The combined ratio – a measure of claims and expenses as a proportion of premiums – improved from 91.4 per cent to 85.2 per cent. “We haven’t been close to that [level] for a couple of decades,” Neal said.
Lloyd’s also benefited from better returns on its £100bn investment book, which yielded 3 per cent as interest rates rose, compared with less than 1 per cent a few years ago. Neal predicted that the yield would rise to closer to 4 per cent.