Profits at Lloyd’s of London halved in the first half of the year following a 2017 loss brought on by a record year for catastrophes. Pre-tax profits fell from £1.2bn to £0.6bn as the investment return on the market’s assets fell from 1.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent, according to media reports.
“Whilst these results are welcome, Lloyd’s continues to concentrate on improving the Lloyd’s market’s long-term performance by taking action to address underperforming areas of the market,” said chief executive Inga Beale.
On the company’s Brexit plan to ensure it will be able to continue to serve clients in the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc, Beale said: “We have also worked tirelessly to secure the Lloyd’s market’s access to the EU27 and our Lloyd’s Brussels subsidiary will start writing business in the European Economic Area from 1 January 2019.”
Lloyd’s of London focused on cutting costs and improving its underwriting performance after a series of natural catastrophes pushed the specialist insurance market into a £2bn annual loss in 2017.