Underwriting gives Beazley a first quarter lift

FTSE 250 insurer Beazley said first quarter premiums rose 7% to $583m boosted by the expansion of its underwriting teams.

The company said the underwriting efforts included a London-based small business team focused on healthcare professional liability.

Specialty lines, Beazley's largest division, achieved premium growth of 15% year on year, writing $261m in the first three months of 2016.

The acquisition of the portfolio underwritten by our its new healthcare small business team contributed a one-off $30m of gross premiums in the first quarter. The life, accident and health division have also experienced growth in the US and Australia in 2016.

However, premium rates on renewal business in the risk insurance and reinsurance business fell 1%. Investment returns reached 0.7% on year-to-date, compared with 1% from last year.