Shares in Lloyd's insurer Lancashire Holdings (LRE) fell sharply on Monday after reports that two executives, Peter Scales and John Lynch, had left the company's Lloyd's managing agent, Cathedral Capital.
Trading so far this year has remained a challenge, with a benign claims environment putting downward pressure on premiums. Overcapacity is expected to continue, and gross premiums written in the third quarter were down by more than a fifth, bringing a contraction in the first nine months of the year of nearly a third. Much of this reflects the fact that a number of multi-year deals written in the property and energy segments in 2014 are not yet due for renewal. Without these 'non-annual deals' gross premiums written were down a more bearable 10 per cent.
The good news is that with an excess of capital, the group has continued to reward shareholders with special dividend payments, the latest of 61p a share due for payment on 18 December.
