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Lloyd’s risk-adjusted rates fall 6.7% in first half of 2026
Gross written premium rose to £34.7 billion in H1 2026, but Lloyd’s underlying combined ratio increased to 84.0% as underwriting discipline faces pressure.
Lloyd’s delivered a solid first half of 2026, with gross written premium up 6.9% to £34.7 billion and an underwriting profit of £1.9 billion. The headline combined ratio came in at 90.8%, better than 92.5% for the same period of 2025, while profit before tax fell to £3.5 billion from £4.2 billion a year earlier.
Risk-adjusted rates declined 6.7% across the Lloyd’s market in H1 2026, nearly doubling the pace of softening versus the 3.5% reduction seen in the same period of 2025. Although volume growth of 15.8% helped drive the gross written premium increase, the rate direction is described as accelerating.
Beneath the headline figures, the underlying combined ratio, which excludes the effects of lower-than-average catastrophe losses and prior-year reserve releases, moved higher from 82.1% in H1 2025 to 84.0% in H1 2026. S&P Global is also forecasting a 2026 market-wide combined ratio close to 93% as pricing continues to soften.
Insurance Business reports that Lloyd’s emphasized that unrealised fixed income losses from wider yields, tied to geopolitical and inflationary pressures, did not affect claims-paying capacity or solvency. It also highlighted internal warnings that top-line growth pressures can cause underwriting discipline to slip, including a parallel drawn to conditions that led to underperformance about a decade ago.