Brit sees growth despite adverse FX movements
Re/insurer Brit has seen a solid nine months as it wrote nearly £1 billion in gross written premiums (GWP).
In the first nine months of 2014, GWP hit £990.7 million, an increase of 4.9 percent compared with £944 million in the first nine months of 2013. Brit said that the increase at constant exchange rates would have been 11.7 percent.
Brit saw an 11 percent increase in GWP in its global specialty direct division (BGS Direct), with GWP reaching £768.7 million for the first nine months of 2014, compared with £692 million in the first nine months of 2013.
The re/insurer said that this reflects the continued expansion of the group's Chicago based US service platform, BGSU, the impact of new initiatives and selective growth in well priced classes.
BGSU wrote premiums of £71.9 million in the nine months to 30 September 2014, an increase of 73.7 percent over the same period in 2013. This growth included the impact of the Maiden Specialty renewals rights deal completed in 2013. Other new initiatives have also contributed to growth in BGS Direct including £12.5 million from the aviation team that joined the group in June and £8.1 million from the political and credit risk team.
Brit saw an 11.7 percent decrease in GWP in its global specialty reinsurance division, with GWP hittin £222 million, compared with £251 million in the first nine months of 2013.
It said that the reduction is in line with expectations and reflects challenging market conditions experienced primarily by the property treaty book. This reduction was partly offset by new business written by Brit's recently established Bermudan office, which wrote over £20.6 million of premium in the period, of which the majority was casualty treaty.
Mark Cloutier, group chief executive officer of Brit, said: “We are very pleased with the group's performance through the third quarter of the year. Our specialty insurance focused book has allowed us to continue to capitalise on opportunities in our core insurance lines, whilst remaining disciplined in our approach to those classes experiencing rate pressure as conditions in some classes of business become increasingly challenging. We are experiencing rate movement consistent with our plan, and continue to see rates as adequate for meeting our financial targets.
“While market conditions are probably best described as 'variable' depending on distribution, classes and geography, we believe the combination of our business model, disciplined underwriting and active capital management all operating on a scalable and expense efficient platform, places Brit in a strong position to continue to deliver very healthy returns for our shareholders.”
