Underwriting Profit and War Reserves
Hamilton Insurance Group reported third-quarter underwriting income of $15.5 million, down from $64.1 million a year earlier, as gross premiums written grew 17.3% to $819.7 million. The specialty insurer's combined ratio rose from 87.8% to 97.3%, driven by $53.9 million in net catastrophe losses. This figure included $47.1 million of adverse prior-year development relating to the Ukraine conflict and $6.8 million from the Middle East conflict, with the Bermuda segment absorbing $42.6 million of the Ukraine-related development. Overall net income fell to $81.5 million from $136.2 million, though strong investment returns—including $144.7 million from the Two Sigma Hamilton Fund—supported an operating income of $179.9 million.
Business Mix and Casualty Reinsurance
The insurer's current-year attritional loss ratio increased by 2.1 points to 57.5%, a shift attributed to an expanded casualty reinsurance book and a large loss in specialty and property reinsurance classes. The growth in casualty reinsurance also pushed the acquisition cost ratio up by 1.5 points. Outside of war losses, underlying reserves remained favourable, with $27.2 million released from prior years primarily in specialty classes. Hamilton's International segment grew premiums by 20.1% to $456.3 million with a combined ratio of 97.1%, while the Bermuda segment grew 13.9% to $363.4 million.