Lancashire posts strong Q1 results after a tough 2017

Lloyd’s insurer Lancashire Holdings has attributed a strong set of results in Q1 to its underwriting performance.

The marine, aviation and energy specialist ’s pretax profit rose to £42.4m in the first three months of 2018, compared to £28.7m in the same period last year.

Catastrophes took their toll on the insurer’s numbers last year, with the company reporting a pretax loss of $72.9m for the whole of 2017.

But with a noticeable improvement in the Q1 results, Maloney was particularly happy with the company’s return on equity, which stood at 2.9% for 2018, compared to 2.7% for the same period in 2017.

He credited the company’s underwriting performance, as well as a “benign” loss quarter for the improvement.

He said: ”I am pleased with an ROE of 2.9% for the first quarter which is a product of a strong underwriting result, helped by a relatively benign loss quarter, whilst successfully limiting the impact of a challenging investment environment.”

”Overall we are pleased with our first quarter: The underwriting result is strong; our 2017 catastrophe loss reserves remain robust, and our investment portfolio performed in line with expectations given the environment.”

While the company has shown some improvement, Maloney says more work needs to be done to fully recover from last year’s loss.

He said: ”Although moving in the right direction, the rates have not yet improved enough to warrant a material increase in the Group’s level of overall risk which currently remains broadly similar to that of 2017.”