Lloyd’s Advent syndicate 780, which is backed by Advent Capital Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings, is likely to be see some of its business transferred to Brit – also ultimately owned by Fairfax, with the rest put into run-off. The syndicate had already decided to pull out of hull and cargo lines, but hoped to continue to write some marine business, including liability and specie.
The syndicate, which writes a wide portfolio of insurance and reinsurance business, said there were considerable strategic challenges facing it in an extremely competitive marketplace.
Syndicate 780 generated GWP of $271.2m last year, of which $24.5m was in marine, aviation & transport (MAT). MAT booked a loss of $15.0m out of a syndicate net technical result of minus $46.0m (2016: minus $0.7m) and a combined ratio of 126%. Advent had not made an underwriting profit for the past three years, with the MAT and property segments performing poorly.
Advent was hurt by the three major Atlantic hurricanes and the California wildfires of 2017, which added 18.3pp to the combined ratio. Advent’s marine business is headed up by James Bavin. William Beveridge is chief underwriting officer for the syndicate and also its CEO.
Lloyd’s has issued two warnings this year to underwriters, stating that the current situation of unsustainable pricing cannot be allowed to continue, and warning that some of the poorer performers risked being barred from operating in the sector.