Lloyd's of London, the world's premier insurance and reinsurance marketplace, has announced a pre-tax profit of £9.6bn for 2024, down from the £10.7bn reported in 2023.
The market, comprising over 50 leading insurance firms and more than 380 registered Lloyd's brokers, posted gross written premiums of £55.5bn for 2024, marking a 6.5 per cent increase from the £52.1bn recorded in 2023, as reported by .
Lloyd's attributed the growth in premiums to an 8.5 per cent surge in volume (7.6 per cent from existing syndicates and 0.9 per cent from new ones), along with price changes contributing 0.3 per cent and foreign exchange movements offsetting growth by 2.3 per cent.
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Overall, the market reported an underlying combined ratio of 79.1 per cent, a decrease from the 80.5 per cent recorded in 2023.
The major claims ratio increased to 7.8 per cent in 2024 due to significant catastrophe events, including hurricanes Milton and Helene and the Baltimore Bridge collision.
Earlier this year, the market warned in a trading update that it could face a £1.8bn hit from the Californian wildfires.
Improved combined ratios were attributed to higher prior year reserve releases, a lower attritional loss ratio, and stable expenses.
The market also benefited from a solid return on its investment portfolio, with the investment return for the year standing at £4.9bn, down from the £5.3bn recorded in 2023.
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Lloyd's reported that despite the overall benefit from higher interest rates, investment returns were impacted by mark-to-market losses due to market volatility in the fourth quarter, leading to a decrease compared to the previous year.
John Neal, the outgoing chief executive of Lloyd's of London who is set to join insurance broker AON in January, commented: "The Lloyd's market has delivered another year of outstanding financial performance, with a superb combined ratio, underlying combined ratio and attritional loss ratio supporting a capital position and claims reserve strength that is as strong as it has ever been."
He added: "This excellent result demonstrates the market's ability to deliver sustainable and attractive returns for investors, and provide solutions to protect our customers' balance sheets. I would like to congratulate members of the market for their disciplined underwriting and profitable growth and thank Corporation employees for their commitment and support in 2024."