SiriusPoint run-off transfer to release more than $200 million

SiriusPoint agreed a loss portfolio transfer with legacy specialist RiverStone covering substantially all of its remaining run-off reserves, a transaction the Bermudian specialty underwriter disclosed in its third-quarter earnings statement.

SiriusPoint expects the transfer to release more than $200 million of capital tied to its legacy business. The deal needs regulatory approval, and terms were not disclosed.

For allocators who hold SiriusPoint paper, the capital release is the figure to watch: it returns reserves to the underwriting side only if regulators approve the RiverStone transfer. The segment reset changes comparability in a different way. From the fourth quarter, Accident & Health and Specialty P&C will be reported as stand-alone segments in place of the current structure, so the Insurance & Services and Reinsurance lines allocators track today give way to new reported units.

Core gross written premiums rose 13.7% to $990.6 million, driven by Insurance & Services. Net income slipped to $87 million from $90.7 million a year earlier, while operating net income, which excludes certain investment and other items, rose to $103.2 million from $87.4 million. Core underwriting income improved to $75.9 million from $69.6 million, though the core combined ratio deteriorated to 90.1% from 89.1%. Net investment income fell to $65.9 million from $66.5 million, reflecting lower yields on cash and short-term investments alongside portfolio repositioning.

Insurance & Services gross written premiums rose 19.8% to $673 million, supported by surety growth and higher professional liability premium estimates, but underwriting income in the segment fell to $33 million from $37.7 million. Reinsurance did the offsetting: underwriting income there rose to $42.9 million from $31.9 million on favorable development of prior-year property and energy reserves, the combined ratio improved to 86% from 87.9%, and gross written premiums rose 2.6% to $317.6 million.

Scott Egan, the chief executive, said the diversified, low-volatility portfolio again delivered on growth and profitability, and pointed to operating returns on equity of 17.6% for the quarter and 15.8% for the first nine months against a target range of 12% to 15%. For the nine months, net income rose 25% to $255 million and core underwriting income climbed to $201.8 million from $165.7 million, as catastrophe losses fell sharply from a prior-year period hit by California wildfires.