HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (“Aspen”) (NYSE:AHL) announced today a
preliminary estimate of approximately $310 million in pre-tax losses,
net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, related to Hurricanes
Harvey, Irma and Maria. Approximately $110 million of these losses are
from Hurricane Harvey, $135 million from Hurricane Irma and $65 million
from Hurricane Maria.
In addition, Aspen estimates pre-tax losses, net of reinsurance and
reinstatement premiums, of approximately $50 million from several other
events, the largest of which relate to weather-related losses and the
Mexican earthquakes.
Approximately 75% of the total estimated losses are attributed to the
Reinsurance segment and approximately 25% are attributed to the
Insurance segment.
Aspen expects to record an underwriting loss of approximately $340
million in the third quarter of 2017. Results for the quarter reflect
the catastrophe losses described above as well as increased losses in
short-tail insurance lines, primarily Property Insurance.
Aspen’s preliminary estimate of natural catastrophe losses for the third
quarter of 2017 involves the exercise of considerable judgment and is
based, among other factors, on a review of the individual treaties and
policies expected to be impacted, information available to date from
clients and brokers, market intelligence, initial loss reports, modeled
loss projections and exposure analysis. Due to the complexity of these
events and the uncertainty associated with Aspen’s assumptions and the
preliminary information used to prepare these estimates, Aspen’s actual
losses from these events may differ materially from the estimates
provided above.
Updated loss estimates will be reflected in Aspen’s third quarter 2017
financial results, which are scheduled for release on Wednesday, October
25, 2017, following the close of the New York Stock Exchange.
About Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited
Aspen provides reinsurance and insurance coverage to clients in various
domestic and global markets through wholly-owned subsidiaries and
offices in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland,
Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and
the United States. For the year ended December 31, 2016, Aspen reported
$12.1 billion in total assets, $5.3 billion in gross reserves, $3.6
billion in total shareholders’ equity and $3.1 billion in gross written
premiums. Its operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of “A”
by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”), an “A”
(“Excellent”) by A.M. Best Company Inc. (“A.M. Best”) and an “A2” by
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”).
Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
This press release contains written forward-looking statements, such as
those related to preliminary loss estimates from natural catastrophes in
the third quarter of 2017, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate
solely to historical or current facts, and can be identified by the use
of words such as “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “do not
believe,” “project,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “will,” “estimate,” “may,”
“likely,” “continue,” “assume,” “objective,” “aim,” “guidance,”
“outlook,” “trends,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “target,” “on
track” and similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature.
All forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions,
estimates and data concerning future results and events and are subject
to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are
outside Aspen’s control that could cause actual results to differ
materially from such statements. Aspen undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made.
All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and
uncertainties. Accordingly, there are, or will be, important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated in these statements. Aspen believes these factors include, but
are not limited to: the actual development of losses and expenses
impacting estimates for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the
earthquakes in Mexico, that occurred in the third quarter of 2017; the
impact of complex and unique causation and coverage issues associated
with the attribution of losses to wind or flood damage or other perils
such as fire or business interruption relating to such events; potential
uncertainties relating to reinsurance recoveries, reinstatement premiums
and other factors inherent in loss estimation; the possibility of
greater frequency or severity of claims and loss activity, including as
a result of natural or man-made (including economic and political risks)
catastrophic or material loss events, than our underwriting, reserving,
reinsurance purchasing or investment practices have anticipated; the
assumptions and uncertainties underlying reserve levels that may be
impacted by future payments for settlements of claims and expenses or by
other factors causing adverse or favorable development; the reliability
of, and changes in assumptions to, natural and man-made catastrophe
pricing, accumulation and estimated loss models; the models we use to
assess our exposure to losses from future catastrophes contain inherent
uncertainties and our actual losses may differ significantly from
expectations; our capital models may provide materially different
indications than actual results; evolving issues with respect to
interpretation of coverage after major loss events; any intervening
legislative or governmental action and changing judicial interpretation
and judgments on insurers’ liability to various risks; changes in the
total industry losses or our share of total industry losses resulting
from events, such as catastrophes, that have occurred in prior years or
may occur and, with respect to such events, our reliance on loss reports
received from cedants and loss adjustors; our reliance on industry loss
estimates and those generated by modeling techniques; changes in rulings
on flood damage or other exclusions as a result of prevailing lawsuits
and case law; and the impact of one or more large losses from events
other than catastrophes or by an unexpected accumulation of attritional
losses and deterioration in loss estimates. For a more detailed
description of these uncertainties and other factors, please see the
“Risk Factors” section in Aspen’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Aspen’s
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2017 and
June 30, 2017 as filed with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Furthermore, seismic events, such as the Mexico earthquakes, generally
have longer development periods than windstorm events, which may be
amplified in this instance by dynamics such as the risk of geological
liquefaction and the potential for uncertainty in claims adjudication.
In respect of Hurricane Maria, recovery efforts are ongoing and
expanding, with power outages, infrastructure damage, communications
disruptions and other issues complicating loss mitigation and
estimation. Accordingly, our actual net negative impact from all events
noted above, both individually and in the aggregate, will vary from
these preliminary estimates, perhaps materially.
For further information:
Please visit www.aspen.co
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Aspen
Investors
Mark Jones, 646-289-4945
Senior
Vice President, Investor Relations
mark.p.jones@aspen.co
or
Media
Steve
Colton, +44 20 7184 8337
Head of Group Communications
Steve.colton@aspen.co
Source: Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited