A prolonged soft market, at the weakest phase in its business cycle, has made adequate pricing extremely difficult to obtain, according to Axis Capital’s president and chief executive, John Charman.
The Axis Capital boss also mentioned that the ‘persistence of abnormally low interest rates’ had made low-risk investment income ‘difficult to achieve’.
“While we are unhappy with the adverse impact of these extraordinary events on our earnings, we are nonetheless pleased with the ability of our portfolio to absorb these losses without impairing our financial strength,” he says.
His comments came as the company reported a combined ratio of 112.3 percent for 2011, despite Axis Capital’s gross written premiums for 2011 rising by 5 percent.