Hardy GWP grows by 30%

Specialist insurer and reinsurer Hardy Underwriting Bermuda reported nine month GWP growth of more than 30%.

GWP for nine months (2008 in brackets)

• Marine & aviation £57.2m (£55.6m)
• Non-marine property £46.6m (£30.2m)
• Specialty lines £49.2m (£39.8m)
• Property treaty£91.3m (£62.3m)
• Total £244.4m (£187.9m)

David Mann, chairman, said: "Our diversified portfolio, coupled with our proven underwriting skills, is critical to the ongoing strong performance of the Group.

“Our Bermuda office is making steady progress and is seeing a pleasing volume of attractive US business. We are also excited about our joint venture in the Middle East, HAIM, with our partners Arig. We continue to deliver the strong results our shareholders have come to expect from us."

Hardy said the period had been benign for catastrophe claims.

“It is particularly noticeable that our major growth areas have been in non marine property and property treaty which have been developed since 2006. Hardy's traditional markets, in particular marine and aviation where attritional loss is the key driver for results, have been at the bottom of their rating cycle and the economic climate has had an impact on claims activity in some sectors.

“It is a testament to our underwriters and support teams that we have been able to move the business forward whilst maintaining underwriting discipline during these mixed trading conditions. As the non-catastrophe exposed classes return to strength over the coming year, there is significant potential for enhancing the value of the business.

Rate increases

“We have continued to see rate increases in the property treaty sector, and whilst the lack of hurricane related claims activity in the US may put the brakes on this trend, we expect the market to remain disciplined, especially given the incidence of loss in the Mid-West and the increasing demand for capacity in the North East.

“Our business is well spread internationally and in areas such as Australia, Canada and Central Europe where there has been recent catastrophe activity, we will continue to see positive rating movements. Our Japanese affinity business remains on target in all respects.

Non-marine

“In the non-marine property sector, rate increases have now slowed down, but further growth is expected in the account next year as a result of the construction and engineering portfolio which will be underwritten with effect from January 2010.

Marine and aviation

“The marine and aviation sector remains competitive, but we are beginning to see significant increases on the harder to place risks. Our participation in these lines has been at a low level recently.

“We expect that the impact of attritional losses will shortly force the market to adjust to levels where our involvement can return to previous levels and more.

Speciality

Specialty lines, particularly financial institutions, remain fraught with difficulty with some markets seemingly chasing premium at a time when loss levels are expected to be above average. We will continue to tread carefully, whilst preparing to take full advantage of improved conditions in the future.