Lancashire Holdings has released its result for the first nine months of this year, saying that gross written premiums grew by over a third in this time to reach $1.3bn.
A statement from the firm also said that it expected to see net losses from Hurricane Ian in the region of $160-190m. The firm said that this was within its expectations.
The increase in gross premiums written of 34.3% for the first nine months of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, was primarily due to growth in the property and casualty reinsurance segment.
This was mainly due to new business in the casualty reinsurance and financial lines classes of business as well as the continued strong RPI for this segment of 108%, which is driven by the continued hardening in property reinsurance classes.
Elsewhere, its total net investment returns were -5%, which it said was mostly driven by unrealised losses.
Alex Maloney, group chief executive officer of the firm, said: “During the quarter we witnessed a number of catastrophe events and we extend our sympathies to the many people impacted. Insurers play a vital role in offering protection to vulnerable communities and we are reminded of both the potential destructive power of nature and the value of the risk solutions we offer.”
He added: “During 2022, Lancashire has continued to grow and diversify its underwriting portfolio and deliver on its underwriting strategy. This has been fuelled by solid rate increases and strong market conditions which has given us additional resilience.”
Lancashire Holdings said it expected the broader positive conditions to continue next year. It added that it could see significant increases in rates and improving terms and conditions due to recent events and the fact that capacity had already been tightened in the wider market.
Maloney added: “Clearly, the macro-economic outlook is increasingly uncertain with significant increases in interest rates, higher inflation, and broader dislocation in global markets and we expect this volatility to continue. Lancashire reported a total net investment return of negative 5%, primarily driven by unrealised losses. Future earnings in our portfolio should be bolstered by the higher interest rate environment, which we should benefit from relatively quickly given the short duration of our portfolio.”
