Lancashire gross written premiums ticks up in benign claims environment
Lancashire Holdings reported a rise in first-quarter gross written premiums on Thursday amid a "relatively benign" claims environment.
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In the three months to the end of March, gross written premiums were up 0.6% on the year to $217.2m, with growth in the property, marine and aviation portfolios slightly offset by reductions in the energy book.
Lancashire said the claims environment was relatively benign during the period, with no new major net losses.
The investment return for the quarter came in at 1.8%, which was a big improvement on the 0.1% decline seen in the first quarter of 2018. The company said strong equity markets, along with a drop in treasury yields and a narrowing of credit spreads, drove positive performance across all asset classes, particularly its bank loan, equity and hedge fund portfolios.
Chief executive officer Alex Maloney said: "Our performance for the first quarter of 2019 has been encouraging, with rate and business momentum. Underwriting margins remain in line with our expectations.
"There is evidence that the insurance and reinsurance markets in which we operate are now going through a period of transition. The heavy global insured losses sustained by the markets over the last 24 months have demonstrated that premium levels in many classes had fallen too low. However, we are now beginning to see early signs of greater market discipline."
At 0950 BST, the shares were down 2.2% at 690p.
RBC Capital Markets said gross written premiums were 6.3% below its estimate, but the investment return was well ahead of its estimate of 0.8%.