RenRe swings to full-year loss, but CEO bullish on ‘attractive’ market in 2022

Reinsurer  RenaissanceRe swung to a full-year loss in 2021 despite having a good fourth quarter, but its chief executive Kevin O’Donnell (pictured) sees reason for optimism in the improving pricing environment as he looks to expand its casualty and specialty business in what he describes as an “attractive” market.

RenRe recorded a net loss of $73.4 million for 2021, against a net income of $731.5 million in 2020. Its combined ratio also worsened slightly, to 102.1% from 101.9% in 2020. However, the gross written premium for 2021 grew to $7.8 billion from $5.8 billion the previous year.

The reinsurer, however, celebrated a “solid finish to a difficult year” with a net profit of $210.9 million in Q4 2021, compared with $189.8 million for the same period last year. Its GWP grew by $1.3 billion, up more than a third (34.9%), led by a 48% increase in casualty GWP.

Weather-related large losses contributed a $962.1 million net negative impact on net loss attributable to common shareholders in 2021, including $53.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Commenting on the results, J O’Donnell said: “The fourth quarter was a solid finish to a difficult year. We reported a return on average common equity of over 14% for the quarter driven by record profitability in our casualty and specialty segment and strong results in our property segment.

“For the full year, we earned a modest operating profit despite catastrophe losses of nearly $1 billion. At the same time, we exercised leadership in the market, growing net premiums written by 45% while simultaneously returning over $1 billion in capital to shareholders.

“At the January 2022 renewal, our Capital Partners team once again led the industry, raising $500 million in DaVinci to grow in an improving environment and further optimise our property segment. In addition, we continued to expand our casualty and specialty business in an attractive market, and as a result, have built a stronger, more diversified and efficient underwriting portfolio that I am confident will produce superior returns for our shareholders in 2022.”

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