This Week…

Jonathan Rest

THE TRUE scale of the catastrophic start to 2010 was laid bare for all to see this week when Lloyd’s announced its pre-tax net claims from the two major loss events of the year. One Lime Street said it is expecting a hit to the tune of $1.4bn from the Chile earthquake and another $300m to $600m from Deepwater Horizon. Although the two events are not expected to have a significant effect on Lloyd’s capital, or cause exposure to the Central Fund, a potential $2bn loss reinforces predictions made by chief executive, Richard Ward, at last week’s Insurance Day Summit London 2010 will be the most challenging since he took on the role, particularly given this year’s Atlantic hurricane season is expected to see significantly above-average activity.