Bermudian reinsurer RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd expects to book around $625 million in catastrophe losses for the third quarter, related to three hurricanes and an earthquake.

The company today released preliminary estimates for losses of $225 million related to Hurricane Harvey and $175 million for Irma.

RenRe also estimated a further combined loss of $225 million for Hurricane Maria and the Mexico City earthquake.

This is expected to be the most expensive year for the industry in terms of catastrophe losses since hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma made landfall in the US in 2005 — and the losses may surpass even those.

Kevin O’Donnell, chief executive officer of RenaissanceRe, said: “We extend our sympathies to all those affected by these recent catastrophic events, and recognise their enormous human impact.

“As we have always done, we stand ready to help rebuild the many affected communities by serving our customers and paying claims.”

RenRe expressed significant uncertainty over the preliminary estimates, given the “relatively limited claims data received to date”.

“The company believes these estimates may be even more uncertain for the two more recent events, Hurricane Maria and the Mexico City earthquake because, among other things, recovery, insurance loss adjusting and exposure estimates are at earlier stages,” the company added.

“Furthermore, seismic events such as the Mexico City earthquake generally have longer development periods than windstorm events, which may be amplified in this instance by dynamics such as the risk of geological liquefaction and the potential for uncertainty in claims adjudication.”