10-K: Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2003
COMMISSION FILE NO. 34-0-26512

RENAISSANCERE HOLDINGS LTD.
(Exact Name Of Registrant As Specified In Its Charter)

BERMUDA 98-014-1974
State or Other Jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
Incorporation or Organization) Identification Number)

RENAISSANCE HOUSE, 8-12 EAST BROADWAY, PEMBROKE HM 19 BERMUDA
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(441) 295-4513
(Registrant's telephone number)

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:

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TITLE OF EACH CLASS NAME OF EACH EXCHANGE ON WHICH
REGISTERED
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Common Shares, Par Value $1.00 per share New York Stock Exchange, Inc.
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Series A 8.10% Preference Shares, Par New York Stock Exchange, Inc.
Value $1.00 per share
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Series B 7.30% Preference Shares, Par New York Stock Exchange, Inc.
Value $1.00 per share
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SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(G) OF THE ACT: NONE

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required
to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was
required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90 days. Yes (X) No ( )

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405
of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the
best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this
Form 10-K. ( )

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as
defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes (X) No ( )

The aggregate market value of Common Shares held by nonaffiliates of the
registrant at June 30, 2003 was $3,200,948,556 based on the closing sale price
of the Common Shares on the New York Stock Exchange on that date.

The number of Common Shares outstanding at March 1, 2004 was 70,371,596.

The information required by Part III of this report, to the extent not set forth
herein, is incorporated by reference to the registrant's Definitive Proxy
Statement to be filed in respect of our 2004 Annual General Meeting of
Shareholders.
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RENAISSANCERE HOLDINGS LTD.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Part I.........................................................................1
Item 1. BUSINESS............................................................2
Item 2. PROPERTIES.........................................................42
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS..................................................42
Item 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS................42

Part II.......................................................................43
Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED
SHAREHOLDER MATTERS................................................43
Item 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA...............................44
Item 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL
CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS................................45
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT
MARKET RISK........................................................64
Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA........................65
Item 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON
ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE................................65
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES............................................66

Part III......................................................................64
Item 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF RENAISSANCERE..................67
Item 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.............................................67
Item 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS.....................67
Item 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS.....................67
Item 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.............................67

Part IV.......................................................................68
Item 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES, AND
REPORTS ON FORM 8-K................................................68
Signatures....................................................................69


PART I.

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Annual Report to
"RenaissanceRe" or the "Company" means RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. and its
subsidiaries, which principally include Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd.
("Renaissance Reinsurance"), Glencoe Group Holdings Ltd. ("Glencoe Group"),
Glencoe Insurance Ltd. ("Glencoe"), Lantana Insurance Ltd. ("Lantana"),
Stonington Insurance Company ("Stonington"), Renaissance Underwriting Managers,
Ltd. ("Renaissance Underwriting Managers"), Renaissance Reinsurance of Europe
("Renaissance Europe"), Glencoe U.S. Holdings Inc. ("Glencoe U.S."),
RenaissanceRe Capital Trust (the "Capital Trust"), and Renaissance Investment
Holdings Ltd. ("RIHL"). We also underwrite reinsurance on behalf of joint
ventures, principally including Top Layer Reinsurance Ltd. ("Top Layer Re") and
DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. ("DaVinci"). DaVinci's financial results are
consolidated in our financial statements. Unless the context otherwise requires,
references to RenaissanceRe do not include any of the joint ventures for which
we provide underwriting services. Certain terms used below are defined in the
"Glossary of Selected Insurance Terms" appearing on page 37 of this Report.

NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and
assumptions that are inherently subject to significant business, economic and
competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which, with respect to
future business decisions, are subject to change. These uncertainties and
contingencies can affect actual results and could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on
behalf of, us.

In particular, statements using words such as "may," "should," "estimate,"
"expect," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "predict," "potential," or words of
similar import generally involve forward-looking statements. For example, we
have included certain forward-looking statements in "Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" with regard to trends
in results, prices, volumes, operations, investment results, margins, combined
ratios, reserves, overall market trends, risk management and exchange rates.
This Form 10-K also contains forward-looking statements with respect to our
business and industry, such as those relating to our strategy and management
objectives, trends in market conditions, prices, market standing and product
volumes, investment results and pricing conditions in the reinsurance and
insurance industries.

In light of the risks and uncertainties inherent in all future projections, the
inclusion of forward-looking statements in this report should not be considered
as a representation by us or any other person that our objectives or plans will
be achieved. Numerous factors could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including the
following:

(1) the occurrence of natural or man-made catastrophic events with a frequency
or severity exceeding our estimates;

(2) risks associated with implementing our business strategies and initiatives
for organic growth, including risks relating to managing that growth;

(3) risks associated with the growth of our specialty reinsurance and
Individual Risk businesses, particularly the development of our
infrastructure to support this growth;

(4) risks relating to our strategy of relying on program managers, third party
administrators, and other vendors to support our Individual Risk
operations;

(5) other risks of doing business with program managers, including the risk we
might be bound to policyholder obligations beyond our underwriting intent,
and the risk that our program managers or agents may elect not to continue
or renew their programs with us;

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(6) possible challenges in maintaining our fee-based operations, including
risks associated with retaining our existing partners and attracting
potential new partners;

(7) acts of terrorism, war or political unrest;

(8) the inherent uncertainties in our reserving process, which we believe are
increasing as we diversify into new product classes;

(9) emerging claim and coverage issues, which could expand our obligations
beyond the amount we intend to underwrite;

(10) a decrease in the level of demand for our reinsurance or insurance
business, or increased competition in the industry;

(11) changes in economic conditions, including interest rate, currency, equity
and credit conditions which could affect our investment portfolio;

(12) extraordinary events affecting our clients, such as bankruptcies and
liquidations, and the risk that we may not retain or replace our large
clients;

(13) a contention by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service that our Bermuda
subsidiaries, including Renaissance Reinsurance and Glencoe, are subject to
U.S. taxation;

(14) the lowering or loss of any of the financial or claims-paying ratings of
RenaissanceRe or of one or more of our subsidiaries or changes in the
policies or practices of the rating agencies;

(15) loss of services of any one of our key executive officers;

(16) risks relating to the collectibility of our reinsurance, including both our
Reinsurance and Individual Risk operations, as well as risks relating to
the availability of coverage from creditworthy providers;

(17) failures of our reinsurers, brokers or program managers to honor their
obligations, including their obligations to make third party payments for
which we might be liable;

(18) changes in insurance regulations in the United States ("U.S.") or other
jurisdictions in which we operate, including potential challenges to
Renaissance Reinsurance's claim of exemption from insurance regulation
under current laws, and the risk of increased global regulation of the
insurance and reinsurance industry;

(19) the passage of federal or state legislation subjecting Renaissance
Reinsurance to supervision or regulation, including additional tax
regulation, in the U.S. or other jurisdictions in which we operate; and

(20) actions of competitors, including industry consolidation, the launch of new
entrants and the development of competing financial products.

The factors listed above should not be construed as exhaustive. Certain of these
factors are described in more detail in "Risk Factors" below. We undertake no
obligation to release publicly the results of any future revisions we may make
to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

GENERAL

RenaissanceRe was established in Bermuda in 1993 to write property catastrophe
reinsurance. Through the use of sophisticated computer models to construct our
portfolio of reinsurance contracts, we have become one of the

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world's largest and most successful catastrophe reinsurers. We are seeking to
leverage our expertise to establish leading franchises in additional selected
areas of insurance and reinsurance.

We conduct our business through two reportable segments, Reinsurance and
Individual Risk. Those segments are more fully described as follows:

Reinsurance

Our Reinsurance segment has three main components:

1) Property catastrophe reinsurance written for our own account - our
traditional core business. Our subsidiary, Renaissance Reinsurance, is one
of the world's premier providers of this coverage. This coverage protects
against large natural catastrophes, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, as
well as claims arising from other natural and man-made catastrophes such as
winter storms, freezes, floods, fires, tornadoes and explosions. We offer
this coverage to insurance companies and other reinsurers primarily on an
excess of loss basis. This means that we begin paying when our customers'
claims from a catastrophe exceed a certain retained amount.

2) Specialty reinsurance written for our own account covering certain targeted
classes of business where we believe we have a sound basis for underwriting
and pricing the risk that we assume; our portfolio in 2003 includes various
lines of business, such as catastrophe exposed workers' compensation,
surety, aviation and terrorism. We believe that we are seen as a market
leader in certain of these classes of business and that we have a growing
reputation as a "first call" market in these lines.

3) Through Renaissance Underwriting Managers, we pursue joint ventures and
other structured relationships. Our three principal business activities in
this area are: 1) catastrophe-oriented joint ventures which we manage, such
as Top Layer Re and DaVinci; and 2) specialized reinsurance transactions,
such as offering non-traditional participations in our catastrophe
portfolio; and 3) business development joint ventures directed at other
classes of risk, where we partner with other market participants, such as
our investments in ChannelRe Holdings Ltd. ("Channel Re") and Platinum
Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. ("Platinum"). Only business activities that
appear in our consolidated underwriting profit, such as DaVinci and certain
specialized reinsurance transactions, are included in our Reinsurance
segment results; Top Layer Re, Channel Re and Platinum are included in the
Other category of our segment results.

Individual Risk

We define our Individual Risk segment to include underwriting that involves
understanding the characteristics of the original underlying insurance policy.
Our principal products include: 1) commercial and homeowners property coverages,
including catastrophe-exposed lines; 2) commercial liability coverages,
including general, automobile, professional and various specialty lines; and 3)
reinsurance to other insurers on a quota share basis.

Our Individual Risk business is primarily produced through three distribution
channels: 1) Program Managers - where we write primary insurance through
specialized program managers, who produce business pursuant to agreed-upon
underwriting guidelines and provide related back-office functions; 2) Quota
Share Reinsurance - where we write quota share reinsurance with primary insurers
who, similar to our program managers, provide most of the back-office and
support functions; and 3) Brokers - where we write primary insurance through
brokers on a risk-by-risk basis.

Our Individual Risk business is written by the Glencoe Group through its
operating subsidiaries Glencoe and Lantana on an excess and surplus lines basis
and on an admitted basis by Stonington. As noted above, we rely on third parties
for services including the generation of premium, the issuance of policies and
the processing of claims. We actively oversee our third-party partners through
an operations review team at Glencoe Group Services Inc., which conducts initial
due diligence as well as ongoing monitoring.

New Business

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In addition to the reinsurance and insurance coverages discussed above, from
time to time, we consider opportunistic diversification into new ventures,
either through organic growth, the formation of new joint ventures, or the
acquisition of other companies or books of business of other companies. This
potential diversification includes opportunities to write targeted classes of
non-catastrophe business, both directly for our own account and through possible
new joint venture opportunities. In evaluating such new ventures, we seek an
attractive return on equity, the ability to develop or capitalize on a
competitive advantage, and opportunities that will not detract from our core
Reinsurance and Individual Risk operations. Accordingly, we regularly review
strategic opportunities and periodically engage in discussions regarding
possible transactions, although there can be no assurance that we will complete
any such transactions or that any such transaction would contribute materially
to our results of operations or financial condition.

Since a substantial portion of the reinsurance and insurance we write provides
protection from damages relating to natural and man-made catastrophes, our
results depend to a large extent on the frequency and severity of such
catastrophic events, and the coverages we offer to clients impacted by these
events.

CORPORATE STRATEGY

We will seek to generate growth in book value per share plus cumulative
dividends for our shareholders by pursuing the following strategic objectives:

o Maintain our position as a leader in the property catastrophe reinsurance
business. Based on managed gross premiums written, we are among the largest
property catastrophe reinsurers in the world. Property catastrophe
reinsurance accounts for a significant portion of our business and has
historically generated among the most attractive returns in our industry.
We believe that our proprietary modeling technology and underwriting
expertise provide us with significant competitive advantages in managing
catastrophe risk.

o Enhance our position in the specialty reinsurance market. We have developed
a leadership position in certain specialty lines, and we intend to maintain
this as well as expand this franchise by pursuing new opportunities in
other classes of business, particularly where there has been a significant
market dislocation.

o Pursue additional joint venture opportunities. Building upon our
relationships and expertise in modeling, underwriting and capital
management, we intend to seek new joint venture opportunities, which may
include new partners and diversifying classes of business.

o Increase our position in the Individual Risk market. We plan to continue to
expand our Individual Risk business by increasing the number and size of
our programs and by using technology to help manage the business
effectively, while keeping our infrastructure small and leveraging our
modeling expertise and franchise value.

We believe we are positioned to fulfill these objectives by virtue of the
experience and skill of our management, our significant financial strength, and
our strong relationships with brokers and clients. In addition, we believe our
superior service, our proprietary modeling technology, and our extensive
business relationships which enabled us to become a leader in the property
catastrophe reinsurance market will be instrumental in allowing us to achieve
our strategy.

BUSINESS SEGMENTS

We currently conduct our business through two reportable segments, Reinsurance
and Individual Risk. Financial data relating to our two segments is included in
Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations and in our Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes presented
under Item 8.

REINSURANCE SEGMENT

As described above, our Reinsurance operations are comprised of three
components: 1) property catastrophe reinsurance, primarily

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written through Renaissance Reinsurance and DaVinci; 2) specialty reinsurance,
primarily written through Renaissance Reinsurance and DaVinci; and 3) certain
activities of Renaissance Underwriting Managers.

Our portfolio of business has continued to be increasingly characterized by a
number of large ceding companies with whom we do business. Accordingly, our
written premiums are subject to significant fluctuations depending on our
success in maintaining or expanding our relationships with these large
customers.

Property Catastrophe Reinsurance

Our property catastrophe reinsurance contracts are generally "all risk" in
nature. Our most significant exposure is to losses from earthquakes and
hurricanes, although we are also exposed to claims arising from other natural
and man-made catastrophes, such as winter storms, freezes, floods, fires,
explosions, tornadoes and terror events, in connection with the coverages we
provide. Our predominant exposure under such coverage is to property damage.
However, other risks, including business interruption and other non-property
losses, may also be covered under our property reinsurance contracts when
arising from a covered peril.

Because of the wide range of possible catastrophic events to which we are
exposed, and because of the potential for multiple events to occur in the same
time period, our catastrophe reinsurance business is volatile, and our results
of operations may reflect this volatility. Further, our financial condition may
be impacted by this volatility over time or at any point in time. The effects of
claims from one or a number of severe catastrophic events could have a material
adverse effect on us. We expect that increases in the values and concentrations
of insured property and the effects of inflation will increase the severity of
such occurrences in the future.

We seek to moderate the volatility described in the preceding paragraph through
the use of contract terms, portfolio selection methodology, diversification
criteria and probability analyses. Also, consistent with risk management
practices, we seek to purchase reinsurance protection for our own account and to
effect other risk spreading transactions to seek to further reduce the potential
volatility of our results.

Catastrophe Excess of Loss Reinsurance. We write catastrophe excess of loss
reinsurance, which provides coverage to primary insurers when aggregate claims
and claim expenses from a single occurrence of a covered peril exceed the
attachment point specified in a particular contract. Under these contracts we
indemnify an insurer for a portion of the losses on insurance policies in excess
of a specified loss amount, and up to an amount per loss specified in the
contract.

A portion of our property catastrophe excess of loss contracts limit coverage to
one occurrence in a contract year, but most such contracts provide for coverage
of a second occurrence after the payment of a reinstatement premium. The
coverage provided under excess of loss reinsurance contracts may be on a
worldwide basis or limited in scope to selected geographic areas. Coverage can
also vary from "all property" perils to limited coverage on selected perils,
such as "earthquake only" coverage.

Excess of Loss Retrocessional Reinsurance. We enter into retrocessional
contracts that provide property catastrophe coverage to other reinsurers or
retrocedants. In providing retrocessional reinsurance, we focus on property
catastrophe retrocessional reinsurance which covers the retrocedant on an excess
of loss basis when aggregate claims and claim expenses from a single occurrence
of a covered peril and from a multiple number of reinsureds exceed a specified
attachment point. The coverage provided under excess of loss retrocessional
contracts may be on a worldwide basis or limited in scope to selected geographic
areas. Coverage can also vary from "all property" perils to limited coverage on
selected perils, such as "earthquake only" coverage. Retrocessional coverage is
generally characterized by high volatility, principally because retrocessional
contracts expose a reinsurer to an aggregation of losses from a single
catastrophic event. In addition, the information available to retrocessional
underwriters concerning the original primary risk can be less precise than the
information received from primary companies directly. Moreover, exposures from
retrocessional business can change within a contract term as the underwriters of
a retrocedant alter their book of business after retrocessional coverage has
been bound.

Specialty Reinsurance

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We write a number of other lines of reinsurance such as catastrophe exposed
workers' compensation, surety, aviation and terrorism, which we collectively
refer to as specialty reinsurance.

We believe that our underwriting and analytic capabilities have positioned us
well to manage and grow this business. Potential losses from many of these
coverages could be characterized as low frequency and high severity, similar to
our catastrophe reinsurance coverages. We also seek to manage the correlations
of this business with our property catastrophe reinsurance portfolio. In 2003 we
increased the professional staff of our specialty reinsurance operations to
support our growth in this unit.

Renaissance Underwriting Managers

We pursue a number of opportunities through Renaissance Underwriting Managers,
which has responsibility for managing our joint venture relationships and
executing highly specialized reinsurance transactions to assume or cede risk.
Our professionals have experience across a range of disciplines, including
accounting, investment banking and law, as well as insurance and reinsurance.

Property Catastrophe-Oriented Joint Ventures. We actively manage property
catastrophe-oriented joint ventures, which provide us with additional presence
in the market as well as fee income. They allow us to leverage our access to
business and our underwriting capabilities on a larger capital base. Currently,
our joint ventures are Top Layer Re and DaVinci. We are the exclusive
underwriting manager for each of Top Layer Re and DaVinci.

Top Layer Re writes high excess non-U.S. property catastrophe reinsurance. Top
Layer Re is owned 50% by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("State
Farm") and 50% by Renaissance Reinsurance. State Farm provides $3.9 billion of
stop loss reinsurance coverage to Top Layer Re.

DaVinci writes global reinsurance. In general, we seek to construct for DaVinci
a property catastrophe reinsurance portfolio with risk characteristics similar
to those of Renaissance Reinsurance's property catastrophe reinsurance
portfolio. We also write certain lines of specialty reinsurance for DaVinci. We
owned 25% of DaVinci's outstanding equity at December 31, 2003, but control a
majority of its outstanding voting power, and accordingly DaVinci's financial
results are consolidated in our financial statements.

In these joint ventures, we typically provide our partners with underwriting,
claims management, risk modeling, capital and investment management services,
marketing, reporting, remittances and payments processing and other services. We
work within agreed-upon underwriting guidelines, tailored to our partners'
requirements, using the same techniques and systems for the underwriting as we
apply to our own portfolio. These relationships create fees for services and
profit sharing income for Renaissance Underwriting Managers and Renaissance
Reinsurance. In turn, our joint ventures have increased the capital we can
commit to the catastrophe reinsurance market and have deepened our market
penetration.

The following table shows our total managed property catastrophe and specialty
reinsurance premiums written:

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