White Mountains reports ‘slow start’ to 2021 with Q1 losses

Bermuda-based  White Mountains Group reported a slow start in 2021 but said that its underlying operating results are sound.

The company reported a comprehensive loss of $74 million in Q1 2021, compared to $132 million in the same period the previous year.

Ark, the business White Mountains acquired at the start of 2021, reported gross written premiums of $404.5 million, up more than twofold year on year, with renewal pricing up more than 10 percent. Its combined ratio was 108 percent in Q1, with the business suffering heavy cat losses, primarily related to Winter Storm Uri.

BAM reported gross written premiums of $12.5 million in Q1, up from $9.7 million the previous year. HG Global reported net written premiums of $10.7 million, up from $8.3 million.

White Mountains said its results had been driven primarily by $42 million of net investment losses from its investment in MediaAlpha, and a $29 million loss related to NSM's sale of its Fresh Insurance motor business.

Manning Rountree, CEO, commented, "We are off to a bit of a slow start in 2021, with ABVPS down 2 percent in the first quarter. The decline was largely driven by two items— a mark-to-market decline in our MediaAlpha position (which has since rebounded) and a loss triggered by NSM's sale of the Fresh Insurance motor business. Our underlying operating results were sound. BAM enjoyed its strongest first quarter on record, driven by primary market penetration and another significant assumed reinsurance transaction.

Ark wrote $405 million of gross written premiums in the quarter, NSM posted solid growth in both pro forma controlled premiums and pro forma adjusted EBITDA. Kudu posted solid growth in revenues from participation contracts and adjusted EBITDA. Excluding MediaAlpha, our investment portfolio was up 0.7 percent in the quarter. Reflecting $160 million of net proceeds from the MediaAlpha secondary offering in March, we finished the quarter with roughly $300 million in undeployed capital."

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