RenaissanceRe Reports Net Income of $56.7 Million for the First Quarter of 2018, or $1.42 Per Diluted Common Share; Quarterly Operating Income of $135.2 Million or $3.40 Per Diluted Common Share

Pembroke, Bermuda, May 1, 2018 -- RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: RNR) (the “Company” or “RenaissanceRe”) today reported net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders of $56.7 million, or $1.42 per diluted common share, in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $92.4 million, or $2.25 per diluted common share, in the first quarter of 2017. Operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders was $135.2 million, or $3.40 per diluted common share, in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $53.7 million, or $1.30 per diluted common share, in the first quarter of 2017. The Company reported an annualized return on average common equity of 5.7% and an annualized operating return on average common equity of 13.5% in the first quarter of 2018, compared to 8.3% and 4.8%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2017. Book value per common share increased $0.57, or 0.6%, to $100.29, in the first quarter of 2018, compared to a 0.8% increase in the first quarter of 2017. Tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends increased $0.73, or 0.8%, to $111.96 in the first quarter of 2018, compared to a 1.2% increase in the first quarter of 2017.

FIRST QUARTER 2018 SUMMARY

Gross premiums written in the Property segment were $707.0 million in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of $186.4 million, or 35.8%, compared to $520.5 million in the first quarter of 2017.

Gross premiums written in the catastrophe class of business were $590.3 million in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of $175.9 million, or 42.4%, compared to the first quarter of 2017. The increase in gross premiums written in the catastrophe class of business was driven primarily by an improved rate environment combined with expanded participation on existing transactions and certain new transactions in the catastrophe excess of loss market. Gross premiums written in the other property class of business were $116.6 million in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of $10.5 million, or 9.9%, compared to the first quarter of 2017. The increase in gross premiums written in the other property class of business was primarily driven by growth across a number of the Company’s underwriting platforms, both from existing relationships and through new opportunities.

Ceded premiums written in the Property segment were $352.9 million in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of $122.2 million, or 53.0%, compared to $230.7 million in the first quarter of 2017. The increase in ceded premiums written was principally due to a significant portion of the increase in gross premiums written in the catastrophe class of business noted above being subsequently ceded to third-party investors in the Company’s managed joint venture, Upsilon RFO.

The Property segment generated underwriting income of $127.2 million and a combined ratio of 43.5% in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $91.4 million and 51.1%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2017. Principally impacting the Property segment underwriting result and combined ratio was favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses of $27.6 million, or 12.2 percentage points, during the first quarter of 2018, compared to $0.9 million, or 0.5 percentage points, in the first quarter of 2017, combined with an increase in net premiums earned driven by the growth in net premiums written over the trailing twelve months. The favorable development during the first quarter of 2018 included $27.1 million of net decreases in the estimated ultimate losses associated with Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the Mexico City Earthquake and the wildfires in California during the fourth quarter of 2017, and was principally within the other property class of business.

Gross premiums written in the Casualty and Specialty segment were $452.7 million in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of $51.1 million, or 12.7%, compared to $401.6 million in the first quarter of 2017. The $51.1 million increase was principally due to selective growth from new and existing business within certain classes of business where the Company found comparably attractive risk-return attributes.

The Casualty and Specialty segment generated underwriting income of $2.6 million and had a combined ratio of 98.8% in the first quarter of 2018, compared to an underwriting loss of $49.3 million and a combined ratio 127.5% in the first quarter of 2017. The decrease in the Casualty and Specialty segment combined ratio in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the first quarter of 2017, was principally driven by a 20.8 percentage point decrease in the Casualty and Specialty segment net claims and claim expenses ratio principally as a result of favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses compared to adverse development during the first quarter of 2017, combined with a 7.9 percentage point decrease in the underwriting expense ratio. The decrease in the underwriting expense ratio was primarily driven by an increase in net premiums earned while continuing to leverage the Casualty and Specialty segment’s existing expense base.

During the first quarter of 2018, the Casualty and Specialty segment experienced favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses of $3.8 million, or 1.8 percentage points, compared to $30.3 million, or 16.9 percentage points, of adverse development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses in the first quarter of 2017. The favorable development during the first quarter of 2018 was principally driven by reported losses being lower than expected, compared to the first quarter of 2017 which experienced adverse development associated with the decrease in the Ogden rate during that period.

This Press Release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures including “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders”, “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted”, “operating return on average common equity - annualized”, “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends.” A reconciliation of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures in accordance with Regulation G is presented in the attached supplemental financial data.

Please refer to the “Investor Information - Financial Reports - Financial Supplements” section of the Company’s website at www.renre.com for a copy of the Financial Supplement which includes additional information on the Company’s financial performance.

RenaissanceRe will host a conference call on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss this release. Live broadcast of the conference call will be available through the “Investor Information - Event Calendar” section of the Company’s website at www.renre.com.

The Company uses “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” as a measure to evaluate the underlying fundamentals of its operations and believes it to be a useful measure of its corporate performance. “Operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” as used herein differs from “net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders,” which the Company believes is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, by the exclusion of net realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments, and the associated income tax expense or benefit, and the exclusion of the write-down of a portion of the Company's deferred tax asset as a result of the reduction in the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018 pursuant to the Tax Bill, which was enacted on December 22, 2017. The Company’s management believes that “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” is useful to investors because it more accurately measures and predicts the Company’s results of operations by removing the variability arising from fluctuations in the Company’s fixed maturity investment portfolio, equity investments trading and investments-related derivatives, the associated income tax expense or benefit of those fluctuations, and the non-recurring impact of the write-down of a portion of the Company's deferred tax assets as a result of the reduction in the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018 pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Tax Bill”), which was enacted on December 22, 2017. The Company also uses “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” to calculate “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted” and “operating return on average common equity - annualized”. The following is a reconciliation of: 1) net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders to operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders; 2) net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted to operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted; and 3) return on average common equity - annualized to operating return on average common equity - annualized:

The Company has included in this Press Release “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends”. “Tangible book value per common share” is defined as book value per common share excluding goodwill and intangible assets per share. “Tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends” is defined as book value per common share excluding goodwill and intangible assets per share, plus accumulated dividends. The Company’s management believes “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends” are useful to investors because they provide a more accurate measure of the realizable value of shareholder returns, excluding the impact of goodwill and intangible assets. The following is a reconciliation of book value per common share to tangible book value per common share and tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends: