Argo Group reports $61 million Q3 loss

Argo Group has announced that it made a loss of $61.3 million over the third quarter of 2017, a severe decline on the profit of $55.2 million it made in the same period of 2016.

The company said that estimated pre-tax catastrophe losses from the hurricanes and other natural catastrophes that hit the market over the quarter were $104.5 million inclusive of $14.5 million of catastrophe related premium charges. This compared to $13.0 million in the third quarter of 2016.

However, gross written premiums for the quarter came to $805.1 million, up 37.5 percent on the $585.4 million written over the same period of 2016.

The Q3 losses mean that the company posted a profit of $21.4 million for the first nine months of the year, again a substantial fall from the $113.8 million it reported for the same period of 2016.

Gross written premiums over the first three quarters of 2017 were up 25.5 percent to $2.091 billion compared to $1.666 billion in the first nine months of 2016.

Net investment income over the first nine months of 2017 was $105 million, compared to $89.6 million in the first nine months of 2016. Over the first three quarters of 2017 alternative investments contributed $34.6 million to net investment income in 2017 and $20.8 million in 2016.

“In a quarter dominated by natural catastrophe losses, Argo Group’s risk and capital management framework was effective, together with our underwriting expertise and global platforms, gives us the ability to react to the most attractive market opportunities as market pricing changes in reaction to these events,” said Argo Group CEO Mark Watson. “In addition, we continue seeing growth in many of our business lines as we leverage the ongoing investments in technology and talent.”