Beazley Plc, a British insurer, resumed its dividend on Thursday after turning a profit for the year, aided by rising demand and double-digit growth in the cyber insurance space.
Beazley, which provides casualty and property insurance, as well as cyber and political risk insurance, had a combined ratio of 93 percent, down from 109 percent the previous year. A level less than 100% indicates an underwriting profit.
The insurer, which lost money in 2020 due to pandemic-related claims for cancelled events, said its annual gross written premiums increased by 30 percent to $4.62 billion, with rates in the cyber and executive risk divisions increasing by 49 percent.
Due to increased demand, major European and American insurers and syndicates operating in the Lloyd’s of London market have been able to charge higher premium rates to cover ransoms, network repair, business interruption losses, and even PR fees to repair reputational damage.
The Lloyd’s of London insurer reported a full-year pretax profit of $369.2 million for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, up from a loss of $50.4 million the previous year.