US hurricanes contribute to £2bn annual loss for Lloyd’s of London

Pre-tax losses for Lloyd’s of London reached £2bn last year, the first time the insurer has incurred an annual loss in six years. According to BBC News, this was a sharp reversal after the insurance market made £2.1bn in profit during 2016. Lloyd’s of London cited a spate of bad weather as a key factor in the losses, including hurricanes in the US such as Harvey, Irma and Maria, wildfires in California, a Mexican earthquake and flooding in Bangladesh. The market paid a total of £18.3bn in claims, of which £4.5bn was directly attributable to the disasters. Lloyd’s of London’s chief executive Inga Beale said: “The market experienced an exceptionally difficult year in 2017, driven by challenging market conditions and a significant impact from natural catastrophes.”