Benefits of investing at Lloyd’s

The primary focus of Lloyd’s today is the sustainable profitability of the market, which means strict constraints for some underwriters and opportunities for others.

Better premium rates

Premium rates in the (re)insurance markets are typically driven by the amount of capital available to the markets. The frequency of major insured losses during the period 2017 to 2022, culminating in Hurricane Ian in September 2022 (which is thought to be the second most costly US hurricane ever) had eroded the supply of global (re)insurance capital. This led to 28 consecutive quarters of premium rate rises at Lloyd’s, which in turn drove a significant improvement in the annual underwriting results (before investment returns) for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024: underwriting profits of £1.7bn for 2021, £2.6bn for 2022, £5.9bn for 2023 and £5.3bn for 2024. Small rate decreases were experienced throughout 2025, with further rate decreases expected throughout 2026. However, these reductions are from historic pricing highs and (re)insurance terms & conditions are holding firm meaning strict (re)insurance coverage is still be applied across the market.

Better underwriting oversight

During the 2025 syndicate business planning season for the underwriting year 2026, the Lloyd’s leadership expressed a determination to manage the (re)insurance cycle, optimise portfolios and continue targeting outperformance. By enabling the best syndicates to maximise their growth and restricting the amount of risk the weaker ones can take, the overall market result has demonstrably improved to a combined ratio (claims and expenses as a percentage of premiums received) of 84.0% for 2023 (down from 91.9% in 2022) resulting in a record overall profit of £10.7bn, followed by 86.9% for 2024 and a profit of £9.6bn. The results for the 2025 year are published in March 2026 and are expected to report another strong profit with an anticipated 88% combined ratio.

Better prospects for profitability

The continuing flow of attractively priced and accretive business into Lloyd’s has meant that the market plans to underwrite premiums of circa £66bn for 2026, up from £60bn for 2025. This growth comes from both existing and some significant new syndicates bringing genuinely new business to Lloyd’s, which has enabled members to increase their underwriting on both existing and new top class syndicates. Encouragingly it still remains possible to buy into the forecast strong open year profit streams, on a three-year account basis, for the 2023, 2024 years and 2025 years (at a discount to the ultimate profit), by buying an existing limited liability vehicle.