Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings Ltd said its book value fell 28 per cent during the third quarter.

The plunge was driven by a $51.9 million net loss for the collateralised reinsurer, driven by hefty catastrophe losses.

The reinsurer is managed by Blue Capital Management Ltd, a subsidiary of Bermudian-based Sompo International Holdings Ltd, which is in turn a subsidiary of Japanese insurance giant Sompo Holdings.

Blue Capital said its combined ratio for the third quarter — reflecting the proportion of premium dollars spent on claims and expenses — was 455 per cent. Earlier this month the company had estimated catastrophe losses of $57.5 million for the quarter.

The $51.9 million net loss broke down to $5.93 per share. Blue Capital’s book value was $14.48 per share at September 30. During regular trading in New York yesterday, before the results were announced, Blue Capital fell 15 cents, or 1.14 per cent, to close on $13.

Michael McGuire, chairman and CEO, commented: “The financial impact to the insurance industry from the third-quarter catastrophe events is estimated to collectively be above $100 billion and these catastrophe events had a meaningful impact on our results.

“Due to our strong risk management practices, active portfolio management and the leveraging of our partnership with Sompo International our losses from these catastrophe events were within our risk thresholds and our overall portfolio performed as expected given the magnitude of these events.

“Looking forward, we expect market pricing to improve during upcoming renewals and we have positioned the company appropriately in recognition of the changed market conditions.”