Insured losses from the Caribbean could harden reinsurance renewal rates for Bermuda's property insurers, said an insurance company spokesman.

"Having spoken to our representatives in London (Lloyd's brokers), rates will probably not soften and could harden at existing levels,'' said Colonial Insurance general manager Mr. William Madeiros.

Prior to this hurricane season -- a season which is not over -- the outlook for reinsurance premium renewals "looked quite promising,'' he said. At that time, the capacity crunch of a year ago appeared not as chronic and major rate increases were not in store for next year.

"At this early stage, one of the concerns from the London market is that they still do not know how bad (insured losses) are in the Caribbean. "To be fair, it is a bit too early to tell just what the effect (of the latest series of hurricanes) will be,'' he said.

Reinsurance rates, a major factor impacting premium rates charged by domestic insurers to property owners, have increased over the past few years and "we have tried everything we can to make sure it is as painless as possible for our clients,'' said Mr. Madeiros.

Over the past few years, Bermuda insurers have experienced increases in reinsurance premium rates but the hikes were reported to be well below those felt in the Caribbean.

Except for the damage by Felix, Bermuda has been fortunate so far this hurricane season, said Mr. Madeiros.

"In isolation, I do not think Hurricane Felix would impact on Bermuda's reinsurance renewal rates but the combination of Felix and all the other storms to the south could be a factor,'' said Harnett & Richardson Ltd.

insurance (H&R) manager Mr. Roy Fellowes. "It will be interesting to see what the renewals will be like in January.'' A lot of Caribbean information is still pending, and if the as yet undetermined insured losses climb to hundreds of million or even $1 billion, reinsurers will be hurt, he said.

BF&M president and CEO Mr. Glenn Titterton was off the Island and could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Argus Insurance Company Ltd. manager Mr. Larry Osborne and Freisenbruch-Meyer Insurance Services Ltd. president agreed it is too early to comment on whether or not their reinsurance premiums will increase as a result of this season's hurricanes.

If Felix were an isolated event, from a Bermuda perspective, the impact on Argus' reinsurance rate is apt to be nil, said Mr. Osborne. Felix caused at least $3.75 million in insured losses to Bermuda, up from the $2.5 million reported earlier.

Colonial, H&R, BF&M, Argus, Friesenbruch-Meyer, Kitson Insurance Services Ltd., Centurion Insurance Agency, and British American Insurance Company Ltd.

have all reported claims stemming from damage caused by Felix. BF&M reported processing the largest losses, $1.2 billion, while British American reported "minimal'' claims.

Total property loss is all but impossible to determine as some damage may have not been insured while some other Island buildings were likely insured onshore.