Lloyd's reported a 2005 pretax loss of $181 million–a big difference from the profit of $1.5 billion for the previous year, but not too bad considering last year's record storm season, according to the market's chairman, Peter Levene.
The Lloyd's market posted $5.8 billion in net claims–its costliest year ever, exceeding the losses stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks, noted Lord Levene.
“For Lloyd's to emerge with such a small loss represents an excellent performance by the market,” Mr. Levene said. “That outcome would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, which is the true measure of the progress Lloyd's has made.”
The market's combined ratio for 2005 rose to 111.8, compared with 96.6 for 2004.
Lord Levene said Lloyd's performance for the year reflects the new franchise and flexible capital structures that he asserts have put a clear focus on profitable underwriting.
Lloyd's said it has the capacity for $26 billion of business in 2006–an increase of 7 percent over last year. Growth could emerge from China, which last year granted Lloyd's a permit to establish an on-shore reinsurance operation, the market noted.
Standard & Poor's London-based analyst Marcus Rivaldi called Lloyd's results “credible” and within expectations. He was particularly impressed with Lloyd's solvency ratio of 379 (with the higher the number the better), compared with 145 shortly after the World Trade Center attack.
However, rather than credit the reforms Lord Levene lauded, Mr. Rivaldi said it is the hard-priced market of the past five years that has served to shore up the market's finances in such an impressive manner.
As for this year, Mr. Rivaldi said early signs for the June and July renewal season indicate more profitable times for the reinsurance sector at least. “It will take a real soft market to see how the reforms bite, but so far the hurricanes keep putting that off,” he said.
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