Beazley can capture US property as flows to E&S market won’t slow

UK-listed P&C re/insurer and Lloyd's player Beazley sees continued strength in its property segment premium growth as ever more complex risks feed its core E&S channels, where it is set up onshore in the US to capture more and more of the flow, CEO Adrian Cox has said. 

“While we are not expecting the same level of growth we saw last year, we expect to see further opportunities this year and we are still experiencing positive rate change,” Cox told his company’s Q1 earnings call. 

The run-up rate story in property has drawn new entrants to the market to create some competitive pressures, but the shape of the market still focuses the benefit on specialist insurers tapping into excess and surplus lines, Cox said of Beazley's comparative stance. 

“We have seen more capacity coming to market this year,” Cox said, but “the background story about business moving from admitted to E&S persists.” 

“I don't see the opportunity diminishing,” Cox said.  

Beazley has been taking a more direct shot at that business, having set up an E&S carrier in the US to capture the business locally rather than pulling the business to its Lloyd's syndicates. 

The shift of more business into E&S channels continues as property “is becoming more complex” at the intersection of inflation, exposure growth, climate change and more.

Admitted market regulators are moving at pace to address market issues, but “I think it will take some time,” Cox said. 

Beazley grew written premiums by 26% in property in the first quarter of 2024, helping the group overcome slippage in cyber to post 7% overall premium growth year on year for the group. Rate growth in property was listed at 7% in Q1.

Q1 cyber premiums of $253 million was down 10% year on year, a decline said to stem from changes in distribution that brings later recognition of premiums. That should unwind later in the year, Cox claimed, leaving Beazley on track for moderate growth this year.

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