Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley has warned of a $120million (£102.4million) hit from Hurricane Ian, but unveiled strong growth for the third quarter.
The FTSE 250 company, which specialises in marine, property, data breach and life insurance, said gross written premiums rose 22 per cent over the quarter to $3.98billion (£3.40billion), with all its divisions continuing to grow.
Its cyber risks arm saw a particularly big rise in premiums – up 51 per cent – although that represents a slight moderation from previous quarters.
Claims: Beazley said initial estimated losses for Hurricane Ian were $120million
Beazley said the frequency of ransomware claims has also continued to reduce, thanks to remedial action it has taken since late 2020.
However, it said initial estimated losses for Hurricane Ian, which caused widespread damage across western Cuba, Florida and South Carolina, were $120million.
Meanwhile, the insurer’s investments returned a loss due to ‘unprecedented’ rises in interest rates impacting its fixed income portfolio.
Investments in the third quarter were down 1.2 per cent to $96million, bringing the year-to-date loss to 3.6 per cent, or $289million.
‘Risk assets have also seen weakness, as global equity markets fell by more than 25 per cent’, the group added.
It told investors it continued to monitor inflation to ensure ‘adequate pricing’, but for now the impact on claims had been in line with its expectations.
It also said it expected its combined ratio – a measure of an insurer’s profitability – to be in the ‘high 80s’.
A level below 100 per cent indicates an underwriting profit and a lower percentage indicates higher earnings.
Beazley shares rose 1 per cent to 665p in morning trading on Friday. They have advanced by around 62 per cent over the last year.
Chief executive Adrian Cox, said: ‘We have had a strong underwriting performance over the quarter with all divisions continuing to grow.
‘As expected overall rates have moderated, however we are seeing increased demand across many lines of business which supports our growth ambitions.
‘Whilst mark to market losses have occurred due to rising yields in our fixed income portfolio, rising yields also mean we anticipate significant future investment returns.
‘We remain confident of our guidance of high 80s combined ratio assuming claims experience is as expected for the remainder of the year.’
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