SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549



                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT


     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934



Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):    January 11, 1999



                           RENAISSANCERE HOLDINGS LTD.
               (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)




          Bermuda                        34-0-26512               98-013-8020
(State or other jurisdiction             (Commission            (IRS Employer
     of incorporation)                   File Number)        Identification No.)



Renaissance House, 8-12 East Broadway                              H 19
Pembroke, Bermuda                                               (Zip Code)
(Address of principal executive offices)



Registrant's telephone number, including area code:  (441) 295-4513












Item 5.  Other Events

          On January 11, 1999, RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (the "Company")
issued the press release attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated by
reference herein.

Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits

         (c)  Exhibits:

                  99.1 Press  Release  issued by  RenaissanceRe  Holdings  Ltd.,
dated January 11, 1999.








                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934,
the  registrant  has duly  caused  this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.



                                            RENAISSANCERE HOLDINGS LTD.



                                             /s/ John M. Lummis
                                             ------------------
                                            Name:  John M. Lummis
                                            Title:  Senior Vice President and 
                                                    Chief Financial Officer
                                                           

January 11, 1999








                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit

99.1                     Press Release of the Company, dated January 11, 1999.

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

John M. Lummis                                       Martin J. Merritt.
Senior Vice President and CFO                        Vice President, Finance
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.                          RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.
(441) 295-4513                                       (441) 295-4513



RenRe Expects Charge for its Nobel Subsidiary in the Fourth Quarter; Strong
Performance Continues in its Core Reinsurance Operations

Pembroke,  Bermuda,  January 11,  1999--RenaissanceRe  Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: RNR)
announced that it expects to report a loss in the fourth quarter due to a charge
arising from Nobel Insurance Company, which was acquired in June 1998. Excluding
the Nobel charge,  the results for the fourth quarter are expected to be in line
with analysts' expectations.

The  estimated  after-tax  charge  from  Nobel  is $40  million,  consisting  of
after-tax  losses of $30 million of adverse  development  on surety and casualty
reserves,  $5 million of goodwill  writedown,  and $5 million of other  charges.
Included in the $30 million of adverse  development  is $13 million  relating to
losses  for which  Nobel is  economically  indemnified,  but  required  to delay
recognition of the indemnification under FASB 113.

Nobel expects to sell each of its current  business units,  which consist of low
value dwelling, casualty, and bail bonds. Cochran, Caronia & Co. and E.W. Blanch
have been retained as advisors.  Nobel will  continue to operate these  business
units during the sales  process.  A.M.  Best Company has advised  Nobel that its
rating will be lowered to "B+" (very good).

Renaissance Re Holdings also  announced  Keith Hynes will be leaving the Company
effective   March  31,   1999.   Mr.   Hynes  had  served  as   Executive   Vice
President--Primary Operations at the parent company and President of Renaissance
U.S.  Holdings Inc. James N. Stanard,  Chairman,  President and Chief  Executive
Officer of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., will assume the position of President of
Renaissance U.S.
Holdings.

Mr. Stanard  commented:  "We are obviously very disappointed that the promise we
saw in Nobel has not been fulfilled.  Faced with deteriorating  claim experience
and  the  need  to  advance  additional  capital  to  support  ongoing  business
development,   we  concluded  that  our  shareholders  would  fare  better  with
reinvestment  in our core  reinsurance  business.  Our  catastrophe  reinsurance
business  continues to produce  market-leading  results,  and our other  primary
operations, DeSoto and Glencoe, are performing according to plan."

RenaissanceRe  Holdings Ltd., is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance.
The Company's principal product is property catastrophe reinsurance.






Cautionary  Statement  under "Safe Harbor"  Provision of the Private  Securities
Litigation  Reform Act of 1995:  Statements  made in this news  release  contain
information about the Company's future business prospects.  These statements may
be  considered  "forward-looking."  These  statements  are  subject to risks and
uncertainties  that could cause actual results to differ  materially  from those
set  forth  in or  implied  by  such  forward-looking  statements.  For  further
information   regarding  cautionary  statements  and  factors  affecting  future
operations results,  please refer to RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.'s annual report
on Form 10-k for the year ended  December 31, 1997 and Form 10-q for the quarter
ended September 30, 1998.