Lancashire Holdings Limited Underwriting margins remain in line with expectations

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LON:LRE) today announced its trading statement for the three months ended 31 March 2019.

Q1 2019 overview

• Market trends in relation to the Group’s business remain unchanged since the Group’s fourth quarter 2018 reporting

• Gross premiums written increased by 0.6% year on year to $217.2 million

• Rate increases remained consistent with full year 2018 trends, with a Group RPI (Renewal Price Index) of 103% for the quarter

• The claims environment was relatively benign, with no new major net losses in the quarter

• Total investment return of 1.8% in the quarter

Alex Maloney, Lancashire Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“Our performance for the first quarter of 2019 has been encouraging, with rate and business momentum. Underwriting margins remain in line with our expectations. There is evidence that the insurance and reinsurance markets in which we operate are now going through a period of transition. The heavy global insured losses sustained by the markets over the last 24 months have demonstrated that premium levels in many classes had fallen too low. However, we are now beginning to see early signs of greater market discipline.

Lancashire prides itself on its ability to manage the challenges of the insurance cycle through a combination of careful risk selection, planning and nimble capital management, all key pillars of our strategy. The Group has demonstrated its ability to respond flexibly to market conditions and take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. In particular, we have been able to strengthen our presence and premium income in our speciality lines. Whilst pricing in our property reinsurance classes remains subdued outside of loss impacted territories, we believe that we have the expertise to develop profitable opportunities across our platforms and portfolios in this period of transition.”