Lloyds of London sees profits rise
Lloyds of London the global Insurance market has unveiled a massive 34% first half rise in profits to £1.8bn. Lloyds has attributed this set of results to the relatively low level of catastrophes and the present favourable rating environment.
Lloyds in the worlds largest insurance market, via various sources, you can obtain all manner of products from simple home insurance through to complex commercial and aviation risks. Lloyds have stated that these positive results will help to balance the weaker but still in the main profitable underwriting conditions experienced in the first 6 months to June.
Lord Levene, the chairman of Lloyds said "These numbers serve as proof as to the progress that Lloyds has made in recent years, Lloyds continues to outperform it's major international peers and is in good shape to meet the challenges ahead".
These latest set of figures will give the market a much needed boost of confidence, in 2005 following hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, Lloyds was forced to declare a £105 million loss.
The present market is made up of 66 underwriting syndicates who recorded a combined loss ration of 82.9% in the first half of the year, any figure below 100% represents a profit. In contrast to this set of figures, European insurers and re insures revealed a combined loss ratio of 97% for the same period. Lloyds chief executive Richard Ward stated that this set of results would pressure to on to reduce rates but it was essential to continue to focus on underwriting for profit.
Lloyds of London is an Internationally important insurance market, from humble begining's, It started at Edward Lloyd's coffee house on Tower Street in London The first reference to Lloyd's as a coffee house was made in the London Gazette, in 1688. Lloyd himself was not involved in insurance, but he provided a free information service on shipping, as this led to his establishment being the place to go for information, soon the wealthy ship owners were buying insurance from Lloyd's coffee house. Lloyd himself died in 1713 but the coffee house remained the centre for insurance in London. His information sheet became known as the 'Lloyd's list' and it is still published today providing important shipping, transport and insurance news. Lloyd's continued to prosper as a place for marine insurance and by 1774 the underwriters ( acting on behalf of the names) had organised a committee and had moved to the more appropriate surroundings at the Royal Exchange building. In 1871, in return for supporting and funding the government, the Lloyd's Act gained Royal Assent, incorporating Lloyd's. Lloyd's of London was now placed firmly on the map as the most important insurance market in the British Empire, which of course at the time meant the world..
Lloyd's of London is historically, a collection of 'gentlemen insurers' a group of people (not necessarily men) who together put up their personal money to underwrite insurance and of course to pay out claims. An underwriting member of Lloyds is referred to as a Name. If you are a name at Lloyds of London, you are fully accountable for your personal losses, this means that everything you own, including you home and contents could in theory be sold to make good your losses. Names at Lloyds join together to form syndicates, usually people with a common strategy join together and these syndicates have managing agents. Syndicates are therefore not legal entities, merely a collection of individual who hope that by joining together in a common purposes will be able to sell insurance, pay claims and still make a profit.
