March 2018/4

2005 and 2017 felt like very similar years, right down to the three-letter abbreviations that defined them.

Lloyd's managing agents need to take more decisive action in ensuring their own underwriting performance is up to scratch, the Corporation's performance director Jon Hancock has said.

Lloyd's 2017 results demonstrated the struggles of a cat-heavy market which has battled with falling rates and thinning profit margins for the best part of a decade.

The Insurance Insider looks in detail at the results for Lloyd's marine, energy, aviation and motor segments

After a year like 2017, the spotlight will naturally fall on the property losses at Lloyd's. Hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes all grab the headlines and will be front of mind when commentators assess what drove the overall loss at Lloyd's last year.

Catastrophe losses inevitably dominated the headlines in 2017. This is just the nature of the specialty P&C (re)insurance universe. Yet, the underlying results also continue to paint a bleak picture.

A cat-heavy third quarter, along with weakening fundamentals and indications of an underwhelming 1 January 2018 renewal season, weighed down industry stocks in 2017.

The majority of P&C (re)insurers in our coverage reported an underwriting loss for 2017 due to the impact of the year's catastrophe events.

Three cat bond issues closed last week, surpassing their target sizes by 21-42 percent and pricing at the lower end of initial guidance.

The insurance-linked securities market has expressed "strong interest" in insuring the Lloyd's Central Fund, according to Lloyd's chief financial officer John Parry.

The need for change at Lloyd's was brought into sharp focus last week by 2017 results that showed a market lagging its competitors and losing money underwriting on an underlying basis.

The majority of carriers in our coverage universe grew their books during the year, with the expansion largely driven by reinstatement premiums and back-up covers following the third quarter catastrophes.