Hurricanes drive down profits for Stamford reinsurers

March 15--After incurring $569 million in losses from three hurricanes and the California wildfires, PartnerRe saw its 2017 profit drop 41 percent to $264 million.

PartnerRe is based in Bermuda and has its main U.S. office in Stamford, one of multiple reinsurance carriers in the city that sell other carriers policies that are triggered in catastrophic events along with General Reinsurance, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance, OdysseyRe and XL Group.

In its annual report Wednesday, PartnerRe calculated at $449 million its losses last year from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria; and $120 million for the wildfires that destroyed communities in California. The company's property and casualty division recorded an underwriting loss of $44 million on the year, while making up ground on other insurance lines and investments.

After two years of declines in net premiums it charges its insurer clients, premiums rose 1 percent in 2017 for PartnerRe back above $5 billion. The company added about 25 employees in North America last year to give it nearly 390, with its total workforce at 980 people.

Despite its own exposure to the quartet of catastrophic events last year, OdysseyRe reported a $60 million profit in 2017 on its underwriting of reinsurance policies, down from $235 million in 2016.

OdysseyRe is based in Stamford as one of multiple subsidiaries of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial, along with Crum & Forster in Morristown, N.J. and Zenith National in Woodland Hills, Calif.

OdysseyRe premiums written rose 19 percent last year to just under $2.5 billion, while adding 30 employees to give it nearly 990 in all.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman

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