Companies: BEZ   

After announcing interim pre-tax profits down 24 per cent to £46 million, insurer Beazley Group hopes for growth in the USA.

The fully listed company had to contend with weakening premium rates and ‘poor returns’ on invested premiums in credit and equity markets in the six months to June. Gross written premiums declined six per cent to £407.32 million and Beazley’s return on equity slipped from 24.8 per cent to 16.8 per cent.

Chief executive Andrew Beazley, who will be replaced by present finance director Andrew Horton in September when he becomes deputy chairman, says average premium rates fell eight per cent across all lines of business, but insists that underwriters maintained their discipline and turned away business failing to meet their minimum terms. A bright exception was the USA local market, described by Beazley as ‘less volatile’ than the company’s large, syndicated Lloyd’s business, where written premiums rose 79 per cent to £70 million.

Beazley, which says it is ‘satisfied’ with its reserves against sub-prime-related and other claims, says its US business ‘continues to grow substantially’ and says other initiatives, such as investing in claims management within ‘specialty lines’, continue to reap rewards. Whether, they will be able wholly to offset the unavoidably cyclical nature of the rest of the company’s business remains to be seen.

Beazley shares have fluctuated between 86.5p and 184p over the past three years and now stand at110p, down 3.75p this morning and valuing the company at £384 million.

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Beazley Group	LSE	£398.71m	114.25p	-0.75p
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