Munich Re has reported pandemic-related claims of €800 million ($1.3 billion) pushed up its man-made loss bill to €973 million ($1.6 billion) in the first quarter from €283 million ($469 million) a year earlier.

Cancellation or postponement of major events made up the majority of the virus claims lodged with the reinsurer.

Net income profit in the three months to March fell 65.1% to €221 million ($366 million).

The property and casualty (P&C) reinsurance arm’s net income declined to €141 million ($234 million) from €367 million ($609 million) a year earlier, as the fallout from virus disruption took its toll.

Premium volume increased to €6.2 billion ($10.3 billion) from €5.5 billion ($9.1 billion) but the combined ratio blew out to 106% from 97.3%. Major losses of over €10 million each ballooned to €1.18 billion ($2 billion) from €479 million ($794 million), including the €973 million in losses from man-made events. Major losses from natural catastrophes eased to €208 million ($345 million) from €195 million ($323 million).

“The high losses due to COVID-19 are financially manageable for Munich Re,” CFO Christoph Jurecka said. “Thanks to our strong balance sheet and our prudent risk management, we remain a reliable partner to our clients even in these challenging times.”

Munich Re says it will not set a revised profit target for this year, citing the ongoing economic uncertainties. The reinsurer had in March withdrew its prior €2.8 billion ($4.6 billion) guidance.

The business has also dropped the 97% combined ratio guidance for the P&C reinsurance unit.