(Re)insurer's nine-month combined ratio jumps to 97.2% from 84%
Bermuda-based (re)insurer Aspen Insurance Holdings increased reserves by $6.2m in the third quarter, having released $44.2m of reserves in the same period last year.
Reserve releases for the first nine months of the year were $8.8m, down sharply from the $71m released in the first nine months of 2009.
Net income for the first nine months of 2010 fell to $220m from $347.6m. The combined ratio jumped to 97.2% from 84.0%.
The group-wide third-quarter reserve strengthening was driven by a $9.5m reserve boost at the company's insurance segment, which arose mainly from the financial and professional lines business. The boost compares with $11m of releases in the third quarter last year. The insurance segment's underwriting loss in the third quarter was $13.4m, compared with a profit of $20.9m in the same period last year. The segment's combined ratio increased to 107.3% from 88.6%.
The reinsurance segment made an underwriting profit of $53m in the third quarter of 2010, down from $86.3m in the same period last year. The combined ratio rose to 80.1% from 70.1%
