Lloyd’s (re)insurer Catlin Group has reported a 12% increase in gross written premium (GWP) for the nine months to 30 September.

The company says in its interim management statement that for the first nine months of the year it has recorded GWP of $US3.7 billion ($3.7 billion).

But GWP from its London and UK business has been largely flat for the year to date, with strong growth noted in the US (26%) and the Asia-Pacific, Europe and Canada (59%).

The company says its growth is due to the combination of investment in new underwriting teams and rising reinsurance premiums.

Catlin noted further deterioration in its first-half cat losses, along with three new cat events – Hurricane Irene, Danish floods and Thai floods – in the second half. 

It reported year-to-date catastrophe losses of $US670 million ($666 million), net of all protections and reinstatement premiums in the latest statement, following catastrophe losses of $US534 million ($531 million) being noted in its first-half results.

Catlin CEO Stephen Catlin says fundamental changes in the marketplace “are on the horizon as a result of the series of catastrophe losses, several years of falling rates for many classes of business, the challenging investment environment and the increasing strain on some insurers’ and reinsurers’ balance sheets due to all of these factors”.

“We expect improvement in rates and conditions for many of the classes of business we write,” he said.