Struggling Bermuda insurance broker Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Ltd.

reported it has almost doubled its net loss to $1.9 million for the first quarter of 2001, but said it hopes to show improvement as the year progresses.

The company, which has suffered from US workers' compensation claims cases for the past few years, reported net loss for the first quarter of 2000 of $1 million.

In a release, the company said the US workers' compensation insurance market -- where Stirling Cooke conducts most of its business -- began to show signs of improved pricing in 2000, a trend which has continued in the first quarter of 2001.

But the company experienced reduced revenue in its brokerage because of "significantly diminished capacity'' in reinsurance markets.

It also brought in less money in its programme segment because of an initiative to impose a stricter underwriting discipline, the company said.

The company also said it lost some more ground with the pricing of reinsurance in 2000, and to a lesser extent in 2001.

Stephen Crane, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the company, said: "Results for the first quarter were in line with our expectations. We hope to show improvement in our results as the year progresses.'' Net loss from continuing operations was $1.5 million for the quarter, compared with a net loss from continuing operations of $0.8 million for the first quarter of 2000.

The diluted net loss from continuing operations was $0.16 per share for the first quarter of 2001, compared with diluted net loss per share from continuing operations of $0.08 for the first quarter of 2000.

Diluted net loss from all operations was $0.20 per share for the first quarter of 2001, compared with diluted net loss per share from all operations of $0.11 for the first quarter of 2000.

For the quarter, total revenues from continuing operations were $11.4 million, a decrease of $3.9 million from $15.3 million in the first quarter of 2000.

Brokerage segment revenues were $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2001, compared to $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2000.

The decrease was primarily the result of reduced business being brokered due to significantly diminished reinsurance capacity for workers' compensation business, the company said.

The company's programme business segment revenues were $3.1 million in the first quarter of 2001, compared with $4.8 million in the first quarter of 2000.

This decrease was due to reduced fee margins on programmes and a reduction in programme business volume due to management's decision to impose stricter underwriting standards on continuing programmes.

Insurance segment revenues earned by the company's US-based insurance carrier decreased to $5.3 million for the quarter from $6.7 million in the first quarter of 2000. The decrease in insurance segment revenues reflects a decrease in premium volume written and earned by the company.