29th May 2020 13:18
(Alliance News) - Helios Underwriting PLC said Friday its profit rose significantly in 2019, as the specialist insurer reported growth in its capacity and continued outperformance over the Lloyd's of London insurance market.
Helios is a specialist insurer which buys and sells Lloyd's of London insurance syndicates, which are groups of underwriters that insure very high-valued property or high-hazard liability exposures.
For the year, Helios reported a pretax profit of GBP4.3 million, nearly twelve times the amount of the GBP327,000 reported for 2018.
The company's capacity ended 2019 at GBP69.1 million, with a fair value of GBP26.4 million - after starting the year at GBP52.6 million. During the period, Helios acquired four syndicates.
Underwriting profit increased sharply to GBP3.3 million from GBP783,000 in 2018, while Helios's syndicates reported a combined operating ratio of 95.6% compared to 98.6% the year before.
By comparison, Lloyd's of London's combined ratio for 2019 was 102.1%.
A ratio below 100% indicates that the company is making underwriting profit, while a ratio above 100% means that it is paying out more money in claims that it is receiving from premiums. Therefore, the lower the better.
As at December 31, Helios's retained capacity for its 2019 underwriting year was GBP18.3 million, while for its 2018 underwriting year, retained capacity was GBP21.0 million and for 2017 it was GBP36.2 million.
Helios did not recommend the payment of a final dividend for 2019, as the company seeks to preserve as much cash as possible.
For the year before, the total dividend was 3.0p per share.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has created turbulence in financial markets and economic uncertainty which will impact individuals and businesses. The full impact of this on the insurance industry, including the Lloyd's market, is uncertain. The initial assessment by supported syndicates has identified those lines of business most likely to be impacted, however the full extent of the losses and the impact upon pricing will become clearer as the year progresses. We will regularly monitor developments in this area," said Chair Michael Cunningham.
Shares in Helios Underwriting were up 9.0% at 89.95 pence on Friday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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