Storm losses drove Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings Ltd to a $6.7 million net loss in the third quarter of this year.

The Bermudian-based collateralised reinsurer and insurance-linked securities investor said its results were impacted by losses related to Typhoon Jebi and Hurricane Florence, as well as an increase in estimated losses linked to Hurricane Irma, which battered the Caribbean last year.

Two weeks ago, Blue Capital had estimated a $10.2 million catastrophe loss, with $4.1 million attributed to Florence and Jebi and $6.1 million to Irma.

The company’s third-quarter loss broke down to 76 cents per share and its loss for the first nine months of the year was $3.7 million, or 42 cents per share.

The company’s fully converted book value per common share was $13.15 at September 30, 2018, reflecting a 5.3 per cent decrease for the quarter and a 3 per cent decrease since December 31, 2017, each inclusive of dividends declared.

Blue Capital’s shares fell 15 cents, or 1.75 per cent, to close on $8.42 in New York Stock Exchange trading yesterday, down 36 per cent over the past 12 months.

Reinsurance premiums written for the current quarter were $4.2 million, down by $6.1 million from the same quarter last year. Blue Capital said the decrease was driven by a smaller capital base, lower reinstatement premiums and greater cessions to third-party reinsurers, partially offset by price improvements during the January and June renewals.

The combined ratio for the third quarter was 212.6 per cent.

During the third quarter of 2018, the company declared a regular dividend of 30 cents per share, paid on October 15, 2018.

Michael McGuire, chairman and chief executive officer of Blue Capital, said: “While our third-quarter results have been impacted by increased loss estimates related to 2017’s Hurricane Irma and from losses incurred on Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Jebi and other smaller events, the price increases we achieved during this year’s renewals have helped to partially offset these impacts.

“As we look forward to the January renewals we expect a stabilising pricing environment and are confident in our ability to continue building an attractive portfolio of business which should enable us to generate value for our shareholders.”

The company added that it was expecting losses in the fourth quarter of this year related to Hurricane Michael, which made landfall in Florida on October 3.