Lancashire reports “best ever” profits

Lancashire Holdings has released its results for the six-month period to 30 June 2024. With a profit before tax of $201m (up from $159m in the same period in 2023) these are the best results that the group has declared in its history. Premiums grew 8%, ahead of rate movements which are put at 2% in the year to date. There was also a strong contribution from investment returns.

There have been several notable catastrophe losses in the period, with the collision of the MV Dali with the Frances Scott Key bridge in Baltimore the most significant. However, individually and collectively, events were within expectations and the business has delivered underwriting profits across both insurance and reinsurance operations. The undiscounted combined ratio for the first half year is 82.3%, slightly worse than the 79.2% recorded in the same period in 2023. The group is on track to deliver the mid-80s combined ratio for the full year it guided the markets to earlier this year.

Lancashire trades in Lloyd’s through Syndicates 2010 and 3010, with underwriting members advised by Argenta Private Capital Limited participating in Syndicate 2010. The results did not include updated forecasts for the Lloyd’s operation, and we anticipate these in the coming few days. Lancashire will also share details of its underwriting plans for 2025 at the beginning of Septembers.

Note on combined ratio: The combined ratio is a measure of insurance company performance, where claims and expenses are expressed as a proportion of premium income. At 100%, an insurer is breaking even from its underwriting operations, and at combined ratios below 100%, the insurer is making an underwriting profit. Under newer accounting standard IFRS 17, companies are required to report combined ratios on a discounted basis (in other words including the impact of the time value of money). Lancashire continues to report undiscounted combined ratio alongside the discounted ratio. As syndicates are required to report on an undiscounted basis, this is the version of the combined ratios we report here.