Several large-scale events: hurricanes, earthquakes and floods which occurred in the second half of 2017 resulted in economic losses of about 330 billion, 135 billion USD of which estimated insured losses.
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Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re, Scor and Berkshire Hathaway were not spared. Their cumulative profit is in sharp decline. From 9.530 billion USD recorded in 2016, this figure dropped to -1.820 billion USD in 2017,that is a decline in profits of 11.350 billion USD in one year.
Regarding technical results, combined ratios exceeded 100% for Munich Re (114.1%), Swiss Re (111.5%) and Scor (103.7%). As for Hannover Re, this indicator deteriorated by 6.1 points but remains below 100%(at 99.8%).
The overall premiums underwritten by reinsurance majors have also increased by 18.64%. Except for Swiss Re, which posted a 2.37% decline in turnover, Munich Re, Hannover Re, Scor and Berkshire Hathaway recorded double-digit growths of between 14 and 73.97%.
The combined shareholder’s equity of the top five reinsurers has also improved by 17.9% to settle at 438.614 billion USD.
Top 5 global reinsurers: main technical highlights (2016-2017)
Turnover
in millions USD| 2017 turnover | 2016 turnover | 2016/2017 evolution | |
|---|---|---|---|
Munich Re | 37 821 | 33 154 | 14% |
Swiss Re | 34775 | 35 622 | -2.37% |
Berkshire Hathaway(1) | 24 212(2) | 13 917 | 73.97% |
Hannover Re | 21 313 | 17 232 | 23.68% |
Scor group | 17 718 | 14 569 | 21.6% |
Total | 135 839 | 114 494 | 18.64% |
(2) The 2017 revenue includes 10.2-billion aggregate excess-of-loss retroactive reinsurance agreement whith all AIG's subsidiaries
Shareholder's equity
in millions USD| 2017 shareholder's equity | 2016 Shareholder's equity | 2016/2017 evolution | |
|---|---|---|---|
Berkshire Hathaway(1) | 351 954 | 285 428 | 23.3% |
Swiss Re | 34 294 | 35 716 | -3.98% |
Munich Re | 33 782 | 33 493 | 0.86% |
Hannover Re | 11 126 | 10 264 | 8.39% |
Scor group | 7 458 | 7 055 | 5.7% |
Total | 438 614 | 371 956 | 17.9% |
Net result
in millions USD| 2017 net result | 2016 net result | 2016/2017 evolution | |
|---|---|---|---|
Hannover Re | 1 148 | 1 650 | -30.42% |
Scor | 343 | 640 | -46.41% |
Swiss Re | 331 | 3 558 | -90.6% |
Munich Re | 144 | 2 670 | -94.6% |
Berkshire Hathaway | -3 648 | 1 012 | -460% |
Total | -1 820 | 9 530 | -119% |
Combined ratio
| 2017 combined ratio | 2016 combined ratio | 2016/2017 evolution | |
|---|---|---|---|
Hannover Re | 99.8% | 93.7% | +6.1 points |
Scor | 103.7% | 93.1% | +10.6 points |
Swiss Re | 111.5% | 93.5% | +18 points |
Munich Re | 114.1% | 95.8% | +18.3 points |
Berkshire Hathaway | - | 89.4% | - |
Note:
Swiss Re has incurred a significant loss of 4.7 billion USD related to the 2017 natural disasters.
Munich Re: Compensation related to these events amounted to 3.7 billion EUR (4.43 billion USD), 2.7 billion EUR (3.23 billion USD) of which caused by Harvey, Irma and Maria hurricanes.
Berkshire Hathaway suffered an estimated loss of 2.4 billion USD due to the events of the past year.
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