Lloyd’s of London has announced a full-year underwriting profit after being hit by hefty claims from the Ukraine war and natural disasters.
In its preliminary 2022 earnings report, Lloyd’s said its combined ratio will be 91.9% “despite major claims of 12.7% including losses arising from the conflict in Ukraine and from Hurricane Ian in Florida”.
Combined ratio reflects the balance of premium income and claims costs, with a figure below 100% indicating an underwriting profit.
As a leading specialty insurance and reinsurance market, Lloyd’s had significant exposure to losses related to the Ukraine conflict.
Underwriters that have written war risk business there are on the hook for the full insured value of dozens of ships trapped in Ukraine for more than a year.
Lloyd’s also had considerable exposure to claims related to leased aircraft that have been taken over by the Russian government.
Gross written premium rose by more than 19% to £46bn ($54.4bn), partly due to a stronger US dollar and increased pricing.
The marine insurance market continued to harden last year, while war risk rates have also jumped significantly.
However, despite the strong underwriting performance, when the final results are announced, Lloyd’s bottom line is likely to be affected by negative investment returns.
It said its before-tax loss will be around £800m, compared with a £2.3bn profit in the previous year.
The poor investment returns represent a paper loss that is likely to be recovered in the coming years.
“The investment loss has no cash impact, and is expected to be reversed out over the next two to three years as the assets reach maturity,” said Lloyd’s, which will announce its full earnings on 23 March.
