Munich Re reports decline in Q3 profit

Munich Re Group posted a net income of €12 million (about Cdn$18 million) for 2008 Q3, a sharp decline from the 2007 Q3 profit of €1.2 billion (about Cdn$1.8 billion). The group reported a 66% decrease in investment income from €1.9 billion (about Cdn$2.9 billion) in 2007 Q3 to €674 million (about CDn$1.02 billion) in 2008 Q3. Net earned premium for the group was €8.9 billion (about Cdn$13.5 billion) in the quarter, marking a 1% gain over the same period of 2007. Its reinsurance segment reported a combined operating ratio of 101.3%, an increase from 2007 Q3's 97.1%. Gross written premium for the property and casualty reinsurance lines was €3.7 billion (about Cdn$5.6 billion). "The biggest loss events of the third quarter were the Hurricanes Ike and Gustav," a release says. "The total burden before tax was approximately €300 million (about Cdn$454 million) from Ike and around €90 million (about Cdn$136 million) from Gustav." The combined operating ratio for the group's primary p&c insurance segment was 88.7%, marking an improvement over 2007 Q3's 92.1%. The segment's premiums climbed by 5.2% to €4.7billion (about Cdn$7.11 billion), driven mainly by international business with a growth rate of 11.7%.