Lancashire Holdings has posted first-quarter results that offer the clearest sign yet of a softening insurance cycle, with the Bermuda-based group's Renewal Price Index slipping to 93% even as management held to its full-year targets.
Gross premiums written reached US$668.4 million for the three months ended 31 March, while insurance revenue edged up 2.1% to US$468.6 million. The total investment return came in at just 0.3%, and the regulatory ECR ratio stood at 254% as at December 31, 2025.
The re/insurer called it a benign loss quarter.
The 93% RPI extends a trend that began last year, when Lancashire's insurance segment recorded a full-year 2025 RPI of 95% – its first softening reading since 2017.
January 2026 renewal data suggests the broader market is moving faster. Guy Carpenter has pointed to accelerated softening at 1/1, with double-digit risk-adjusted reductions on loss-free property programmes.
Group chief executive Alex Maloney (pictured above) described the period as "a positive start to 2026, holding fast to our core principle of active cycle management."
He credited the revenue uplift to earnings flowing through from prior-year growth, and said the group remained on track to meet full-year guidance.
Insurance segment premiums jumped 12% to US$257.4 million. Lancashire said the increase offset a planned reduction in inwards property retrocession within reinsurance.
Maloney pointed to "very significant geopolitical volatility leading to wider economic uncertainty," but said Lancashire's Middle East exposure sits within its risk appetite.
The reassurance comes against a tense backdrop. Lloyd's activated its Major Event Response Group earlier this year, stress-testing aviation, marine, energy and political violence books – all lines Lancashire writes.
Guy Carpenter has put industry-wide land-based war and political violence exposures in the region at US$70 billion to US$80 billion, with marine hull values above US$45 billion.
Lancashire plans to merge Syndicates 3010 and 2010 under Syndicate 3010 from the 2027 year of account, subject to Lloyd's approval. The move follows its acquisition of 100% of Syndicate 2010's underwriting capacity for the 2026 year.
Senior leadership is also turning over. Rachel Sabbarton has succeeded John Spence as chief executive of the Lloyd's operation. Jennifer Wilson has taken over from Hayley Johnston in Bermuda.
The group reaffirmed its 2026 outlook: a stable top line and a return on equity in the high teens.
