Beazley publishes Q3 2021 trading results

The last week has seen a flurry of insurers and brokers alike sharing their trading results for the three months ended 30 September 2021, and now it’s the turn of the global insurance company Beazley. The business has revealed that its gross written premiums (GWP) for the period increased by 29% to US$3,271 million (approx. NZ$4,612.63 million), up from US$2,534 million in Q3 2020.

Beazley noted that it has achieved growth in all its divisions, as seen in the table below.

The insurer highlighted that its GWP for the period is higher than expected and that, while it has seen rates increase across all divisions - the main drivers of the premium growth are cyber & executive risk and its specialty lines division.

Looking at the cyber & executive risk division, Beazley said its 48% GWP uptick is driven predominantly by cyber where the rates continue to exceed expectations. Meanwhile, in specialty lines, the company has benefited from the continued hard market with particularly good rate increases within international financial lines. Its marine, property and reinsurance divisions continue to perform broadly as expected concerning both growth and pricing.

“The contingency market remains in a relative state of flux as a result of COVID-19 and growth is slightly below expectations within our PAC division,” Beazley said in its trading update. “We expect to see a more predictable environment by early 2022.

Claims update

Beazley plc's initial estimate of catastrophe losses for the third quarter is US$125 million net of reinsurance, which includes an early estimate of losses in respect of Hurricane Ida of US$85 million and US$40 million for the European floods. The insurer said the reduction in the frequency of its ransomware claims has continued during Q3 2021, following remediation action taken since October 2020.

Beazley stated that its total natural catastrophes this year have been in excess of the relevant catastrophe margins held within its reserves and the full-year combined ratio is now expected to be mid 90's assuming claims experience is as expected for the remainder of 2021.

Commenting on the results, CEO of Beazley Adrian Cox said: "I am delighted that the momentum from the first half has persisted into the second with rate rises and premium growth that have exceeded our expectations. We continue to be strongly capitalised and are well placed to take advantage of these favourable market conditions.

“I remain excited about the opportunity in the cyber market and with our disciplined and prudent risk selection, our market-leading product offering and the ongoing investment in our cyber infrastructure, I believe we are in a great position to capitalise on this."