RenRe losses widen in Q1 but CEO bullish on improving market

Losses at reinsurance group  RenaissanceRe widened in the first quarter of 2022, reflecting net negative impact from losses related to the Ukraine war and exposure to numerous natural catastrophes. Its chief executive Kevin O’Donnell (pictured), however, sees reason for optimism in the improving pricing environment with “material” increases across most lines.

RenRe recorded a net loss of $394.4 million for Q1 2022, against a net loss of $731.5 million in the prior-year period.

However, its gross written premium (GWP) increased by 11% to $2.9 billion from $2.7 billion, driven by growth in casualty and specialty.

Similarly, the combined ratio improved by nearly 17 percentage points to 86.5% from 103.1%. This included an impact of 7 percentage points from the Q1 2022 weather-related large losses and 1.8 percentage points related to the Russia-Ukraine war.

O’Donnell said the company had delivered a “solid double digit” operating return while generating profits in both underwriting segments.

“Our balance sheet is strong and all three of our drivers of profit should benefit from improving market conditions: our underwriting from material rate increases across most lines as well as continuing growth in our casualty and specialty segment; our fee income business from the launch of our ground-breaking casualty and specialty joint venture Fontana; and our investment income from rising interest rates.

“We believe that all of these factors will make our financial results increasingly resilient to natural catastrophe volatility and produce superior returns for our shareholders,” he said.

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