The reinsurers' biggest loss this season, compared to last year, stems primarily from one huge storm, Hurricane Katrina, and not four smaller storms as it did in 2004. In addition, Florida, which bore the brunt of the 2004 season, has a state-run catastrophe fund, which covered a good share of the losses.

Bear Stearns property-casualty analyst David Small noted that while some reinsurers may have racked up some serious catastrophic losses this year, the amount of surplus capital has actually increased slightly from the second quarter to the third quarter.

"You just can't look at hurricanes in a vacuum. You have to look at the profitability of the other businesses they were writing and also see they are getting a lot more investment income than they were last year," Mr. Small said.

Bermuda-based Partner Re is a case in point, he said.

The company said it expects catastrophic losses $62 million higher than its previous forecast of $615 million. But Chief Executive Officer Patrick Thiele said that many lines and regions not affected by the catastrophes remain highly competitive, and the fact that many cedants are retaining more risk could add to the supply of reinsurance capital available next year.

Many of the insurers in the survey also showed a combined ratio deterioration in the fourth quarter of this year.

Stamford, Conn.-based General Re's figure went from 102 last year for the first nine months to 118 this year. PXRE Reinsurance Company, Edison, N.J., showed the biggest swing, going from 122 last year to 1788.8 this year. Princeton, N.J.-based American Reinsurance Company reported a 9-month combined ratio this year of 246.3 compared to 113 last year.