Lancashire pre-tax losses narrow despite negative FY investment return

Insurance firm Lancashire Holdings said on Friday that it had narrowed full-year pre-tax losses as gross premiums written increased over the twelve months ended 31 December.

Lancashire stated gross written premiums increased from 1.22m to 1.65m, with underwriting profits rising from $69.0m to $150.8m. As a result, pre-tax losses narrowed from $56.8m to $2.8m, while comprehensive losses remained broadly stable at $92.6m.

The FTSE 250-listed firm delivered a negative total investment return of -3.5%, down from a positive return of 0.1% a year earlier. Lancashire's net loss ratio fell from 67.6% to 58.3% and its combined ratio dropped from 107.3% to 97.7%.

Lancashire also highlighted that it had previously set aside $22.0m for direct claims emanating from the conflict in Ukraine but has subsequently revised this to include an additional management margin for any potential indirect claims related to the conflict across a number of classes.

"Our potential claims related to the conflict now total $65.8m. Given the nature of the conflict, the ultimate claims relating to the event are subject to a high level of uncertainty," noted chief executive Alex Maloney.

"As we look into 2023, wider capacity constraints – due particularly to the increasing cost of capital and historic loss activity – are expected to give us considerable opportunities to further strengthen our franchise at a time in the cycle of expanding margins," he added.

As of 0825 GMT, Lancashire shares were down 3.66% at 605.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com