The current products offered in this triangle class are international property insurance and facultative reinsurance, with a focus on U.K. business. Most trade sectors are represented, including manufacturing, transport, utilities, wholesale, retail, finance, healthcare and leisure. Limits are up to £35 million with both per risk and catastrophe reinsurance reducing the net exposure.
The United States sourced property triangle class comprises commercial property insurance underwritten by certain of Endurance’s U.S. operating subsidiaries, which commenced operations in 2005 and is significantly hedged by third party reinsurance.
The products offered in this triangle class are named peril catastrophe protection and difference in conditions coverage for earthquake and flood for all usual commercial occupancies and throughout the United States. Typical risks that are written have multiple layers of coverage provided by multiple insurance carriers. Limits range up to $25 million.
This triangle class also contains a comparatively small but growing component of commercial property all-risk coverage that includes wind exposed risks. Limits of up to $25 million are offered on this product.
The casualty directors and officers triangle class contains predominantly U.S. directors’ and officers’ liability and related products, written almost exclusively on a claims made basis. Business in this triangle class is written on either an excess of loss or a proportional basis.
Customer differentiation is an integral component of the underwriting process in this triangle class. Endurance seeks to underwrite ceding companies with sound management and strategies, as well as teams with effective business processes driving their underwriting, pricing, risk management and claims activities. All business is produced through brokers.
The casualty motor triangle class comprises treaty reinsurance of U.S. and international cedants underwriting motor business. The international business is comprised largely of proportional protections covering both property and third party exposures. The U.S. business is a mix of proportional and excess of loss coverages, where the exposure is predominantly liability.
Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
i) Reinsurance – Casualty Other
The casualty other triangle class comprises our treaty casualty products (other than the products included in the casualty motor or casualty directors and officers triangle classes) underwritten by the Company’s Bermuda, U.K. and U.S. operating subsidiaries.
This triangle class includes third party liability exposures from ceding companies on a treaty basis and comprises most casualty exposures including, general liability, public liability, products liability, umbrella and clash, warranty, medical malpractice liability, lawyers errors and omissions, miscellaneous errors and omissions, excess casualty and political risk. This triangle class includes both frequency and severity-exposed contracts covering risk underwritten on both an occurrence and claims made basis.
j) Reinsurance – Workers’ Compensation
For a description of workers’ compensation, please see Insurance workers’ compensation in c) above.
k) Reinsurance – Agriculture & Other Specialty
The agriculture & other specialty triangle class predominantly consists of U.S. agricultural reinsurance, but also includes personal accident reinsurance underwritten by the Company’s U.K., Bermuda and U.S. subsidiaries.
Endurance’s agriculture products specialize in risks associated with the production of food and fiber on a global basis underwritten through traditional treaty reinsurance, proportional and aggregate stop loss, as well as custom risk transfer mechanisms. The protections offered provide coverage for yield and revenue losses resulting from weather related perils such as drought and hail as well as losses stemming from commodity price movements. The majority of the business is multi-peril crop insurance, a unique business that interacts heavily with the U.S. federal government’s crop reinsurance program.
Endurance’s other specialty lines include personal accident products such as accidental death, medical and disability coverages underwritten on a treaty and facultative reinsurance basis. Endurance’s personal accident products provide per person and catastrophe protection, for life insurance companies and other specialty risk underwriters.
l) Reinsurance – Short Tail Marine & Aerospace
Endurance’s aerospace products in this triangle class include proportional and non-proportional treaty reinsurance for airline hull and liability, aircraft manufacturers’ products liability and general aviation risks. Endurance also includes in this triangle class proportional treaty reinsurance for satellite launch and in-orbit coverage.
The marine products in this triangle class contain a wide range of marine and energy business underwritten on both a proportional and non-proportional basis from Bermuda,
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Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
the U.S. and the U.K. Initially the underwritings were dominated by onshore energy business underwritten from Bermuda. The development of the marine and energy team in the U.K. led to the consolidation of the global energy book in the U.K. and the growth in European hull, cargo and marine liability classes, along with specialty classes such as marine and aviation hull war. In 2006, Endurance exited the offshore energy business and significantly curtailed underwriting of onshore energy risks. Since 2007, onshore energy risks have been underwritten within the property portfolio.
m) Reinsurance – Short Tail Property
The short tail property triangle class contains international and U.S. property catastrophe business and workers compensation catastrophe business underwritten in Bermuda and per risk excess of loss and proportional treaty business underwritten in the U.S. and the U.K.
Property catastrophe reinsurance: Endurance reinsures ceding company clients’ exposures to catastrophic events such as tropical cyclones including hurricanes and typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis, floods, thunderstorms including tornados and hailstorms, fire, as well as terror attacks on a treaty basis. Coverage typically applies only when a catastrophic event impacts more than one risk or insured. Endurance has established a well diversified portfolio of reinsurance contracts in all relevant territories worldwide including the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Endurance reinsures predominantly on an indemnity excess of loss basis, although Endurance also provides pro rata coverage for certain types of events primarily related to catastrophes. In addition, coverage can be based on either an industry loss or physical trigger basis.
Workers’ compensation catastrophe reinsurance: Endurance reinsures U.S. workers’ compensation writers against multi-life events. The major exposures are earthquake and transport related losses.
Property per risk treaty reinsurance:Endurance reinsures portfolios of individual property risks such as buildings, contents, equipment and business interruption that are protected by primary insurers. These risks are assumed on a treaty basis. Endurance underwrites personal, commercial and industrial lines, but the years shown in this report are dominated by commercial and industrial exposures. Endurance underwrites this business primarily from the U.S. and the U.K. Endurance underwrites pro rata of primary, pro rata of excess and traditional excess of loss business. All excess of loss agreements have risk limits in place and, with a limited number of exceptions; all treaties either have occurrence limits or limited reinstatement rights.
n) Reinsurance – Short Tail Surety
Endurance underwrites surety reinsurance on both a proportional and excess of loss basis. The business in the short tail surety triangle class focuses primarily on reinsurance of surety and fidelity lines of business. The surety reinsurance products are underwritten by Endurance’s U.S. reinsurance operating subsidiary and are largely comprised of U.S.
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Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
programs established on either a direct or brokered basis. Endurance’s business partners in connection with these products include national account writers, regional companies and specialty operations.
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Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
V. OVERVIEW OF RESERVING METHODOLOGY
In order to estimate Endurance’s reserve for losses and loss expenses, management uses information either (i) developed from internal or independent external sources, or (ii) pricing information created by Endurance or provided to Endurance by insureds and brokers at the time individual contracts and policies are bound. In addition, management uses commercially available risk analysis models, contract by contract review by our underwriting teams and to a limited extent, overall market share assumptions to estimate our loss and loss expense reserves related to specific loss events. When the applicable information has been obtained, Endurance uses a variety of actuarial methods to estimate the ultimate losses and loss expenses incurred by Endurance in connection with business it has underwritten and thus, the applicable reserve for losses and loss expenses.
While management does not at this time include an explicit or implicit provision for uncertainty in its reserve for losses and loss expenses, certain of Endurance’s business lines are by their nature subject to additional uncertainties, including Endurance’s casualty, property, catastrophe, aerospace and surety and other specialty lines in the Reinsurance business segment and Endurance’s casualty and professional lines in the Insurance business segment, which are discussed in detail below. In addition, Endurance’s Reinsurance business segment is subject to additional factors which add to the uncertainty of estimating loss and loss expense reserves. Time lags in the reporting of losses can also introduce further ambiguity to the process of estimating loss and loss expense reserves.
Certain aspects of Endurance’s casualty line in the Reinsurance business segment and the casualty and professional lines in the Insurance business segment complicate the process of estimating loss reserves. These include the lack of long-term historical data for losses of the same type intended to be covered by the policies and contracts written by Endurance, and the expectation that a portion of losses in excess of Endurance’s attachment levels in many of its contracts will be low in frequency and high in severity, limiting the usefulness of claims experience of other insurers and reinsurers for similar claims. In addition, the portion of Endurance’s casualty line in its Insurance business segment that is underwritten in Bermuda includes policy forms that vary from more traditional policy forms. The primary difference in the casualty policy form used by Endurance Bermuda from more traditional policy forms relates to the coverage being provided on an occurrence reported basis instead of the typical occurrence or claims-made basis used in traditional policy forms. The occurrence reported policy forms typically cover occurrences causing unexpected and unintended personal injury or property damage to third parties arising from events or conditions that commence at or subsequent to an inception date and prior to the expiration of the policy, provided that proper notice is given during the term of the policy or the discovery period.
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Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
The inherent uncertainty of estimating Endurance’s loss and loss expense reserves for its Reinsurance business segment increases principally due to:
| | |
| (i) | the lag in time between the time claims are reported to the ceding company and the time they are reported through one or more reinsurance broker intermediaries to Endurance; |
| | |
| (ii) | the differing reserving practices among ceding companies; |
| | |
| (iii) | the diversity of loss development patterns among different types of reinsurance treaties or contracts; and |
| | |
| (iv) | Endurance’s need to rely on its ceding companies for loss information. |
In addition to the factors creating uncertainty in Endurance’s estimate of loss and loss expense reserves, Endurance’s estimated reserve for losses and loss expenses can change over time because of unexpected changes in the external environment. Potential changing external factors include:
| | |
| • | changes in the inflation rate for goods and services related to the covered damages; |
| | |
| • | changes in the general economic environment that could cause unanticipated changes in claim frequency or severity; |
| | |
| • | changes in the litigation environment regarding the representation of plaintiffs and potential plaintiffs; |
| | |
| • | changes in the judicial and/or arbitration environment regarding the interpretation of policy and contract provisions relating to the determination of coverage and/or the amount of damages awarded for certain types of claims; |
| | |
| • | changes in the social environment regarding the general attitude of juries in the determination of liability and damages; |
| | |
| • | changes in the legislative environment regarding the definition of damages; |
| | |
| • | new types of injuries caused by new types of injurious activities or exposures; and |
| | |
| • | in the case of assumed reinsurance, changes in ceding company case reserving and reporting patterns. |
Endurance’s estimates of reserves for losses and loss expenses can also change over time because of changes in internal company operations. Potential changing internal factors include:
| | |
| • | alterations in claims handling procedures; |
| | |
| • | growth in new lines of business where exposure and loss development patterns are not well established; or |
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Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
| | |
| • | changes in the quality of risk selection or pricing in the underwriting process. |
Due to the inherent complexity of the assumptions used in establishing Endurance’s loss and loss expense reserve estimates, final claim settlements made by Endurance may vary significantly from the present estimates, particularly when those settlements may not occur until well into the future.
For a more detailed discussion of the Company’s reserving methodology and an analysis of the potential variability in reserves for losses and loss expenses, please see the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the SEC.
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Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
VI.RECONCILIATIONS
Reconciliation of Unpaid Loss and LAE
The following table reconciles the reserves for losses and loss expenses as of December 31, 2008 as reported in Endurance’s financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP to the reserves for losses and loss expenses published in the triangles (all amounts in millions, on a gross basis).
| | | | |
Consolidated triangles unpaid loss and LAE | | $ | 3,275.9 | |
| | | | |
Deposit accounting reserves | | | (57.2 | ) |
| | | | |
Impact of F/X on IBNR | | | 13.6 | |
| | | | |
Miscellaneous | | | 3.3 | |
| |
|
| |
| | | | |
Adjusted unpaid loss and LAE | | $ | 3,235.5 | |
| | | | |
Reserves for losses and loss expenses Per 12/31/08 GAAP Financial Statements | | $ | 3,235.5 | |
Reconciliation of Earned Premium
The following table reconciles the calendar year 2008 earned premium as of December 31, 2008 as reported in Endurance’s financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP to the earned premium published in the triangles (all amounts in millions, on a gross basis). Prior diagonals were reconciled in our previously disclosed 2007 Loss Development Triangles. Differences between the 2008 and 2007 versions are mainly due to foreign exchange movements.
| | | | |
Calendar Year 2008 | |
| | | | |
Consolidated triangles earned premium | | $ | 2,174.9 | |
| | | | |
Estimated impact of F/X | | | 33.5 | |
| | | | |
Impact of contracts subject to deposit accounting | | | (9.0 | ) |
| | | | |
Miscellaneous adjustments | | | (1.6 | ) |
| |
|
| |
| | | | |
Adjusted CY 2008 Earned Premium | | $ | 2,197.9 | |
| | | | |
CY 2008 Earned Premium per Financial Statements | | $ | 2,197.9 | |
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Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
Reconciliation of Calendar Year Loss Emergence
The following table reconciles the calendar year 2008 development of losses and loss adjustment expenses as of December 31, 2008 as reported in Endurance’s financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP to the development of losses and loss adjustment expenses published in the triangles (all amounts in millions). Prior diagonals were reconciled in our previously disclosed 2007 Loss Development Triangles. Differences between the 2008 and 2007 versions are mainly due to foreign exchange movements.
| | | | |
Calendar Year 2008 |
| | | | |
Development per Triangles | | $ | 148.5 | |
| | | | |
Impact of ceded | | | (9.2 | ) |
| | | | |
Impact of F/X | | | 21.9 | |
| | | | |
Impact of contracts subject to deposit accounting | | | (3.1 | ) |
| | | | |
Miscellaneous | | | (1.5 | ) |
| |
|
| |
| | | | |
Adjusted development | | | 156.5 | |
| | | | |
Development per Financial Statements | | | 156.5 | |
Reconciliation of Triangle Classes to Lines of Business
The following tables reconcile the lines of business of Endurance as of December 31, 2008 as reported in Endurance’s financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP to the reserving classes published in the triangles.
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Endurance - 2008 Loss Development Triangles
Insurance Segment
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Lines of Business | |
| |
| |
| | Property | | Casualty | | Agriculture and Other | | Healthcare Liability | | Workers’ Compensation | | Professional Lines | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Triangle Classes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Agriculture and Other | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
High Attaching Excess of Loss Casualty | | | | | | X | | | | | | X | | | | | | X | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
United States Sourced Casualty | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | X | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
International Sourced Property | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
United States Sourced Property | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Workers’ Compensation | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | |
Reinsurance Segment
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Lines of Business | |
| |
| |
| | Property | | Casualty | | Catastrophe | | Agriculture | | Marine | | Aerospace | | Surety and Other Specialty | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Triangle Classes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Agriculture and Other Specialty | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | X | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Casualty Other | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Casualty Directors and Officers | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Casualty Motor | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Short Tail Marine and Aerospace | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | X | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Short Tail Property | | | X | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Short Tail Surety | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Workers’ Compensation | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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