Beazley says CrowdStrike outage doesn't change profit guidance

UK insurance group Beazley has reassured investors that the ongoing IT outage linked to cyber firm CrowdStrike should not affect its profitability.

A faulty systems update from CrowdStrike caused a widespread outage on Friday, affecting an estimated 8.5m Windows devices worldwide.

The glitch caused a wave of tech failures, leading to thousands of flight cancellations, rail delays, disruptions to payment systems and downed systems of healthcare providers across the globe.

In a statement on Tuesday, Beazley said: "Given the unprecedented nature of this event and Beazley's position as a leading cyber insurer, the company has elected to provide an update on its position in relation to the outage.

"Based on what is known at this point, the event will not change the current undiscounted combined ratio guidance of low-80s for the full year."

Beazley reported an undiscounted combined ratio – a key measure of profitability within the insurance sector calculated by combining the loss and expense ratios then dividing that by earned premiums – of 74% in 2023, down from 82% in 2022.

The stock was up nearly 3% at 668p in early deals on Tuesday.