Montpelier Re has reported a net loss of $875.1m for the three months to September 30, 2005 and a net loss of $691.9m for the first nine months of 2005.
The company said it estimates the net impact of natural catastrophes on third quarter financial results to be $972m, including $809m for Hurricane Katrina, $141m for Hurricane Rita, and $22m for Hurricanes Dennis and Emily and the European floods.
Anthony Taylor, president and chief executive, said: "The third quarter of 2005 was the most costly quarter ever for catastrophe losses to the insurance and reinsurance industry.
"For Montpelier, with a short tail property concentration and a declared policy of purchasing limited amounts of reinsurance protection, the losses incurred have inevitably been significant. We are nonetheless very disappointed by this outcome.
"We are taking appropriate steps to reduce the potential impact of very large events by managing both our gross and net exposures so as to respond to the post-Katrina environment.
"We estimate total industry losses in the quarter from the major natural catastrophes to be in excess of $60bn. We believe that the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, coupled with the other events in the quarter and the latter half of 2004, will result in changes in the way certain classes of business will be structured and priced.
"We expect both the demand for our products and their pricing to increase significantly. This should lead to new opportunities as we move into the 2006 renewal season."
Kip Oberting, chief financial officer, said that although total capital had fallen dramatically, it was still nearly $400m more than it had when launced.
He reiterated that underwriting opportunities look attractive for 2006 and said the company will position its capital structure to ensure the strength of its ratings and take advantage of what it believes will be a compelling market in its core lines of business.
He added: "We are accelerating our efforts, begun this summer, to partner with capital providers in non-traditional vehicles. We believe that this approach will allow us to leverage our underwriting expertise in a capital efficient manner. Our ultimate objective remains to optimize growth in intrinsic value per share."
