Beazley confident after first half of growth

Specialist insurer Beazley described a first half of growth in a trading update on Thursday, alongside a promising outlook for the rest of the year.

The FTSE 100 company said that on an IFRS 4 basis, its gross premiums written jumped 13% to $2.89bn in the first half, compared to $2.56bn during the same period in 2022.

Net premiums written meanwhile surged 28% to $2.29bn, up from $1.8bn in the first six months of last year.

Beazley reported that premium rates on renewal business rose by 5% during the first half - a decrease from the 18% increase seen during the same period in 2022.

In terms of investments, Beazley achieved a net income of $143.8m from them as at 30 June.

That marked a significant turnaround from the same period in 2022, when the firm experienced a loss of $193m.

Looking ahead, Beazley reaffirmed its growth guidance for the full 2023 financial year, with expectations of achieving mid-teens gross premiums written growth and mid-20s net premiums written growth.

“The excellent conditions in the property market persisted into the second quarter and we continued to take advantage of those, delivering a strong performance on growth for the group in the first half of 2023,” said chief executive officer Adrian Cox.

“With premium written in line with our expectations, we are confident of delivering our growth guidance for the year.”

At 0941 BST, shares in Beazley were up 1.33% at 570p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.