Awwal 07, 1432, Feb 10, 2011, SPA -- Insurer Catlin Group Ltd reported a smaller than expected drop in full-year profit after a strong underwriting performance helped it absorb $218 million in natural disaster claims, according to Reuters. Pretax profit at the Bermuda-based company fell a third to $406 million compared with $373 million penciled in by analysts, according to the company's calculation of consensus expectations. Catlin shares were up 2.2 percent at 394.3 pence by 0925 GMT, making it the second-biggest riser in the FTSE 250 share index and outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 insurance index, which was 1.6 percent lower. "The numbers are pretty good, about 10 percent ahead of what I was looking for, even with all the losses they have had," said analyst Joy Ferneyhough at brokerage Execution Noble. Catlin said strong underwriting profits from non-catastrophe related businesses helped it cope with a surge in natural disaster claims after earthquakes in New Zealand and Chile, and floods in Australia. They also partly offset a drop of $207 million, or 50 percent, in Catlin's investment returns as it prioritised low-risk assets amid economic uncertainty. Chief Executive Stephen Catlin said the company was not bidding for Chaucer, the Lloyd's of London rival that has received approaches from suitors including private equity tycoon Guy Hands, and was unlikely to make any acquisitions in 2011. "It may be that we find something, but if we do it will most likely be outside London and I doubt it will happen this year, because prices are too high at the moment," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. Insurers and reinsurers worldwide are counting the cost of a string of natural disasters last year, contrasting with a relative lack of such events in 2009. Zurich Financial Services, Europe's No.4 insurer by market value, said on Thursday higher catastrophe claims were partly responsible for a 13 percent drop in annual profit. Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer, has estimated total insured losses over the first half of 2010 alone were $70 billion, exceeding the total for all of 2009. Catlin's better-than-expected 2010 profit also reflected a $144 million contribution from reserves set aside in previous years against losses that never materialised. Catlin is raising its 2010 dividend 6 percent to 26.5 pence per share.
