Mapfre absorbs €183.8m cat losses in 2017
Spain-based Mapfre has reported natural catastrophe losses of €183.8 million for 2017, of which €58.2 million were absorbed by Mapfre Re.
The group’s net profit fell 9.7 percent year on year to €701 million in 2017 due to the cost of the natural disasters, with a net impact on earnings of €126 million. This does not include the cost assumed by Mapfre Re since it is regarded as ordinary in its line of business.
“Very few companies are capable of absorbing such extraordinary catastrophic risk as we witnessed in 2017 into their results, which in Mapfre’s case, consisted of handling two earthquakes and three hurricanes,” said Mapfre CEO Antonio Huertas. “Closing the year with earnings in excess of €700 million is clear proof of Mapfre’s capacity and solvency. It also demonstrates the fruits we are reaping from our profitable growth strategy, which compensates for these extraordinary events,” Huertas added.
Business was particularly good in Spain, while reinsurance performed well, according to the company, pointing to a combined ratio of 94.8 percent and a profit contribution of €163 million, in spite of the impact of the catastrophes.
Overall, Mapfre’s combined ratio stood at 98.1 percent, with a positive performance in Spain and the regional areas of LatAm North and LatAm South. Extracting the impact of the disasters, the combined ratio would have been 96.9 percent, 0.5 percentage points better than the previous year.
Mapfre posted revenues of just under €28 billion for 2017, which represents a 3.3 percent increase over the previous year. Premiums grew 2.9 percent year on year to almost €23.5 billion.
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