AXIS Says Hurricane Katrina Losses ‘Within Current Expectations’

September 12, 2005

Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited gave no figures for its estimated net losses from Hurricane Katrina, but indicated that they “are estimated to be within its current expectations of consolidated operating income for the 2005 calendar year, assuming no other large loss events during the year.”

AXIS said it expects Katrina losses “to arise in both our insurance and reinsurance segments. Our net loss estimates are derived from a combination of the output of industry models, a review of in-force contracts and preliminary indications from clients. Our actual losses from Hurricane Katrina may ultimately differ materially from our estimated losses.”

CEO and President John Charman commented, “Hurricane Katrina has resulted in a desperate human tragedy. We recognize the scale of the devastation to the community and businesses in the affected areas and are working diligently to provide consistency and good service to our clients.”

“We believe that Hurricane Katrina will present unprecedented losses to the insurance and reinsurance industry. By design, we have built a diverse portfolio of severity-exposed specialty business since our inception. Therefore, we would expect to have a material loss following an event of this magnitude. We have been prudent in managing our exposure relative to our total capital base and believe that our estimated earnings for 2005 will absorb our estimated net losses. We are well-positioned to participate actively in the market and to continue to provide consistency, service and security to our clients following this event.”

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Profit Loss Hurricane

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