Lloyd’s 1H26 trading statement

Lloyd’s today reported its results for the half year 2026.

Headline figures

• Gross Written Premium (GWP) increased by 6.9% to £34.7bn (1H25: £32.5bn)
• Expense ratio of 36.4% (1H25: 35.8%)
• Underwriting return of £1.9bn (1H25: £1.5bn)
• Investment return of £1.8bn, equivalent to 1.6% (1H25: £3.2bn or 3.1%)
• Combined ratio of 90.8% (1H25: 92.5%)
• Underlying combined ratio of 84.0% (1H25: 82.1%)
• Profit before tax of £3.5bn (1H25: £4.2bn)
• Central solvency coverage ratio of 503% (1H25: 468%)

Patrick Tiernan, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“The Lloyd’s market delivered a solid aggregate set of results for the six months ended 30 June 2026. But strong performance and high risk are far from mutually exclusive. Underwriting discipline and innovation are the keys to maintaining outperformance and quality of earnings.”

Patrick Tiernan, Jim Bichard (Chief Financial Officer) and Rachel Turk (Chief of Market Performance and Strategy) presented the 2026 half year results.

The key takeaways were as follows:

• Lloyd’s remains on track to achieve its full-year guidance of GWP of £64bn ±5% and a combined ratio of between 90% and 95%.
• Risk-adjusted rates reduced by -6.7% during the first half, compared with a reduction of -3.5% at 1H25. Despite this, Lloyd’s considers the aggregate portfolio to remain adequately priced to deliver a net combined ratio below 95%, although margins are continuing to be eroded.
• Premium growth was driven by a 15.8% increase in volume from new and existing syndicates, which more than offset the impact of reducing rates and adverse foreign exchange movements.
• Lloyd’s continues to see a strong pipeline of underwriting businesses and capital looking to access the market. However, the Corporation emphasised that growth must be accretive, noting that it is currently turning away more new business than it accepts.
• The continuing conflict in the Middle East is currently viewed as a manageable event with a net loss reserve of £1.4bn. Lloyd’s continues to monitor exposures and potential secondary impacts including inflation, energy security, sanctions and supply-chain disruption, while the market remains open and capacity continues to be available.
• Major losses added 6.8 percentage points to the combined ratio, down from 10.4% at 1H25 and below Lloyd’s ten-year average.
• Prior-year reserve releases provided a 3.5 percentage point benefit to the result, despite deterioration in reserves for Baltimore bridge collision, losses arriving from Russia/Ukraine conflict and adverse development on certain legacy portfolios. This compares with 2.0 percentage points in 1H 25.

Areas of additional focus

Lloyd’s highlighted a number of areas where disciplined cycle management will become increasingly important as the market softens.

• Portfolio Solutions now constitutes 9% of the Lloyd’s market. The Corporation wants growth in this area to be capability-led, deliver genuine efficiencies and ultimately benefit clients, while ensuring that syndicates understand and manage the resulting portfolio exposures.
• Casualty remains an area of focus as AI introduces new and potentially interconnected exposures. Lloyd’s stressed the importance of understanding portfolios fully and pricing for how risks may develop in the future rather than relying solely on current claims experience but also the opportunities as local admitted carriers begin to exclude coverage.
• Property and Energy have benefited from a relatively benign catastrophe loss environment. Lloyd’s cautioned underwriters against allowing recent experience to drive assumptions, emphasising the need to price for longer-term volatility and take action early where adequacy is deteriorating.