Lancashire Holdings' profits fall in 'turbulent' 2016

Specialty re/insurance provider Lancashire Holdings has called 2016 a difficult year, with net operating profits falling 17 percent compared to 2015.

The company announced that its net operating profit for 2016 came to $144 million, compared to $173.4 million in 2015.

In addition, Lancashire saw its gross written premiums for the year dip slightly, going from $641.1 million in 2015 to $633.9 million in 2016.

The company also saw its combined ratio rise from 72.1 percent in 2015 to 76.5 percent in 2016.

Alex Maloney, Group CEO of Lancashire, said: "The 2016 year proved a turbulent one for the global political and macroeconomic environment and the insurance market remained very challenging."

"Risk capital remains abundant, and there is continuing pressure upon pricing and terms and conditions. Against this background I am particularly pleased with the results for both the fourth quarter and the full year. The RoE (return on equity) of 2.8 percent for the quarter and 13.5 percent for the year is an exceptional outcome in this environment and a tribute to the dedication and hard work of everyone across the business.

"As I have stressed previously, we have maintained a tight focus on skilful and disciplined underwriting and overall risk management. Our principal focus has been to balance risk and return whilst serving the needs of our clients and their brokers. These results prove that, even in the current difficult times, we have relevance, our model works and is resilient. At 1 January, in line with our expectations and previous communication, we successfully renewed our core book across the Group, including at our Lloyd’s platform.

"Whilst we expect market conditions to remain difficult for the foreseeable future, which requires discipline and patience to navigate, our strategy has the ability to respond across the insurance cycle. We are well equipped to meet the needs of our clients and to generate acceptable returns for investors, whilst having the flexibility to capitalise quickly on new opportunities as they arise," Maloney noted.

Today’s top stories

Qatar Re chief underwriting officer departs; role is split

NN Group FY16 profit drops ahead of Delta Lloyd acquisition

JLT poaches Willis senior vice president to grow cargo business

Markel International to enter surety market

Beazley adds senior Markel exec to UK tech and data breach team

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.