Beazley makes profit record in H1

Beazley Plc has published its interim earnings, announcing a “record” profit in the first half of 2024.

Of the insurance written premiums in the six months ended June 30, $577.8 million came from cyber risks; $126.8 million from digital; $506.9 million, MAP (marine, accident, and political) risks; $1.01 billion, property risks; and $903.4 million from specialty risks.

Commenting on the numbers, Beazley chief executive Adrian Cox (pictured) said: “I am pleased to report a record first-half profit of $728.9 million. Expertise in underwriting and active risk selection are key drivers of this strong result, even as the rating environment is moderating.”

The CEO went on to highlight: “Property grew 25% in the first half, demonstrating the success of our strategy to grow in this increasingly specialist class, focusing on the US E&S (excess and surplus) market.

“We continue to innovate in cyber, launching one of the market’s most comprehensive, integrated cybersecurity and insurance offerings with Full Spectrum Cyber and Beazley Security. When faced with the world’s largest ever IT outage, Beazley’s approach to underwriting cyber risk was tested and proved to be highly resilient.

“We see opportunities in the remainder of the year and are confident in delivering on our high single-digit growth guidance. We are also pleased to confirm that we have improved our undiscounted combined ratio guidance for the full year to around 80%.”

In the first half, Beazley’s undiscounted combined ratio stood at 81% a – an improvement from last year’s 88%.

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