsurance market that is becoming more competitive, while remaining committed to its capital management priorities “It stated this ahead of the release of quarterly results on October 28.

Berenberg analyst Kathryn Fear reduced her 2022 net income estimate to $947 million from $1.72 billion.

“This is primarily due to Hurricane Ian, which, at our (loss) estimate of $1.1 billion, effectively uses up the group’s remaining natural disaster budget,” she wrote in a note, adding that management had guided with half-year results that it had $1.2 billion in natural disaster budget for the second half.