Goshawk Insurance Holdings expects to report a small loss for the first half of the year due to a greater than expected number of claims from last September's Hurricane Ivan.
The British reinsurer said H1 offshore loss advices exceeded the amount reserved, adding that losses had also been incurred on the winter cyclone Erwin and the Suncor plant loss in Canada in January. The greater than expected hurricane damage, combined with these two events, has resulted in the company anticipating a marginal pre-tax loss for the six months to June 30.
Goshawk said offshore energy catastrophe losses would affect its marine account, and the reserves set aside for Hurricane Ivan, which was the biggest of last year’s storms, would not cover the damage caused.
Assuming catastrophe activity in the second half of 2005 is within normal provisions, Goshawk expects to achieve an acceptable, if reduced, outcome for the full year, the insurer said in a statement.
The company, which entered the industry spotlight in July for ignoring shareholder opinion regarding executive pay, will announce its interim results on the 15th September.