taxes . if group or its bermuda subsidiaries were to become subject to u.s . income tax ; there could be a material adverse effect on the company 2019s financial condition , results of operations and cash flows . united kingdom . bermuda re 2019s uk branch conducts business in the uk and is subject to taxation in the uk . bermuda re believes that it has operated and will continue to operate its bermuda operation in a manner which will not cause them to be subject to uk taxation . if bermuda re 2019s bermuda operations were to become subject to uk income tax there could be a material adverse impact on the company 2019s financial condition , results of operations and cash flow . available information the company 2019s annual reports on form 10-k , quarterly reports on form 10-q , current reports on form 8-k , proxy state- ments and amendments to those reports are available free of charge through the company 2019s internet website at http://www.everestre.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with the securities and exchange commission ( the 201csec 201d ) . i t e m 1 a . r i s k f a c t o r s in addition to the other information provided in this report , the following risk factors should be considered when evaluating an investment in our securities . if the circumstances contemplated by the individual risk factors materialize , our business , finan- cial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected and the trading price of our common shares could decline significantly . r i s k s r e l a t i n g t o o u r b u s i n e s s our results could be adversely affected by catastrophic events . we are exposed to unpredictable catastrophic events , including weather-related and other natural catastrophes , as well as acts of terrorism . any material reduction in our operating results caused by the occurrence of one or more catastrophes could inhibit our ability to pay dividends or to meet our interest and principal payment obligations . we define a catastrophe as an event that causes a pre-tax loss on property exposures before reinsurance of at least $ 5.0 million , before corporate level rein- surance and taxes . effective for the third quarter 2005 , industrial risk losses have been excluded from catastrophe losses , with prior periods adjusted for comparison purposes . by way of illustration , during the past five calendar years , pre-tax catastrophe losses , net of contract specific reinsurance but before cessions under corporate reinsurance programs , were as follows: .
what is the percentage change of the , pre-tax catastrophe losses from 2003 to 2004
our losses from future catastrophic events could exceed our projections . we use projections of possible losses from future catastrophic events of varying types and magnitudes as a strategic under- writing tool . we use these loss projections to estimate our potential catastrophe losses in certain geographic areas and decide on the purchase of retrocessional coverage or other actions to limit the extent of potential losses in a given geographic area . these loss projections are approximations reliant on a mix of quantitative and qualitative processes and actual losses may exceed the projections by a material amount . we focus on potential losses that can be generated by any single event as part of our evaluation and monitoring of our aggre- gate exposure to catastrophic events . accordingly , we employ various techniques to estimate the amount of loss we could sustain from any single catastrophic event in various geographical areas . these techniques range from non-modeled deterministic approaches 2014such as tracking aggregate limits exposed in catastrophe-prone zones and applying historic dam- age factors 2014to modeled approaches that scientifically measure catastrophe risks using sophisticated monte carlo simulation techniques that provide insights into the frequency and severity of expected losses on a probabilistic basis . if our loss reserves are inadequate to meet our actual losses , net income would be reduced or we could incur a loss . we are required to maintain reserves to cover our estimated ultimate liability of losses and loss adjustment expenses for both reported and unreported claims incurred . these reserves are only estimates of what we believe the settlement and adminis- tration of claims will cost based on facts and circumstances known to us . in setting reserves for our reinsurance liabilities , we rely on claim data supplied by our ceding companies and brokers and we employ actuarial and statistical projections . the information received from our ceding companies is not always timely or accurate , which can contribute to inaccuracies in our 81790fin_a 4/13/07 11:08 am page 23 http://www.everestre.com .