Insurance rate increases seen across number of lines: Beazley

LONDON—Reinsurance and property classes of business are likely to see rate increases next year, Dublin-based Beazley P.L.C. said Wednesday.

In its interim management statement, Beazley said overall rates on renewal business have increased 1% compared with last year and that it expects rate increases in property and reinsurance after last year's revisions to Risk Management Solutions Inc.'s U.S. hurricane model.

For the first nine months of the year, Beazley posted gross written premiums of $1.35 billion, the same as the first nine months of 2010.

Beazley also said it recently submitted its 2012 business plans to Lloyd's of London and that, subject to approval, it expects to increase the level of premium it underwrites next year by 5% to 10%.

“Although premiums rates are still competitive, trading conditions are improving and we are seeing rate increases across a number of lines,” Andrew Horton, CEO of Beazley, said in the statement.

Beazley noted that its previously announced estimate of catastrophe losses during the first half of the year remained unchanged at $183 million.

In a research note Wednesday, London-based Edison Investment Research Ltd. said Beazley “is less exposed to industry catastrophe losses than peers due to a greater focus on lower volatility specialty lines.”

“But it is not immune, and return on capital will fall in 2011,” Edison said, although it said the interim management statement “supports our expectation that Beazley's performance will again compare favorably with peers as diversified noncatastrophe profits continue to support overall returns."