Greenlight Re heads back into profit as it resolves legacy issues

Greenlight Re returned to profitability in 2016 as its CEO said it had resolved several problematic legacy contracts and continued to grow and diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company made a net profit of $44.8 million in 2016, a big improvement on the loss of $326.4 million it made in 2015.

The Cayman Islands-based company also reported net income of $49.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, again an improvement on the net loss of $43.1 million it made over the same period of 2015.

Greenlight Re’s gross written premiums increased to $536.1 in 2016 from $502.1 million in 2015, with net written premiums also seeing strong growth as they increased to $526 million in 2016 from $493.1 million in 2015.

Its combined ratio for full year 2016 was 103.6 percent, an improvement on the 110.3 percent that the company reported in 2015.

In addition Greenlight Re reported an underwriting loss of $18.8 million, an improvement on the underwriting loss of $41.9 million it reported for 2015. According to the company all of the loss during 2016 related to the novation of legacy contracts in run-off.

Its net investment income came to $76.2 million, representing a return of 7.2 percent, again an improvement on the previous year. Greenlight Re made a net investment loss of $281.9 million in 2015 when it reported a negative 20.2 percent return.

"We are pleased with our fourth quarter underwriting performance," said Bart Hedges, CEO of Greenlight Re. "Despite the competitive environment during 2016, we continued to grow and diversify our underwriting portfolio while also resolving some problematic legacy contracts."

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