What’s New: In Brief (September 23, 2008)

Swiss Re expects its collective net claims for Hurricanes Gustav and Ike will total approximately US$300 million, the reinsurer announced Sept. 23.
Swiss Re estimated its Hurricane Gustav claims exposure would amount to approximately US$50 million when all was said and done. Hurricane Ike claims for Swiss Re were expected to total approximately US$250 million.
“The combination of this year’s natural catastrophe activity, along with investment market performance, is likely to accelerate the ending of the soft market,” Brian Gray, chief underwriting officer of Swiss Re, said in a statement.
Overall, Swiss Re added, losses due to Hurricane Ike hitting the Texas Gulf Coast were anticipated to be in the range of $US7-14 billion.
Hurricane Gustav is estimated to have caused total insured losses of between US$2.5 billion and US$4 billion.

PartnerRe Ltd. (NYSE: PRE) announced its early estimate of claims related to Hurricane Ike is currently between US$175 million and US$210 million on a pre-tax basis, net of reinstatement premiums.
Hurricane Ike made landfall on Sept. 13, 2008, at Galveston Island, Texas, as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mp-h.
PartnerRe has also announced its estimate of claims related to Hurricane Gustav exposure is between US$10 million and US$20 million on a pre-tax basis, net of reinstatement premiums.
The estimate of damages related to Gustav represents a significant downgrade from PartnerRe’s original estimate of between US$25 million and US$45 million.
“The third quarter has been active in terms of Atlantic hurricanes,” PartnerRe president and CEO Patrick Thiele said in a statement. “We typically expect to incur larger catastrophe-related claims in the second half of the year, and as a result, PartnerRe earns a proportionally higher level of catastrophe-exposed premiums in the third quarter and second half of the year.
“This partially mitigates the impact on results of third quarter and second half catastrophe related losses.”