Lancashire Holdings Limited (Lancashire) has become the latest insurance group to announce its trading statement for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
Among the highlights reported by the insurer include the news that its gross written premium (GWP) has risen 22.7% (or $108.3 million) year-on-year to $586.2 million, the highest the group has delivered in a first quarter. Meanwhile, the group’s IFRS 17 insurance revenue increased by $81.4 million (or 31.6%) in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
In its earnings release, Lancashire noted that the continued development of its casualty reinsurance classes was the most significant contributor to growth in the reinsurance segment. Within property reinsurance, the group saw ‘significant’ rate increases in property catastrophe treaty while new business drove increases in specialty reinsurance.
The growth in Lancashire’s insurance segment was primarily attributed to moves in its property insurance portfolio, where the group is continuing to build out its property construction book of business. The insurer also saw ‘substantial’ rate increases in the property direct and facultative class and pinpointed strong growth in energy and marine insurance – driven by exposure increases in energy liabilities and new business in cargo and specie.
Delving into the impact of the loss environment on its results, Lancashire stated that Q1 2023 saw natural catastrophe loss activity across several events including US convective storms, the Turkey earthquake and flooding in New Zealand.
The group also incurred some risk losses, particularly in its energy classes. However, it noted that these losses, both individually and in aggregate, were not sufficiently material to exceed its normal disclosure threshold.
Commenting on the results Alex Maloney, group CEO of Lancashire, said he is pleased to report that the group has continued to execute its strategy of taking advantage of “significantly improved” market conditions.
“Strong rate rises in a number of our product lines have persisted,” he said, “particularly in property catastrophe business where the supply and demand gap for capacity which we saw at the January 1 renewals remains. For most other lines, 2023 is the sixth year of consecutive rate increases and we will continue to grow, where it makes sense, in this positive underwriting environment.
“[…] Our track record of navigating the insurance cycle through disciplined risk selection and capital management gives us confidence in delivering on our strategic priorities for the remainder of 2023. We look forward to making the most of these exciting underwriting opportunities supported by our robust capital position and talented teams.”
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