AXIS Capital – Provides Initial Estimate of Losses for Thailand Floods

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE: AXS) announced that the net financial impact of the severe flooding in Thailand on the Company’s fourth quarter results is expected to be $48 million. This amount is net of reinsurance, taxes and reinstatement premiums.

Further, updated information from the Company’s clients and intermediaries with respect to catastrophe events that occurred in the first three quarters of 2011 is expected to adversely impact fourth quarter results by an aggregate $75 million, net of reinsurance coverage, taxes and reinstatement premiums. Of this amount, $31 million relates to the February earthquake in New Zealand. Another $32 million relates to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami; a significant portion of this amount relates to the Company’s decision to reserve the full limit of its exposure for a large mutual, after consideration of updated loss advices.

The Company’s loss estimates for these events are primarily based on the Company’s ground-up assessment of individual contracts and treaties in the affected regions and are consistent with the Company’s market position in the respective regions impacted by these catastrophe events. Other information considered in developing net loss estimates includes current industry insured loss estimates, market share analysis, catastrophe modeling analysis and limited information from clients, brokers and loss adjusters.

The Company’s assessment of its exposure to these catastrophe events is ongoing. The actual net financial impact of these catastrophe events may differ materially from the Company’s estimates due to the inherent uncertainties of making such estimates, including, but not limited to, the preliminary nature of available information, regulatory requirements, complications associated with claims adjustment in affected regions, variability associated with coverage definition and potential inaccuracies and inadequacies in data provided by clients and brokers.

AXIS Capital is a Bermuda-based global provider of specialty lines insurance and treaty reinsurance with shareholders’ equity at September 30, 2011 of $5.4 billion and locations in Bermuda, the United States, Europe, Singapore, Canada and Australia. Its operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of “A+” (“Strong”) by Standard & Poor’s and “A” (“Excellent”) by A.M. Best. AXIS Capital and AXIS Specialty Finance LLC have been assigned senior unsecured debt ratings of A- (stable) by Standard & Poor’s and Baa1 (stable) by Moody’s Investors Service.

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Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.