Brit reports 2.1% profit increase in H1’25 despite impact of large cat losses

Brit Group Holdings Limited posted a profit before tax of $307.7 million for the first half of 2025, up 2.1% from $301.3 million in the same period a year earlier, amid an increased undiscounted combined ratio of 95.2%, up from 80.8%, due to large catastrophe losses that pushed the claims ratio to 52.5%.

Brit attributed the profit increase to positive momentum in its underlying underwriting performance and strong returns on its invested assets.

The firm also reported a discounted combined ratio of 87.4% in H1’25, up 16.6 percentage points from 70.8% a year earlier. The rise was primarily driven by major losses from the California wildfires, which resulted in undiscounted net losses after reinstatement premiums of $132.6 million.

The claims ratio increased by 16.1 percentage points to 52.5%, compared to 36.4% in H1’24, also predominantly due to large catastrophe losses.

Undiscounted prior-year reserve releases totaled $33.7 million, down from $35.5 million. This was mainly driven by reduced loss estimates for Hurricane Milton, which benefitted from recoveries on Brit’s catastrophe reinsurance program. This was partly offset by strengthening in its Cyber classes for a large loss event.

The expense ratio, which includes both acquisition costs and other directly attributable expenses, remained stable at 34.9%, slightly up from 34.4%.

Insurance premiums written rose by 8.3% in H1’25 to $1.692 billion, compared to $1.562 billion the year prior.

Net insurance revenue increased to $1.094 billion, up from $1.009 billion, which the firm attributes to prior year premium growth earning through, and a reduction in its non-catastrophe reinsurance spend as the firm looks to retain more profitable business.

“Notably, this contrasts with the increase in our reinsurance written premium in the period, resulting from new reinsurance purchases in the first half of the year whose earnings are yet to be reflected in the income statement in 2025,” explained the firm.

In 2024, Brit announced plans to expand its presence in Bermuda to complement its existing reinsurance underwriting capabilities in London. In H1’25, the company began delivering on that plan, with Brit Re achieving third-party insurance premiums written of $88.7 million, up from $16.7 million a year prior.

Martin Thompson, Group CEO of Brit, said, “In the first half of 2025, Brit’s profit before tax increased to $307.7m, reflecting a positive underwriting result and a strong investment performance. Against a backdrop of significantly increased major loss activity and more challenging market conditions, our insurance service result of $138.1m and our undiscounted combined ratio of 95.2% demonstrate our underwriting discipline and our focus on areas in which we can deliver differentiated performance.

“We remain focused on our four strategic pillars: Focus; Capability; Simplification; and Culture. This has seen us continue to invest in our lead underwriting platform, including deploying new underwriting tools and capabilities across our product range, allowing us to increase the quality and speed of our service for customers and brokers. We are also committed to ensuring our leadership in underwriting is matched by our leadership in claims, and our technology strategy is aimed at making sure our entire business is powered by best-in-class data, analytics and processes.

“It is also pleasing to see the strategic expansion of Brit Re, our Bermuda operation, continuing to gain traction. We believe that there is a real opportunity to meaningfully build out this part of our business, and have been encouraged by the reception we have received from brokers and trading partners. The start of 2025 also saw Ki begin operating as a standalone company within the Fairfax Group, enabling both Brit and Ki to further focus on their strengths in lead and follow respectively.

“Looking ahead to the second half of the year and beyond, we remain mindful of shifting market dynamics. Our diversified and balanced portfolio, alongside our strong balance sheet, makes us well placed to manage the cycle effectively and, in turn, support our customers through our stability, service and expertise. This, our clear strategy and our unique culture gives us continued confidence in the outlook for Brit.”