WHITE MOUNTAINS SWING TO H1 PROFIT OF $210.6M

Bermuda-domiciled insurer/reinsurer White Mountains Insurance Group swung to first-half net income of $210.6m from a year-earlier loss of $66m on improved underwriting and investment results. Much of the improvement came during Q2, when the group swung to net income of $180.3m from a loss $9.2m. Commenting on Q2, chairman and chief executive Ray Barrette expressed pleasure “with our strong performance. Investment returned over 4% in the quarter while we maintained our capital preservation focus. At the same time, our major businesses all performed well, as we remain disciplined in mostly soft markets”. For the first half, White Mountains’ swing into the black was largely attributable to $191.6m in realized investment gains. compared with losses of $177.1m a year earlier. Earned premiums fell 2.2% to $1.81bn, while claims losses declined 16% to $1.07bn. For the six months, OneBeacon, the group’s US primary-insurance unit, swung to pre-tax earnings of $218.7m from a loss of $1.3m as its combined ratio improved to 93% from 97%. The group’s White Mountains Re unit swung to pre-tax income of $182.8m from a loss of $42.5m as its combined ratio improved to 83% from 104%. Meanwhile, the group said that it would be reorganizing its reinsurance operation by converting its Bermudian reinsurance business into a branch of White Mountains Re Sirius. White Mountains Re Bermuda president and chief executive Warren Trace will remain as head of the operation and report to Sirius president and CEO Goran Thorstensson. White Mountains Re will contribute $200m to the capital of Sirius, boosting its capital to more than $1.6bn. Around $400m of capital will in turn be upstreamed to the White Mountains Re and the White Mountains holding companies.