Brit, Beazely and Kiln Estimate Storm Losses

Three leading Lloyd’s Market insurers, Brit Insurance Holdings PLC, Beazley Group PLC and Kiln PLC, have announced preliminary estimates of their losses from the recent hurricanes, which struck Florida and a number of Caribbean islands, and the typhoons which hit Japan.

Brit said it had “reviewed the overall impact of these losses on our current trading and estimate that pre-tax profits for the full year will be reduced by GBP35 million [$63 million].”

Beazley said total insured losses from Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, “which the insurance industry estimate to be in the range of $20 billion to $30 billion, has affected the property, catastrophe reinsurance and energy markets.” It estimated the “impact based on the Beazley Group plc’s profit before tax for the 2004 financial year of approximately £15 million [$27 million].”

Kiln acknowledged that “as a specialist underwriter of property insurance, catastrophe reinsurance and offshore energy risks, Kiln’s Syndicates have been exposed to the underwriting losses caused by the highly unusual incidence of windstorm losses that have affected the USA, the Caribbean and Japan during the last quarter.”

It said an initial review of the impact of these losses had been carried out, and “in the absence of any major catastrophic loss during the remainder of the year and on the basis of currently available information,” it estimated that “the impact of these losses on Kiln plc’s profit before tax for the 2004 financial year will be in the range of £10 million ($18 million] to £15 million [$27 million].”