Lancashire gross written premiums stable in first nine months of the year

4th Nov 2026 08:24

(Sharecast News) - Lancashire Holdings said on Wednesday that it was on track to deliver a high-teens return on equity in 2026 as it reported broadly stable gross written premiums for the first nine months of the year.

In the nine months to September end, gross written premiums dipped 1.1% to $1.81bn. On an underlying basis, excluding the impact of reinstatement premiums related to the California wildfires last year, gross premiums written were flat.

Insurance revenue ticked up 0.7% to $1.41bn.

Lancashire said the loss environment was relatively benign in the third quarter, with few catastrophe events and exposure to the conflict in the Middle East limited and within its risk appetite.

The company announced a special dividend of 75 cents per share, which it said reflects a strong operational performance and a robust capital position.

Chief executive Alex Maloney said the company had delivered "another strong underwriting performance" in the first nine months.

"While pricing has moderated in some parts of the market, we benefit from a diversified portfolio and rates continued to remain adequate across much of our business," he said. "Our conservatively-positioned investment portfolio continues to deliver an attractive level of investment income, although this was offset by the mark-to-market impact of higher government bond yields in the third quarter. Given the relatively short duration of the portfolio, the prevailing environment of higher yields should benefit investment income in future periods.

"The group's healthy performance for the year to date means that we remain on track to meet our 2026 full year guidance of a high-teens RoE.

"The positive operational performance of the Group, and our strong capital position, means we are able to declare a special dividend of 75 cents per common share, resulting in an aggregate distribution of approximately $182 million."

At 0822 GMT, the shares were up 0.8% at 700p.

See latest RNS on Sharecast