Beazley sees business lines shrink in Q3

Beazley has posted solid results for the third quarter of 2014, despite a number of its business lines shrinking on the back of intense competition in areas such as reinsurance and property.

The company’s gross written premiums (GWP) were stable compared with the same period the year before at $1.5 billion.

Beazley’s largest division, specialty lines, wrote $627 million in the period which represents growth of 5 percent relative to the first nine months of 2013.  The company said this premium growth has helped to offset the competitive trading conditions some of its other teams have encountered.

Its life, accident and health segment was the only other business line to experience growth. Its GWP hit $110 million, a 36 percent increase compared with $81 million in the third quarter of 2013.

All other business lines shrank: marine by 1 percent, political risk and contingency by 14 percent, property by 8 percent and reinsurance by 8 percent. Rates on renewal business decreased by 1 percent across the portfolio as a whole.

Beazley said that rate pressure continues to be most evident in its large risk, catastrophe exposed lines of business such as reinsurance and marine.

Andrew Horton, chief executive officer of Beazley, said: “We continue to see opportunities in our locally underwritten US business, with its focus on small and mid-market risks, where we have grown premiums 17 percent year on year.

“Competition is intensifying in large risk and catastrophe exposed, short tail lines, where we are maintaining our underwriting discipline. This is to be expected given the generally benign claims environment experienced in recent periods.”