Beazley's shares hit record after insurer's profit beat, limited LA wildfire losses

By Yamini Kalia

(Reuters) - British insurer Beazley's shares deed a grounds precocious connected Tuesday aft it bushed yearly pretax nett expectations and estimated its losses from the Los Angeles wildfires would beryllium overmuch little than its peers.

Lloyd's of London insurer besides launched a $500 cardinal stock buyback.

Last twelvemonth was pugnacious for insurers arsenic large-scale hurricanes successful the United States weighed connected earnings, portion devastating Los Angeles wildfires kicked disconnected 2025 connected a sour note.

CEO Adrian Cox told Reuters helium does not expect the interaction from the wildfires to impact Beazley much, but said the rising dangers of clime alteration volition enactment unit connected the manufacture and insurers volition request to beryllium "very careful" astir however they underwrite that.

Beazley connected Tuesday gave an archetypal estimation of an $80 cardinal interaction from the California wildfires, good beneath peers which person estimated hits of $100 million-$170 million, including Lancashire, which expects up to $165 cardinal successful losses from the demolition to LA.

Shares of Beazley roseate arsenic overmuch arsenic 3.2% to an all-time precocious of 923 pence.

Analysts estimation insured losses from the wildfires could scope arsenic precocious arsenic $20 billion, perchance making it the costliest catastrophe successful California's history.

Insurers, however, person besides profited from higher premiums implicit the past fewer years owed to ostentation and losses stemming from the pandemic, wars and earthy disasters, though prices declined successful the second fractional of 2024.

"Our cardinal estimation is that they volition spell down a small spot again this year," CEO Cox told Reuters.

Beazley reported nett earlier taxation of $1.42 cardinal successful the twelvemonth ended December 2024, up 13% from a twelvemonth earlier and 9% up of consensus, according to Panmure Liberum.

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia successful Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Susan Fenton)