Help

BI’s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.

To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “workers compensation”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.

To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “hurricane” & “loss”.

Login Register Subscribe

Insurers at Lloyd’s review options

Reprints
Insurers at Lloyd’s review options

Mutual marine insurer Standard Club will shut its Lloyd’s of London underwriting operations next year, and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. will conduct a strategic review of one its syndicates in the Lloyd’s market, the two insurers announced separately Thursday.

The Standard Club, a protection and indemnity insurer, said in a statement that it will withdraw from Lloyd’s in 2019, having established a syndicate to write marine and energy risks in 2015.

“Current overcapacity and a weak pricing environment have made Lloyd’s a challenging environment for (the syndicate) to develop a profitable underwriting business with sufficient scale,” the statement said.

The Standard Club established the syndicate to diversify its business, which largely consists of providing traditional P&I liability coverages for shipowners, including for oil spills and pollution. Its syndicate 1884 reported £89 million ($120.3 million) in gross written premium for 2017.

The insurer is considering other options to cover the risks it writes at Lloyd’s, including establishing an agency to handle the business, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Liberty Mutual announced it is conducting a “strategic review” of Pembroke Managing Agency Ltd., which it acquired through its purchase of Ironshore Inc. last year.

Pembroke, which offers coverage through Lloyd’s syndicate 4000 in addition to Ironshore policies, covers property, liability, political risks, marine and energy, accident and health, agriculture and other specialty lines, the statement said. The syndicate reported £414 million in 2017 gross written premium.

“Liberty Mutual does not plan on providing additional details of the review until its completion,” the statement said.

Liberty Mutual has an established Lloyd’s business managed by Liberty Managing Agency Ltd., which manages syndicate 4472, the third-largest syndicate at Lloyd’s based on gross written premium of £1.66 billion in 2017.

The announcements come as London market insurers remain under pressure. In a report earlier this month, rating agency Fitch Ratings Ltd. said underwriting earnings in the London market will likely be “subdued” in 2018 as insurers deal low rates and high expenses, among other things.

 

 

 

 

 

Read Next