Mapfre’s profits down 22% as cat losses total €176m

Mapfre has reported losses of €176m from third-quarter hurricanes in the US and Caribbean, with recent catastrophes costing its global risks unit €73m. Mapfre Global Risks recorded a loss of €87m in the first nine months of this year, from profits of €30.5m during the same period of 2016.

Total Mapfre group profits were down 22% for the nine-month period, but remained in the black at €445m with strong performances from its insurance business, where profits were up almost 10%.

Mapfre said that, excluding the impact of hurricane and earthquake losses, earnings would have increased by almost 9% during the first nine months of 2017. The group said premiums increased by 5% during this period to €18bn, boosted by growth in Spain and Mexico and from reinsurance and global risks business. Insurance premiums were up more than 6% during the first nine months of the year to almost €15bn, while reinsurance premiums increased almost 4% to total €3.3bn.

Mapfre Global Risks registered premium growth of 6.9% in the first nine months of the year, reaching €950m. Its LATAM north and EMEA regional areas performed especially well, posting double-digit growth, the company said.

Catastrophe losses added more than two percentage points to the group’s combined ratio, which closed the period at 98.7%. Without the cat losses, Mapfre’s combined ratio would have been 96.3%. The firm’s reinsurance business reported a combined ratio of 96.6% in the first nine months.