U.S. reinsurers in the first quarter saw a strong turnaround in business following wicked results posted at the end of last year, according to data from the Reinsurance Association of America.
The combined ratio for the industry was a near breakeven 101.8 for the three months ended March 31. This compares with 141.6 for the 12-months ended Dec. 31, 2001. In last year‘s first quarter, the industry posted a combined ratio of 106.4, an improvement over 2000‘s first-quarter figure of 112.4.
"Awesome. You haven‘t seen [the combined ratio] that low in probably five years," commented Don Watson, managing director with Standard & Poor‘s in New York.
