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8-K - 8-K - ARCH CAPITAL GROUP LTD.a12-2523_18k.htm

Exhibit 99.1

 

ARCH CAPITAL GROUP LTD.

PROVIDES PRELIMINARY LOSS ESTIMATE FOR
SEVERE FLOODING IN THAILAND

 

HAMILTON, BERMUDA, January 11, 2012 — Arch Capital Group Ltd. [NASDAQ: ACGL] today announced that the Company’s 2011 fourth quarter results will be negatively impacted by the severe flooding in Thailand in the range of $35 million to $65 million, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums. This preliminary loss estimate is based on industry insured losses ranging from $10 billion to $20 billion.

 

The Company’s preliminary estimate is based on currently available information derived from modeling techniques, industry assessments of exposure, preliminary claims information obtained from the Company’s clients and brokers to date and a review of in-force contracts. The severe flooding in Thailand spanned several months between July and December 2011 and has had a significant impact on the Thai economy. Due to the size, duration and complexity of the event, substantial uncertainty remains regarding total covered losses for the insurance industry and the assumptions underlying the Company’s estimates. Actual losses will depend to a great extent on claims from contingent business interruption coverage. The Company’s actual losses from catastrophic events may vary materially from the estimates due to the inherent uncertainties in making such determinations resulting from several factors, including the preliminary nature of available information, the potential inaccuracies and inadequacies in the data provided by clients and brokers, the modeling techniques and the application of such techniques, the contingent nature of business interruption exposures, the effects of any resultant demand surge on claims activity and attendant coverage issues. In addition, actual losses may increase if the Company’s reinsurers fail to meet their obligations to the Company or the reinsurance protections purchased by the Company are exhausted or are otherwise unavailable.

 

Arch Capital Group Ltd., a Bermuda-based company with approximately $4.87 billion in capital at September 30, 2011, provides insurance and reinsurance on a worldwide basis through its wholly owned subsidiaries.

 



 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements. This release or any other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of Arch Capital Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries may include forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in or incorporated by reference in this release are forward-looking statements.

 

Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe” or “continue” or their negative or variations or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements involve our current assessment of risks and uncertainties. Actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. A non-exclusive list of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements includes the following: adverse general economic and market conditions; increased competition; pricing and policy term trends; fluctuations in the actions of rating agencies and our ability to maintain and improve our ratings; investment performance; the loss of key personnel; the adequacy of our loss reserves, severity and/or frequency of losses, greater than expected loss ratios and adverse development on claim and/or claim expense liabilities; greater frequency or severity of unpredictable natural and man-made catastrophic events; the impact of acts of terrorism and acts of war; changes in regulations and/or tax laws in the United States or elsewhere; our ability to successfully integrate, establish and maintain operating procedures as well as integrate the businesses we have acquired or may acquire into the existing operations; changes in accounting principles or policies; material differences between actual and expected assessments for guaranty funds and mandatory pooling arrangements; availability and cost to us of reinsurance to manage our gross and net exposures; the failure of others to meet their obligations to us; and other factors identified in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

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The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with other cautionary statements that are included herein or elsewhere. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

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Contact:

Arch Capital Group Ltd.

 

John C.R. Hele

 

(441) 278-9250

 

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