STRONG NUMBERS FROM ALLIED WORLD

Switzerland-based Allied World Assurance Co (AWAC) has booked net income of $314.5m for the first half, up from $102.4m in the same period last year, on gross written premiums (GWP) of $1.33bn, up from $1.08bn. Reinsurance made up $560m of GWP, US insurance contributed $470m, and International Insurance added $297m. The overall combined ratio for the half was 85.2% – down from 109.6% in H1 2011 – with US insurance reporting 97.3% in H1 2012 (109.3% H1 2011), reinsurance 84.3% (105.8%), and International Insurance 63.5% (116.5%). Prior year reserve releases cut the combined ratio by 9.8pp in H1 2012, compared with a 14.7pp reduction in H1 2011. For Q2, net income was $96.4m, up from $93.8m in Q2 2011.