By Rupert Hargreaves
Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley has reported a strong start to the year today, as it has continued to benefit from the hard market in insurance.
For the three months to the end of March, the company reported a seven per cent increase in insurance premiums written to $1.48bn (£1.2bn) while net insurance premiums written rose 11 per cent to $1.24bn (£1bn).
The company saw a one per cent increase in renewal rates for business renewed during the three-month period, down from last year’s growth of 10 per cent.
Investment income for the period was $126m (£101m) or 1.2% year-to-date.
For the full year, the company said it expected to report a combined ratio—a measure of insurance premiums taken as a percentage of losses paid out—in the low 80s on an undiscounted basis.
The firm added that its claims experience for the first quarter is “as expected” with natural catastrophe activity this year, “within the margins we hold in our reserves for such events.”
Beazley saw the most growth in its Property Risks book, which grew by 26 per cent in the quarter. However, premiums from Cyber Risks, an area of growth for the business in recent years, fell 10 per cent.
Adrian Cox, CEO of Beazley said: “It has been a solid start to the year where we have demonstrated our ability to continue to grow whilst exercising underwriting discipline. We are confident of delivering our gross growth guidance for the year of high single digits.
We remain optimistic about the outlook for our business in 2024 and beyond, focussing on continued, targeted growth and active capital management as the rate environment normalises.”
