Beazley predicts catastrophe claims as high as $300m

The company said after taking California wildfires into account it expected catastrophe claims between $200m and $300m for the second half of 2017. The impact on pretax profit will be $175m, it predicted.

Beazley had previously estimated catastrophe claims, including Atlantic hurricanes and earthquakes in Mexico, would be between $175m and $275m.

Andrew Horton, Beazley's chief executive, said: "The third quarter of 2017 was defined by the high frequency and severity of natural catastrophes. Beazley is in the catastrophe insurance business and paying natural catastrophe claims is part of what we do. Our focus is currently on providing the support and resources necessary to help our policyholders recover as quickly as possible."

Horton said Beazley was able to deal with the large claims because of the diverse range of risks it insures against and that it expected the rates it charges to rise.

Gross written premiums for the nine months to the end of September rose 6% to $1.8bn. The combined ratio for 2017 will be about 100%, indicating the company will avoid losses for the year.