Beazley profits hit by cat claims

Lloyd’s insurer Beazley reported pretax profit of $168m for the year to December, down substantially from the $293m reported a year earlier.

The results were hit by heavy claims for hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires.

Gross written premiums increased by 7% to $2.34bn from $2.20bn. However the combined ratio increased to 99% from 89%.

Prior year reserve releases totalled $204m, up from $181m.

Andrew Horton, chief executive officer, said: “Beazley achieved an underwriting profit in 2017, a year in which hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires generated heavy claims for the insurance industry. More importantly, we delivered on our commitments to our policyholders, already paying out more than $110m in claims following the year’s natural catastrophes. Premiums grew 7% in 2017 - a strong performance given market conditions. Looking ahead, we see potential for double digit growth in 2018.”