Companies: HDU ��

Insurer Hardy Underwriting Bermuda sees ‘significant’ premium-rate increases after lifting nine-month written premiums 10% to �139m.

In an interim management statement, the fully listed company says several factors are combining to create conditions for an end to the recent soft market in insurance. Hardy, chaired by market veteran chairman David Mann and steered by chief executive Barbara Merry, declares ‘we are now expectant of a significant increase in rates during 2009’.

The company argues insurers have escaped the worst of the current economic crisis, unless they have significant financial products division, suggesting ‘Hardy’s willingness to lose business rather than follow rates down gives us a margin to cope with these conditions’. Hardy, which reported a 4.4 per cent interim pre-tax profits slide to �8.7m on gross written premiums up 11 per cent to �97m, says estimated losses of $23m (�15.5m) from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav are ‘within our expectations for our catastrophe-exposed classes of business’.

The company is merging its Lloyd’s syndicates 382 and 38 Twenty and at present has unchanged underwriting capacity of �185m for 2009. Mann proclaims the Hardy team is focusing on ‘making the most of what could be extremely beneficial market conditions’.

Originally recommended here at 183.5p, Hardy shares have fluctuated between 336.75p and 209p over the past year and now trade at 257p. They could prove relatively resilient in the year ahead.

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