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Beazley profits halve as underwriting turns harder and cyber pricing drops
For the six months ended June 30, Beazley cut its pre-tax profit to US$237.7 million, while written premiums fell 4.3% to just over US$3.05 billion.
Beazley reported a sharp decline in profits, signaling tougher conditions for specialty insurers as cyber pricing weakens and underwriting losses return. The London-listed underwriter posted pre-tax profit of US$237.7 million for the six months to June 30, down 53% from US$502.5 million a year earlier, with insurance written premiums slipping 4.3% to just over US$3.05 billion, according to half-year results.
Underwriting performance deteriorated as the undiscounted combined ratio rose to 93.3% from 84.9%. Return on equity fell to 7.6% (annualised) from 18.2%, and investment income nearly halved to US$211.6 million from US$308.5 million, reflecting weaker overall earnings power.
The company pointed to competition that has pushed rates below levels justified by risk, and said it now faces a more active large-loss environment. Beazley CEO Adrian Cox said incurred attritional claims have been better than expected, but the first half of 2026 has brought a return to higher loss activity compared with recent years.
Beazley said three of its four divisions saw premiums fall year on year, while its Marine, Accident and Political (MAP) Risks unit grew as demand held up amid a more complex and volatile risk environment, including fallout from conflict in the Middle East. On cyber, the insurer said it is deliberately shrinking its US book, currently around 9% of the portfolio, and shifting growth toward Bermuda, as its outlook comes alongside broader market data showing global cyber rates down for consecutive quarters.