Co-operators General Insurance Co. is reporting a loss for the first quarter ended March 31. The property and casualty insurer reported consolidated after-tax net loss of $20 million, compared to the $2 million earned during the same period in 2000.

Gross written premium in the first quarter increased marginally to $321 million, compared to $315 million in the first quarter of 2000. The claims ratio for the first quarter was 93.3%, compared to 80.7% a year ago. The combined ratio of claims and operating expenses was 124.7%, compared to 111.9% for the first quarter of 2000.

The loss per common share was $1.07 for the first quarter, compared to the earnings of 3¢ a share for the same period a year ago.

“Like most of the rest of the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry, we are seeing a sharp reduction in earnings resulting from higher losses in claims,” said president and CEO Terry Squire.

“Our controllable expenses are on target, and we have put in place an action plan we are confident will lead to improved results. However, we incurred roughly four times the number of catastrophic personal injury claims we would normally see in the first quarter, and that combined with the overall increase in general and weather-related claims has impacted directly on our bottom line,” Squire added.