LONDON—Andrew Beazley, co-founder and deputy chairman of Beazley P.L.C., is being remembered by friends and colleagues as an entrepreneur whose business savvy and charisma helped keep confidence high during the Lloyd's market's darkest hours.

Mr. Beazley, 57, died Oct. 13 after a long bout with cancer.

In 1986, Andrew Beazley and Nicholas Furlonge founded the company, which has grown to become one of the largest operating at Lloyd's and has achieved a profit in every underwriting year, a feat few insurers can claim.

“Beazley Group has grown and prospered beyond our wildest dreams, but it has remained a close-knit company,” said Mr. Furlonge in a statement. “Andrew was a close friend and colleague to many of us, and his inimitable humor, charisma and style will be remembered by all of us. Our deepest sympathies go out to his wife, Anne, and family.”

“The management team and many others at Beazley have known and worked closely with Andrew for years, if not decades,” said Beazley CEO Andrew Horton in a statement. “He had a huge zest for life that inspired all of us. We will miss him deeply.”

Mr. Beazley served as CEO of the company for 22 years, becoming deputy chairman when Mr. Horton was appointed chief executive in September 2008. Mr. Beazley was diagnosed with cancer in 2007.

From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Beazley served on the Lloyd's Market Board at a time when Lloyd's was burdened by some of its largest-ever losses and created Equitas Ltd. to reinsure its pre-1993 liabilities. Confidence in Lloyd's during that period was low, and Mr. Beazley is credited with bolstering the marketplace's reputation, especially in the United States, which remains Lloyd's single largest market.

As a member of the Chairman's Strategy Group in 2003, he helped Lloyd's launch its Franchise Board, one of several reforms.

Richard Ward, CEO of Lloyd's, said: “I was very sad to hear of Andrew's passing. He was a leading figure in the market, played a key role in establishing the Franchise Board and supported Lloyd's through some of its most difficult years. He will be sorely missed.”

In 2004, Mr. Beazley led the creation of an admitted U.S. insurer, Beazley Insurance Co. Inc., as a way for the group to write business that generally was not placed in London. That unit wrote about $15 million in gross premium in 2005 and grew to more than $371 million at the end of 2009.

Worldwide, Beazley P.L.C. wrote more than £1.1 billion ($1.76 billion) in gross premiums in 2009 through offices in London; Brisbane, Australia; Paris; Munich; Hong Kong; Dublin; Oslo; Singapore; and several offices in the United States. The insurer's lines of business include specialty liability lines, property, marine, reinsurance, life, accident and health.

“Andrew epitomized all the great qualities of the London market. He was a terrific businessman and underwriter, fiercely competitive but a great team player who invested so much of his great intellect in helping the wider insurance community and the Lloyd's market in particular,” said Julian James, CEO of Lockton Cos. International Ltd. and former director of worldwide markets at Lloyd's. “His great enthusiasm and wit was matched by his joie de vivre—I feel fortunate that I've had the opportunity to know him for over 25 years.”

“Andrew was a true entrepreneur of the Lloyd's market. Not just a business associate, but a friend,” said Hugo Crawley, chairman of London-based reinsurance brokerage BMS Group Ltd. “He conducted business in a fair manner. He had a great sense of humor and he will be sorely missed.”

“Andrew Beazley was a banner leader, one of the best examples of why this industry is so good,” said Stan Loar, chairman of brokerage Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. in San Francisco. “He was a keen businessperson, a person of great integrity, who had a passion for insurance. He will be missed.”