Key facts
- Lloyd's of London's pre-tax profit declined 16.7% to £3.5bn in the first half of 2026.
- Gross written premiums rose 6.9% to £34.7bn.
- Investment returns fell significantly due to bond market jitters, geopolitical tensions, and inflation.
- The underwriting result improved to £1.9bn.
- The combined ratio, a key profitability measure, improved to 90.8%.
Lloyd's of London experienced a significant slump in pre-tax profit for the first six months of 2026, with a 16.7% decrease to £3.5bn. This downturn was primarily attributed to a sharp decline in investment returns from its bond assets, which were hampered by geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures. Despite these challenges, gross written premiums saw a healthy increase of 6.9% to £34.7bn, fueled by a 15.8% jump in volume from new and existing syndicates, which helped offset a 6.7% drop in market-wide prices.
Stripping away the investment turbulence, Lloyd's core underwriting business showed improvement, reporting an underwriting result of £1.9bn, up from £1.5bn in the prior period. The market's headline combined ratio, a key measure of insurance profitability, also improved to 90.8%, largely due to a quiet period for major natural disasters. Chief executive Patrick Tiernan expressed confidence in the results, highlighting underwriting discipline and innovation as crucial for maintaining outperformance.
Lloyd's confirmed it is on track to meet its targets for the full year, having posted a pre-tax profit of £10.6bn for 2025. The marketplace is doubling down on a four-point growth plan focused on underwriting excellence, operational efficiency, capital optimisation, and staff retention. In July, an independent legal review found that former chief executive John Neal fell "significantly below" expected standards in his workplace relationship with a colleague.