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Beazley H1 profits jump despite Chile earthquake and Gulf spill exposure after US$33.7m forex gain

Published: 10:51 23 Jul 2010 BST

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Insurer Beazley (LON:BEZ) said that despite losses stemming from last year’s Chilean earthquake and increased competition in the market, its first-half profits jumped to US$115.5 million from last year’s US$30.1 million, largely as a result of a US$33.7 million foreign exchange gain.

Beazley’s losses from the Chilean earthquake amounted to between US$55 million and US$75 million, based on a market-wide loss of US$5-8 billion, while the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has cost the company US$6 million in insurance claims. Gross written premiums increased 5% year-on-year, while premium rates were down 2% on average. The insurer noted that it had no sovereign bond exposure to Greece, Portugal, Spain or Ireland.

Gross written premiums increased to US$940.6 million and net written premiums rose 21% to US$621.1 million. Annualised investment return stood at 0.5% compared to last year’s 2.9%.

“Beazley delivered a strong result for the first half of the year - a period marked by a series of catastrophe losses and continued intense competition in many lines of business.  Current competitive market conditions are likely to continue.  Investment yields remain low, which should place upward pressure on premium rates, but capacity in all but a few lines is plentiful,” said chief executive Andrew Horton.

The company said it had a “strong business” that is in “good shape” for the challenging environment.

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