Investors in global reinsurance company RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) got a double dose of bad news this quarter. Not only did the company lose hundreds of millions of dollars in hurricane damage claims, but an ongoing SEC investigation has also led to the CEO's resignation. While the former is a part of doing business, the latter could be a painful loss for some time to come.
Major storms led the company to post an operating loss in excess of $320 million for the third quarter. Before the benefit of a special reserve review, the company saw more than $572 million in losses tied to Dennis, Katrina, and Rita, with Katrina far and away the worst. Of course, as investors may remember, last year was a tough year for hurricane damage as well.
Unfortunately, things are going to get a little tougher before they start getting better. The company estimates that it will see somewhere between $250 million and $300 million in claims from Hurricane Wilma. That's about 60% of the damage from Katrina, but roughly triple the cost of Rita.
No doubt about it, this quarter was ugly. Hurricane losses are going to eat into the company's capital and certainly won't do it any favors in terms of ratings. Nevertheless, I don't think the company is any dire peril with respect to its capitalization.
The CEO's resignation does concern me, though. It came in response to a Wells notice from the SEC, part of its ongoing investigation into the finite reinsurance issue. Investors may recall that a company executive at RenRe resigned in July after refusing a subpoena from the SEC, and that these investigations have included the likes of AIG (NYSE:AIG) and even Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa).
In this case, the now-former CEO founded the company back in the '90s and seemed to be very well-respected in the industry. Although I do believe he built a quality management team around him, it's tough to quantify the value of a good chief executive. Accordingly, I think investors might re-examine the sort of valuation that RenRe deserves relative to its peers.
These are tough times for this reinsurance company, and if the pre-market indications are accurate, it will be an equally tough day for the stock. I've got to say that I like rivals like Arch Capital (NASDAQ:ACGL), MontpelierRe (NYSE:MRH), and Endurance Specialty (NYSE:ENH) a little better at present. Nonetheless, reinsurance can still be a very profitable business; this might be the time for value hounds to dig in for some due diligence.
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
