RENAISSANCERE HOLDINGS LTD

RenaissanceRe is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance that specializes in matching desirable risk with efficient capital. We provide property, casualty and specialty reinsurance and certain insurance solutions to customers, principally through intermediaries. Established in 1993, we have offices in Bermuda, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S. We are one of the world’s leading providers of property, casualty and specialty reinsurance solutions.

Our mission is to match desirable risk with efficient capital to achieve our vision of being the best underwriter. We believe that this will allow us to produce superior returns for our shareholders over the long term, and to enable our purpose of protecting communities and enabling prosperity. We seek to accomplish these goals by (i) being a trusted, long-term partner to our customers for assessing and managing risk, (ii) delivering responsive and innovative solutions, (iii) leveraging our core capabilities of risk assessment and information management, (iv) investing in these core capabilities in order to serve our customers across market cycles, and (v) keeping our promises.

Our core products include property, casualty and specialty reinsurance, and certain insurance products, principally distributed through intermediaries with whom we have cultivated strong long-term relationships. Our business consists of the following reportable segments: (1) Property, which is comprised of catastrophe and other property (re)insurance, and (2) Casualty and Specialty, which is comprised of general casualty, professional liability, credit and other specialty (re)insurance. The underwriting results of our consolidated operating subsidiaries and underwriting platforms are included in our Property and Casualty and Specialty segment results as appropriate.

Our strategy focuses on operating as an integrated system of three competitive advantages: superior risk selection, superior customer relationships and superior capital management. We provide value to our customers and partners in the form of financial security, innovative products, and responsive service. We are known as a leader in paying valid claims promptly.

We have three principal drivers of profit that generate diversified earnings streams for our business - underwriting income, fee income, and investment income. Underwriting income is the income that we earn from our core underwriting business. By accepting the volatility that this business brings, we believe that we can generate superior long-term returns and achieve our vision. Fee income is the income that we earn primarily from managing third-party capital in our Capital Partners unit and is composed of management fee income and performance fee income. Investment income is income derived from the investment portfolio that we maintain to support our business. We take a disciplined approach in building a relatively conservative, well-structured investment portfolio with a focus on fixed income investments. Compared to underwriting income, we view fee income, in particular management fee income, and investment income, as relatively stable, less volatile, and capital efficient sources of income.

We principally measure our financial success through long-term growth in tangible book value per common share plus the change in accumulated dividends. We believe this metric is the most appropriate measure of our financial performance, and in respect of which we believe we have delivered superior performance over time.

Our current business strategy focuses predominantly on writing reinsurance. We also write excess and surplus lines insurance through delegated authority arrangements, and typically underwrite insurance risks in portfolio form. Additionally, we pursue a number of other opportunities, such as creating and managing our joint ventures and managed funds, executing customized reinsurance transactions to assume or cede risk, and managing certain strategic investments. We continually explore appropriate and efficient ways to address the risk management needs of our clients and the impact of various regulatory and legislative changes on our operations. From time to time, we consider diversification into new ventures, either through organic growth, the formation of new joint ventures or managed funds, or the acquisition of, or the investment in, other companies or books of business of other companies.

Revenues and Expenses

Our revenues are principally derived from three sources: (1) net premiums earned from the reinsurance and insurance policies we sell; (2) net investment income and net realized and unrealized gains from the investment of our capital funds and the investment of the cash we receive on the policies which we sell; and (3) fees received from our joint ventures, managed funds and structured reinsurance products, which are primarily reflected in redeemable noncontrolling interest or as an offset to acquisition or operational expenses.

Our expenses primarily consist of: (1) net claims and claim expenses incurred on the policies of reinsurance and insurance we sell; (2) acquisition costs, which typically represent a percentage of the premiums we write; (3) operational expenses, which primarily consist of personnel expenses, rent and other expenses; (4) corporate expenses, which include certain executive, legal and consulting expenses, costs for research and development, transaction and integration-related expenses, and other miscellaneous costs, including those associated with operating as a publicly traded company; and (5) interest and dividends related to our debt and preference shares. We are also subject to taxes in certain jurisdictions in which we operate. Historically, the majority of our income has been earned in Bermuda, which did not have a corporate income tax, so the tax impact to our operations has been minimal. However, on December 27, 2023, the Government of Bermuda announced the implementation of a 15% corporate income tax effective January 1, 2025. We expect that this development, along with the implementation of the OECD’s Pillar Two global minimum tax regime in the jurisdictions in which we operate, will increase our income taxes in the future. We believe that the flexible global operating model that we have utilized will continue to prove resilient.

The underwriting results of an insurance or reinsurance company are discussed frequently by reference to its net claims and claim expense ratio, underwriting expense ratio, and combined ratio. The net claims and claim expense ratio is calculated by dividing net claims and claim expenses incurred by net premiums earned. The underwriting expense ratio is calculated by dividing underwriting expenses (acquisition expenses and operational expenses) by net premiums earned. The combined ratio is the sum of the net claims and claim expense ratio and the underwriting expense ratio. A combined ratio below 100% indicates profitable underwriting prior to the consideration of investment income. A combined ratio over 100% indicates unprofitable underwriting prior to the consideration of investment income. We also discuss our net claims and claim expense ratio on a current accident year basis and a prior accident years basis. The current accident year net claims and claim expense ratio is calculated by taking current accident year net claims and claim expenses incurred, divided by net premiums earned. The prior accident years net claims and claim expense ratio is calculated by taking prior accident years net claims and claim expenses incurred, divided by net premiums earned.

We manage DaVinci, Fontana, Medici, and Vermeer, and own all, or a majority, of the voting interests, but own no, or a minority, economic interest of each. As a result of our controlling voting interests, we fully consolidate these entities in our financial statements, even though we do not retain the full value of the economic outcomes generated by these entities. The portions of the economic outcomes that are not retained by us are ultimately allocated to the third-party investors who hold the noncontrolling interests in these entities. The economic outcomes may include underwriting results, investments results, and foreign exchange impacts, among other items. For example, if one of these entities were to generate underwriting losses due to a natural catastrophe, the full amount would be reflected in net income (loss) on our consolidated statements of operations, but ultimately we would only retain a portion of that amount in our net income (loss) attributable to RenaissanceRe. In our consolidated balance sheets and consolidated statements of operations, the portion of these items attributable to third parties is reflected in “Net (income) loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests” line item. Refer to “Note 8. Noncontrolling Interests” in our “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements” for additional information regarding our redeemable noncontrolling interests and how this accounting treatment impacts our financial results.

Effects of Inflation

General economic inflation has increased over the past few years compared to recent historical norms, and there is a risk of inflation remaining elevated for an extended period, which could cause claims and claims related expenses to increase, impact the performance of our investment portfolio, or have other adverse effects. This risk may be exacerbated by geopolitical factors and global supply chain issues, among other factors, from time to time. Some central banks have begun to cut interest rates, which could act as a potential supporting force for some of these inflationary pressures, if they have cut rates too soon. The actual effects of the current and potential future increase in inflation on our results cannot be accurately known until, among other items, claims are ultimately settled. The duration and severity of an inflationary period cannot be estimated with precision. We consider the anticipated effects of inflation on us in our catastrophe loss models and on our investment portfolio. Our estimates of the potential effects of inflation are also considered in pricing and in estimating reserves for unpaid claims and claim expenses. The potential exists, after a catastrophe loss, for the development of inflationary pressures in a local economy.