Arch Capital Group Ltd. reported net income of $126.1 million, or $0.31 per share, a 5.9% annualized return on average equity, compared to $203.5 million, or $0.49 per share, for the 2017 fourth quarter.

Pre-tax current accident year catastrophic losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums were $118.2 million, primarily related to Hurricane Michael and the California wildfires.

The 2018 fourth quarter loss ratio reflected six points for current year catastrophic activity, primarily related to Hurricane Michael and the California wildfires, while the 2017 fourth quarter loss ratio reflected a benefit of 1.3 points due to reserve releases in the quarter from 2017 third quarter hurricanes.

Gross premiums written by the mortgage segment in the 2018 fourth quarter were 6.8% higher than in the 2017 fourth quarter, while net premiums written were 13.5% higher. The growth in gross premiums written primarily reflected an increase in U.S. insurance in force and government sponsored enterprise credit-risk sharing transactions, partially offset by a lower level of U.S. single premium business and a decrease in Australian mortgage reinsurance business.

The increase in net premiums earned for the 2018 fourth quarter primarily reflected the growth in insurance in force in the U.S. over the past 12 months. Insurance in force increased to $383.7 billion at December 31, 2018, compared to $351.8 billion at Dec. 31, 2017.

Arch MI U.S. generated $16.7 billion of new insurance in the 2018 fourth quarter, compared to $14.4 billion in the 2017 fourth quarter, as a higher level of purchase market activity more than offset a reduction in refinance market activity.