Axis Capital Holdings Limited has declared that net income available to common shareholders for the third quarter of 2021 ended September 30 was $47 million, compared with a net loss of $73 million for the third quarter of last year.

Pretax catastrophe and weather-related losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, were $250 million.

Of that, $105 million was related to insurance and $145 million to reinsurance, primarily attributable to Hurricane Ida, the European floods in July and other weather-related events.

The combined ratio was 107.4 per cent for the three months, compared with 114.5 per cent for the same period last year.

Gross premiums written increased by $315 million or 24 per cent to $1.6 billion. That included an increase of $241 million or 26 per cent in the insurance segment and an increase of $75 million or 19 per cent in the reinsurance segment.

Net premiums written increased by $180 million, or 22 per cent to $1 billion, with an increase of $163 million, or 30 per cent, in the insurance segment and an increase of $18 million, or 7 per cent, in the reinsurance segment.

Albert Benchimol, president and CEO of Axis Capital, said: “Once again our industry was challenged by severe weather events and our focus continues to be on supporting our clients and the communities that have been impacted.”

"In the face of these challenges, we continued to deliver, accelerating momentum in our progress highlighted by eight consecutive quarters of year-over-year improvement in our combined ratio ex-cat and weather.

“Notably, Axis generated net operating income for the quarter, and our lower market share of the events demonstrates the progress that we’ve made in reducing our net exposure to catastrophes. Our results were underscored by strong top-line growth, disciplined underwriting and solid investment income.

"Axis is well positioned in key specialty markets and we’re increasingly confident that favourable conditions will continue through 2022 and likely beyond, providing us with an attractive path to further profitable growth.”

Net income available to common shareholders for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, was $391 million, compared with a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $146 million for the same period in 2020.

Operating income for the third quarter of 2021 was just $1 million, compared with an operating loss of $65 million for the third quarter of 2020.

Operating income for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, was $254 million, compared with an operating loss of $158 million for the same period in 2020.

Adjusted for dividends declared, the book value per diluted common share decreased by $0.22, or 0.4 per cent, compared with June 30, 2021.

Adjusted for dividends declared, the book value per diluted common share increased by $1.79, or 3.3 per cent, over the past 12 months.

There was no change to the net loss estimate of $360 million established for the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.