There are not many pure property catastrophe reinsurers left: Bermuda-based IPC Re is one of the few property ‘cats' still on the block and the company said it is holding to its course, with no intention of changing tracks.

Chief executive officer James Bryce said most reinsurers have, in recent years, either diversified their lines or merged with other insurance companies.

Mr. Bryce claims IPC Re's consistent focus on writing property catastrophe reinsurance - which accounts for more than 90 percent of its business - has led the company to its most successful results to date.

This is following the company taking its worst hit ever with a $112 million loss resulting from the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

IPC Re chief financial officer John Weale said: “We entered 2001 as a very, very strong company. We started with an A+ rating from Standard & Poors and an A+ rating from AM Best. And we ended the year after the biggest loss ever with the same ratings and the strongest financial position we have ever had in the history of our company with the raising of new capital.

“And, apart from the loss of September 11, through the first nine months we had sterling results - right up until September 10. But we finished the year with the additional raising of capital $547 million. So if you take our September 30 position plus estimated fourth quarter earnings and the new capital puts us at around $1.1 billion.”

Mr. Bryce added: “We belong to a very exclusive club. Following September 11 there were only a handful of companies that did not have changes in their rating, or who have not been put on a credit watch. Neither of those things happened to us.”

When asked if the company may consider diversification, Mr. Bryce said: “No, if anything we have revalidated what we have been doing. Diversification was a great idea until September 11. But now it is being rethought.”

IPC Re started out in 1993: “to fill a void in capacity following a whole series of losses from 1987 to 1992 which started with the storms in Europe in ‘87 and culminated with hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992.” Mr. Bryce continued: “We were set up to focus on property cat that is what our shareholders wanted - including American International (AIG) as the single stakeholder with 24.4 percent of shares - that is what we did. And that focus has not shifted and we don't expect it to shift dramatically,” he said. In tomorrow's paper: IPC Re's road to success and how its management sees the future for the industry.