Beazley kick-started the Lloyd’s of London reporting season today with a fourfold rise in annual profits.
The company said its pre-tax profits hit $251.2 million (£160.4 million) last year compared with $62.7 million in 2011 on the back of fewer catastrophe losses.
Although Beazley expects to pay out $90 million in claims linked to hurricane Sandy, which hit North America in October, Mother Nature was kind to the industry in 2012. The year before, insurers were saddled with $108 billion in losses from disasters including the Japanese earthquakes and Thai floods.
Shares in the company rose by more than 6% during early trading.
Beazley’s combined ratio improved from 99% to 91%, meaning that the company effectively paid out 91p in claims for each £1 it took in premiums.
Andrew Horton, chief executive, said: “Geographically, we continue to see the strongest growth opportunities in the US."
