LA wildfires take a toll on SiriusPoint's profit

SiriusPoint's net income fell 36.5% in Q1 as losses, primarily from the Los Angeles wildfires, surged 26%.

The Bermuda-based specialty insurer said it endured a $59 million net impact from the wildfires, which was lower than expected.

Its combined ratio rose to 91.4% from 84.9% in the same period in 2024.

Gross written premiums rose to $985 million from $907 million in 2024, while underwriting losses and loss expenses rose to $402 million from $317 million.

Net premiums earned rose to $626 million from $593.

Despite the wildfire losses and downturn in earnings, chief executive officer Scott Egan (pictured) maintained the company was continuing its growth pattern.

“Our aim to deliver stable and consistent earnings can be seen with our first quarter return on equity of 12.9%, well within our 12-15% target range as our diverse portfolio performed well against the backdrop of elevated natural catastrophe losses,” he said.

“Our growth momentum continues, with core gross premiums written growing by 12% in the quarter, while net premiums written increased at a faster pace of 20%, as we seek to retain a greater proportion of our increasingly profitable book.

“The core underwriting result saw improvements across multiple fronts, with the attritional loss ratio, acquisition cost ratio, and underwriting expense ratios all decreasing and contributing to a 3.0 point reduction in total across these areas.”

Egan noted that the company’s earnings per share of 49 cents was flat compared to the prior-year period, despite lower net income, “demonstrating the significant accretion benefits now being derived from the previously announced share repurchases”.

“Our strong earnings resulted in an increase to book value of 5% in the quarter,” he said.

The company’s catastrophe losses were $67.9 million compared with minimal losses in the same period in 2024, while losses incurred included $34.3 million of favourable development in property and accident and health.

The reinsurance segment generated underwriting income of $8.4 million compared with $39.9 million in 2024, largely due to the wildfires.

The insurance and services segment had GPW of $635 million, up $111 million driven by growth in A&H and expansion of surety insurance.

Segment income consisted of underwriting income of $20.1 million and net services income of $18.9 million, compared to underwriting income of $4.4 million and net services income of $18.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Investment income dropped to $71 million from $80 million, largely driven by interest on its fixed income investments and because the size of the portfolio dropped after executing various share repurchase transactions in 2024 and 2025.

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