A number of reinsurers struggled with investment losses in the first quarter of 2009. According to statistics from the
Nine of the 19 companies RAA tracked ended the quarter on the positive side of the ledger, while the remaining 10 reported a loss. However, those losses were dwarfed by
The report went on to state the 19 companies posted a combined net realized loss of $3.17 billion for the quarter.
RAA also reported the group wrote $7.0 billion of net premiums during the first quarter, up approximately 3% from the $6.8 billion of net premiums for the first quarter 2008. Policyholders' surplus fell 20% to $59.6 billion from $75.3 billion for the same period last year.
The reinsurers' combined ratio was 95.5 for the quarter, up slightly from the last year's 95.2 Q1 combined ratio reported by a similar group of reinsurers.