Third Point Re reports strong start to 2017

Third Point Reinsurance has reported that it had a very positive first quarter of 2017 with net income of $104.2 million. The company made a loss of $51.1 million in the same period of 2016.

Net investment income for the first quarter came to $128.5 million, again an improvement on the loss of $40.1 million it made in the same period of 2016.

However, Third Point Re added that gross premiums written over the first three months of the year totalled $146.4 million, a 25.8 percent fall from the $197.2 million the company wrote over the first quarter of 2016.

The company said that this decrease was mostly due to one contract that did not renew as a result of underlying terms and conditions, partially offset by contracts renewed in the quarter that did not have comparable premiums in the prior year period and new contracts bound in the quarter.

"We are very pleased with our first quarter performance, which resulted in a return on beginning shareholders' equity of 7.4 percent for the quarter. This was primarily driven by strong investment returns of 5.8 percent in the period," said Rob Bredahl, president and CEO of Third Point Re.

"Reinsurance underwriting conditions remain challenging, and we have continued to maintain our underwriting discipline. As a result, our gross premiums written were $146.4 million in the first quarter, which represented a 25.8 percent decrease compared to the prior year's first quarter. Our combined ratio for the quarter was 106.3 percent, which was in line with expectations given current market conditions and the lines of business on which we focus. We finished the quarter with an asset leverage ratio of 1.52, which is within our target range and allows us to remain selective in our underwriting without diminishing our potential for solid book value growth with continued investment performance."