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Swiss Re AG, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, posted a 13 percent increase in third quarter profit after allowing for US$250 million in losses from the chemical warehouse explosions in the Chinese city of Tianjin in mid-August.
Swiss Re headquarters in Zurich – Source: Wikipedia
Net income climbed to US$1.4 billion from US$1.2 billion a year earlier, the Zurich-based company said in a statement Thursday. That beat the US$840 million average estimate of seven analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Swiss Re is the first major reinsurance company to declare losses over the disaster, providing an indication of the final bill for the industry.
Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, reports earnings next week, as do Scor SE and Hannover Re. The explosions were probably one of the costliest man-made disasters ever in Asia, reinsurance brokerage Guy Carpenter said last month, estimating combined losses to insurance and reinsurance companies of between $1.6 billion and $3.3 billion.
Zurich Insurance Group AG abandoned its proposed bid for British insurer RSA Insurance Group PLC last month after forecasting losses of about $275 million from Tianjin. Full Bloomberg article.
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