XL Group estimates its preliminary losses for Tianjin, China port explosion at US$100 million

Dublin, Ireland-based XL Group plc said on Monday that its preliminary estimated losses related to the mid-August port explosion in Tianjin, China are approximately US$100 million.

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The estimate, pretax and net of reinsurance and reinstatement premium, is 30% attributable to the company’s Insurance segment and 70% to the Reinsurance segment, XL Group said in a press release.

XL Group also estimates that preliminary losses related to natural peril catastrophes for the third quarter of 2015 are approximately US$30 million, primarily attributable to the Reinsurance segment. Natural peril catastrophes include the Chilean earthquake in September and development on prior quarter events the majority of which pertain to the 2015 winter storms in the United States.

XL Group intends to provide an update regarding these events when it releases its Q3 2015 results on Oct. 26.

The company’s preliminary loss estimates are based on its review of individual treaties and policies expected to be impacted and client data received to date and has taken into account current total insured market loss estimates, from both published sources and the company’s internal analyses, the release said. Given there is currently a wide range of estimates for the extent of total economic and insured industry losses for these events, XL Group’s loss estimates may be revised as additional information becomes available.

In late September, Zurich Insurance Group announced estimated aggregate losses of about US$275 million in connection with the incident. The estimate, net of reinsurance and before tax, also contributed to the announcement that Zurich had terminated its discussions in connection with a possible offer for RSA, Zurich said at the time.

More recently, on Oct. 13, Bermuda insurer PartnerRe Ltd. estimated US$70 million in losses from the series of explosions in Tianjin.

The Associated Press reported that as of Sept. 11, 173 people were reported dead and eight people were still unaccounted for.