Drop in catastrophes lifts Amlin

LLOYD’S of London insurer Amlin swung back to profit in the first half of 2012, helped by a sharp drop in catastrophe-related claims and higher premiums.

By The Newsroom

Published 21st Aug 2012, 07:00 BST

Amlin booked pre-tax profit of £184.5m in the six months to the end of June, compared with a pretax loss of £192m a year earlier.

Bringing further cheer to investors, the group also said it had agreed a new five-year, unsecured £300m debt facility with its lenders, replacing a £250m loan that was due to mature in September 2013.

“This is a welcome return to profit and the strength of our underwriting result underlines the quality and diversity of our business,” chief executive Charles Philipps said in a statement.

Global insurers suffered losses of $116bn in 2011 after a number of natural disasters including Japan’s Tohoku earthquake led to a surge in claims.

Amlin reported an underwriting profit of £153.8m, compared with a loss of £203.8m a year ago.

Japan