Bermuda's insurance and reinsurance market top end second quarter results almost matched the impressive first quarter with a combined profit of $3.324 billion.

A comparson of how the Royal Gazette's snapshot of the best performing 24 companies did this past quarter compared to the first three months of 2007 shows they generated an extra $40m in profits, totalling $3.345bn, however the total for our entire list of 26 is reduced slightly by recorded losses of PXRE and Primus Guaranty.

On average each company made $138.5 million, with giants Ace and XL Capital topping the list with net incomes of $649m and $544.5m respectively.

Meanwhile gross premiums written was a staggering $16bn total.

Despite a number of natural disasters, including the floods in the UK and Australia and the Japanese earthquakes, profits were not significantly affected by the payouts made.

Ace enjoyed a 13 percent increase in profits, up from $573m in 2006, while XL saw its profits rise by $167.4m year-on-year from $377.1m.

The companies also recorded gross written premiums of $4.63bn and $2.23bn respectively to round off a successful quarter's business.

Ace did, however, incur an $88m pre-tax catastrophe charge including reinstatement premiums during the quarter related to the floods in the UK, the US and Australia.

An unrealised after-tax loss of $382m was similarly incurred from the mark-to-market effect of rising interest rates, but book value increased $225m in the quarter and investment portfolio exposure to sub-prime mortgages was negligible with no adverse impact nor is any foreseen.

XL's insurance underwriting profit for the quarter ended June 30 was $102.2m compared with $63.8m in the prior year period, due mainly to net favorable prior year development, while underwriting profit for reinsurance was also up from $81.8m to $129.8 million year-on-year for the same reason.

Everest and Axis similarly exceeded the $250m mark with net incomes of $282.9m and $252m respectively, with Arch and Ren Re hot on their heels, raking in profits of $199.4m and $183.2m.

Endurance came nearest to the average net income level, posting profits of $315.3m and gross written premiums of $506.8m, with 10 of the companies achieving profits in the hundreds of millions region.

Companies to suffer from a poor quarter's trading were PXRE and Primus Guaranty. Both endured losses of (minus) - $11.6m and (minus) - $21.5m, with PXRE's gross written premiums also slipping into the red at minus - $0.47m.

PXRE's net loss was largely due to a decrease in net premiums earned, as virtually all of the policies written by the company in 2006 expired as of the end of last year. Additionally, PXRE, has just merged with US giant Argonaut Group and has written only a limited number of new property catastrophe reinsurance contracts during the second quarter of 2007 through its newly-formed Bermuda subsidiary Peleus Reinsurance.