Beazley

Beazley is one of the key leaders in the London marine marketplace.

Stephan Simon left BMS in June 2024 after almost three years in the role.

The carrier plans to reduce 623’s stamp by around 10% next year.

Sane had been with Beazley for 13 years.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Top line grew across all carriers even as pre-tax profits dipped.

The London carrier missed consensus on gross and net premiums for H1.

The carrier booked top-line growth of 2% in H1.

Rates were down 3.9% across its portfolio in the first half of 2025.

The Beazley CUO said geopolitics would determine cyber market pricing.

The executive’s career includes a stint as head of cat for CorSo.

Beazley, Hiscox and Lancashire all grew in Q1 despite widespread rate decreases.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

CEO Adrian Cox said the market could turn on “unexpected events”.

Cyber and property experienced the largest price reductions.

It is understood that Marsh brokered the tower, which is exposed to claims from a 2024 breach.

Ki cut its top line by 8.7%, while Beazley’s smart-tracker expanded to $481mn.

The transactional liability-focused MGA's Lloyd’s line is up from £37.5mn to £40mn.

Hiscox, Beazley and Lancashire all reported top line growth, but ROEs dipped in an active wind season.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

He said that “everyone’s looking for growth”, as the firm has moderated its top line projections.

Predicting underwriting conditions for the remainder of the year is ‘challenging’.

The London carrier posted an undiscounted combined ratio of 79%, up from 74% in 2023.

Lloyd’s CEO pay is lowest compared to major LSE-traded specialty insurers by a considerable margin.

Sara Foucher has held roles at RSA, Swiss Re and XL Catlin.

Fast Track is led by QBE and backed by Canopius, Arch and Beazley.

The executive has also worked for AIG and Ace.

The underwriter will report to group CUO Paul Bantick.

A spree of new entrants in the cargo market has resulted in recent talent turmoil.

CEO Adrian Cox said Beazley’s recent $290mn ILW purchase was not driven by “capital flexibility in and of itself”.

Some US and European cedants will likely see "specific adjustments" to their programmes.

The carrier said an active hurricane season and a global cyber event had not altered its full-year guidance.

The Flex consortium will offer up to EUR/$50mn limit.

The deal has reduced the carrier’s one-in-250-year cyber loss scenario from $651mn to $461mn.

Paul Bantick will continue to oversee the cyber risks division during the search for his successor.

Sources said that for reinsurers to meet this demand, they will need to get comfortable analysing and evaluating systemic and aggregate risk.

The carbon market is viewed as a potential growth class for insurers.

The carrier launched into the political violence market at the beginning of the year.

Lancashire was the only carrier to see double-digit growth in insurance revenue for H1.

Plus the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

The CEO said he expects cyber rates to start flattening post-loss.

The executive argued that Beazley’s performance is the ultimate driver of the insurer’s valuation.

Growth was driven by active risk selection, as rating environment begins to moderate, said CEO Cox.

In messaging to the market, the cyber insurer described the rating environment as “stable and sustainable”.

The cyber market should use the latest outage to start decisively taking action on managing cat aggregates.

The carrier’s cyber hours clauses and sub-limits will limit exposure, according to the analyst.

The current guidance is that Beazley will publish an undiscounted CoR in the low-80s at full year.

The incident highlights the aggregation risk around cloud service reliance.

A roundup of all the news you need today, including the FCA’s new listing rules.

Arch, Axa XL, Beazley, Chubb, Hiscox, Howden, MS Amlin and TMK are participating.

Sam Franks will also maintain his current role as head of partner engagement for the region.

Lucien Mounier has served for six years as Beazley’s head of Asia Pacific

This publication reported in April that Alexandra Barnes had resigned from Beazley.

Beazley has two days to amend its complaint, correcting jurisdictional deficiencies.

The carrier has also hired Victoria Burnell from Tokio Marine Kiln to join the energy team.

Beazley CEO Adrian Cox said that the carrier’s growth rate would slow as market conditions shift.

The track record of smart-follow vehicles is still young, but the segment is gaining traction.

Barbara Plucnar Jensen replaces long-serving CFO Sally Lake.

The carrier confirmed a combined-ratio guidance in the “low 80s” for the year.

Staff turnover has been elevated in the energy market this year.

The short-term disruption of relisting may be justified by the long-term benefits.

Christine LaSala will step back from her board membership at the end of this month.

The partnership will add more capacity on the platform from April.

For the 2022 year of account, the updated forecast remains unchanged.

Hiscox, Beazley and Lancashire all delivered one-off capital returns while swerving casualty issues.

The carrier reported $1.2bn profit and 71% CoR for 2023.

Beazley was one of the first four cyber cat bond sponsors.

Beazley also confirmed the appointment of CFO Barbara Plucnar Jensen.

Slipstream will be available to marine, cargo and logistics UK clients.

Beazley is expected to announce its year-end results on 7 March.

The firm will be led by Lodestone CEO Alton Kizziah.

The MGA previously hired Sara Valentine from Brit to launch in energy.

Koscondy will set the global production and distribution strategy of all of Beazley’s cyber business sub-$250mn.

Aidan Flynn said that although different markets are expected to move at different speeds, the underlying trend is clear.

Growth opportunities at Lloyd’s no longer limited to top underwriting performers, Insurance Insider’s survey shows.

Cat losses were within budgets despite high levels of minor events.

CEO Adrian Cox said the market has continued to soften more than Beazley initially anticipated.

The carrier attributed growth in the division to "exceptional" conditions in the property market throughout the year.

Brenna Westinghouse joined Beazley in 2017 after 14 years at Marsh.

The rating reflects “the entity’s role and strategic importance to Beazley as an excess and surplus writer in the United States”, AM Best said.

The proposals, published in July, would have placed additional reporting burdens on large UK firms.

The carrier is looking to grow its direct underwriting capabilities, focussing on the offshore wind market.

Panellists at the Dive In Festival explored the link between innovation and inclusion and why it's important to them as leaders in their respective fields.

The attack came from a hacking group known as Scattered Spider, an affiliate of the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang.

The carrier increased gross written premiums by 13% to $2.92bn, while the combined ratio deteriorated by 13 points from a prior-year figure of 71%.

London’s major carriers have projected bullish messages on a prolonged hard market for property, while acknowledging other classes are in very different cycles.

Sally Lake has spent 18 years at the carrier, including the last five as CFO.

Beazley and Lancashire’s plans to launch US units exemplify wider competitive challenges that the market must overcome to thrive.

The carrier’s before-tax profit leapt by $356mn to $547mn under the new IFRS 17 reporting standards.

The carrier warned that if members do not back its proposals, it will continue with plans for a US E&S carrier without compensation.

This came after the firm said it had begun the process of moving its US E&S business off its Lloyd’s paper as it sets up a new E&S carrier.

The CEO said the business shift would be structurally simpler, as he said Beazley was “very confident” on its reinsurance cover despite exposure to Vesttoo.

The carrier reported a 66% increase in GWP for its property business.

The London market businesses face potential fallout as Vesttoo investigates collateral inconsistencies.

The revision reflects AM Best’s expectation that Beazley will maintain its risk-adjusted capitalisation "comfortably at the strongest level”.

Staffing turmoil is ongoing in the marine market as companies vie to secure talent.

Beazley’s Smart Tracker Syndicate was granted full syndicate status from the start of this year.

Amplify will initially cover property before moving into other lines, such as financial and professional liability and cargo.

The underwriter headed one of the largest hull and war books in the London market.

Despite leaving the alliance, Beazley said it “remains fully committed” to its transition to net-zero.

Guy Carpenter was the sole placing broker sourcing capacity for the tie-up.

Most carriers were keen to talk about how they are taking on the ongoing hard market in Q1, but some complexities partly offset their good news.

Beazley CEO Adrian Cox told investors the carrier's cyber expectations remained “unchanged” for the year, despite predicting a slowing of growth into Q2.

The carrier attributed its growth to a 56% increase in its property risks and 24% increase in its cyber business in the first quarter of the year.

Reforms to the UK listing regime may enhance prospects of an insurance firm opting to IPO in London in future, but several broader problems, including liquidity issues, will also affect such a decision, according to industry sources.

The cybersecurity professional has more than 20 years’ experience.

The resolutions received 60.76% and 60.85% of votes, respectively, falling short of the 75% threshold needed to pass.

A recent rise in ransomware incidents – along with pricing deceleration, attracting capital, and the Lloyd’s cyber war exclusions – were among the hot topics at Zywave’s cyber conference in London.

The cross-line facility launch – in a generally firm market – suggests that the tech-driven era of facilitisation is continuing to gain pace.

Details on Beazley’s cyber war product are yet to come to light, but there are questions outstanding on event definition, wordings and whether the market will follow.

The new product is being developed to meet client demand for the coverage as the Lloyd’s market prepares to exclude cyber war as a peril from 31 March.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is creating investor fear across the global financial services sector. 

CEO Adrian Cox and CFO Sally Lake are set to lose more than £100k each in long-term share awards after the accounting error.

Beazley executives spoke of further growth prospects in the class, after its results revealed a 79% combined ratio for its cyber division in 2022.

With the new war exclusions starting to take effect from Q4 last year, the executive expects a disorderly few months before the market reaches equilibrium.

The carrier said an investment loss of $179.7mn largely offset 14% GWP growth over the period.

As Adidas terminated its partnership with Kanye West following his antisemitic tweets, it projected a loss that signalled why insurers should be pushing the need for brand reputation insurance.

The executive is set to replace David Roberts as chair.

Fred Kleiterp will leave his current role as CEO for EMEA at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions to join Beazley in June.

Beazley’s $45mn first-time cyber cat bond offered all-perils coverage, though some expected early deals to start with limited scope.

The cat bond will pay out to Beazley if total claims arising from a cyber attack on its clients surpass $300mn.

Will Roscoe, who has managed the Smart Tracker since 2019, has been named active underwriter.

Beazley’s promotion to the higher FTSE tier will be made official on 19 December.

The London Market carrier has reported a 2023 stamp of £3.8bn for Syndicate 2623, its largest Lloyd’s vehicle.

She succeeds William Mills, who left his role as group head of ceded re and third-party capital for Allianz.

Beazley has successfully completed a £350mn ($417mn) fundraise to provide growth capital for targeting “attractive underwriting opportunities” in the market, especially cyber and specialty classes and property risks.

The London-listed carrier said that market dislocation could last for years and had created a strategic opportunity for the carrier.

The reinsurance market next year will be a “challenging environment”, which Beazley expects to “shift significantly”, according to CEO Adrian Cox.

The carrier said it was on track to reach a combined ratio in the “high 80s” this year.

LMA CEO Sheila Cameron, Patrick Tiernan, chief of markets at Lloyd’s and Beazley CEO Adrian Cox discussed the barriers facing female career progression in a webinar on Wednesday.

The executive will represent the Lloyd’s Market Association, having joined its board last year.

Alongside war and infrastructure failure exclusions, the wordings include sub-limits for two cyber catastrophe scenarios.

Business will be written directly into Syndicate 5623 from 1 January 2023.

The first six months have been characterised by substantial double-digit growth and further improvement in underwriting performance.

Plus this week’s top carrier results and need-to-know people moves.

Beazley has written to its third-party capital providers notifying them of its plans to increase the stamp capacity of Syndicate 623 by 22.8% for the 2023 year of account.

The carrier reported a H1 combined ratio of 74%, as it targets $1.3bn in cyber premium for the year.

In a post-results media call, Beazley CEO Adrian Cox also noted that an expected increase in cyber claims had not yet “manifested”.

The carrier’s combined ratio improved by 7 points to 87%, marking its best CR performance since H1 2015.

Senior independent director Christine LaSala will step in as interim if a replacement is not found in time.

The market is taking its first proactive steps to resolve issues posed by the massive systemic exposures it is running.

The carrier is planning to put boundaries around coverage granted in major cyber catastrophe events, in a bid to define exposures for itself and the wider market.

The policy, which Beazley claims to be the first of its kind in London and the US, will offer $10mn of capacity.

Former leader Catherina MacCabe is to retire.

Fiona Muldoon and Cecilia Reyes will both become members of the audit and risk committee.

The InsurTech has hired Adam Glasby as programme manager, as part of wider efforts to scale up with tech talent drawn from the Lloyd’s and London marketplaces.

Plus the lowdown on the potential Howden-TigerRisk tie-up and all the top news of the week.

The analyst firm estimated more than 60% growth in Beazley’s cyber portfolio in 2022

Beazley’s pioneering new Syndicate 4321 uses ESG ratings to provide additional capacity for clients, but it will play a broader, strategic role for the carrier.

The carrier highlighted in its Q1 results this morning that it had $50mn exposure net of reinsurance to the war in Ukraine.

Doubling rates in cyber led the carrier to grow its cyber and executive risk premium by 47%.

Business leaders surveyed by Beazley said they were increasingly worried about war risk in particular, prior to the Ukraine conflict.

With the Lloyd’s Lab in its fourth year and poised to welcome cohort eight to its incubator, Insurance Insider examines its impact so far.

Christian Taube will be responsible for developing Beazley’s cyber risk management and incident response functions.

Greenwood, Bantick, Turner and Montminy will head up the new divisions.

The second of Insurance Insider’s deep-dive analysis pieces on innovation examines the internal structures and opportunities that can accelerate innovation.

The first of a two-part series on innovation examines the barriers blocking product innovation in the P&C market.

Beazley’s head of specialty lines James Eaton will retire at the end of 2022 after 16 years at the carrier.

Beazley’s Smart Tracker syndicate also reported a 49% increase in GWP to $198.2mn as the company pushed ahead with top-line growth across the board.

Gross premiums written increased by 30% to $4.6bn for 2021. The biggest growth was seen in cyber and risk and market facilities, which both increased by 48.6%.

Over the last 12 months, three of the four London-listed companies have drastically underperformed their US-listed and Continental European peers.

Sources have told Insurance Insider that the majority of Beazley’s planned income is driven by rate increase, with limited new business.

Spring Partners said the new underwriting capacity and product launch were part of its London market growth plans.

A total of 12 managing agents control £1bn or more of capacity, analysis shows.

Beazley tried to recover $6.5mn in claim costs from Prime on a policy which it led.

The significant increase in planned premium will be interpreted as a vote of confidence in the low-cost, follow-only model from Lloyd’s.

The CEO warned that data and analytics were beginning to “park their tanks on our underwriting lawn”.

Beazley’s capital position “remains strong and within the preferred range contemplating all the loss activity to date”, according to Beazley CEO Adrian Cox, speaking during a Q3 earnings call with investors.

The gross written premium increase was driven predominantly by cyber and executive risk, which grew by 44% year on year.

Plus the latest impact of cat activity on reinsurer results and all the top news from the week.

Stamp capacity for the “beta” syndicate is set to climb by 42% to £204mn.

Simon Wilson will join Beazley from Hiscox in mid-January and be based in London.

Syndicate 4321 will operate as a consortium led by Syndicates 623 and 2623, providing capacity for companies that meet ESG criteria.

John Brown will be joining former colleague Simon Jackson at the ERS-owned syndicate.

The company said the transatlantic appointment reflected the carrier’s commitment to expand in the US.

The carrier has been reshaping its senior leadership team since Adrian Cox took on the helm of CEO.

The former international manager of breach response services will step into a newly created role.

Plus all the highlights from the Reconnect conference and the week’s top news.

In a wide-ranging interview with this publication, the CEO also outlined how he would “reestablish the investment thesis” for the firm after missteps in 2020.

Plus the latest on pandemic BI payments and all the top news from the week.

QBE, Argenta and Blenheim syndicates also plan significant growth to capitalise on market conditions.

The specialty insurer has brought in the underwriter following the departure of Kristen Dauphinais at the end of May.

Despite a somewhat mixed outlook, UK listed carriers London players say they are still leaning into growth.

The carrier said on business written since the autumn, cyber claims frequency was 20% lower by policy count.

The London-listed carrier reported growth and positive rate movement in all seven of its business segments.

Analysts believe 2021 will be a “transition year” for Hiscox, Beazley and Lancashire.

Markel, Beazley, Hiscox, Chaucer, Brit and Liberty Specialty Markets are all participants in the product development.

Beazley has undergone a shake-up in its management following the departure of Andrew Horton.

Former Western Union CFO to be based in the US, one of Beazley’s ‘largest markets’.

The analyst says Hiscox must convince investors of a retail bounce-back, while Lancashire’s attritional loss ratio is key to better trading.

he consortium and follow-only SIAB a targeted for a 1 January 2022 launch.

A smattering of data points and commentary from Q1 analyst calls shows that turnaround efforts are bearing some fruit.

Plus the insurers on-risk for the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack and all the week’s top news.

All seven market segments achieve rate expansion, though property momentum eases from a year earlier.

Sources say the pipeline operator has at least $15mn in cyber insurance cover.

The hires are the latest in an Aquiline Capital and Abry Partners-backed diversification effort.

Beazley is one of the leading players in property D&F business in London, writing a global book with a US focus.

The $350mn follow-capacity solution will cover cargo, specie, terror, financial products, healthcare and marine.

Underwriters and brokers are competing for talent amid hard market conditions in the class of business.

Binding insurers include Chubb and AIG, with reinsurance from Munich Re.

He will receive a basic salary of £507,500, with a bonus capped at 400% of salary and 12.5% pension contributions. 

Adrian Cox is respected for his underwriting talent, but his biggest challenge will be making the CEO role his own.

The four major developments of the week include:

As Adrian Cox prepares to take the helm at Beazley, what challenges does the CEO-in-waiting face?

Peel Hunt and Jefferies analysts are reassured by calibre of the outgoing CEO’s internal replacement.

CUO Adrian Cox will take over as CEO of the London-listed carrier next month, accelerating a move that was widely expected to happen at some point.

Beazley has rebuilt its contingency team after large losses and a number of senior underwriter departures.

The CEO also discussed Beazley’s approach to re-underwriting cyber risks.

Further Covid losses, core loss ratio improvements, reserving and the duration of the cycle are key themes emerging from the reporting season.

RenaissanceRe, Tokio Marine Kiln, Chaucer and Talbot also provide capacity for the consortium, which specializes in reputational risk.

Both non-executive directors will leave after the AGM in March.

Pressure is growing from Lloyd’s underwriters on A&H coverholders, which often attract high commissions.

The carrier becomes the latest to review policies in order to manage exposures.

The senior appointment follows large contingency losses at Beazley and a string of personnel departures.

The goods-focused pact includes a joint declaration on financial services, though crunch issues have yet to be resolved.

Major consolidation laid the ground for current new launches, the Conduit chairman suggested.