Brit makes £7.6mn profit

Brit Insurance Holdings has reported a net profit of £7.6mn for 2002, compared to a loss of £89.8mn in the previous year. Gross written premiums were £662.7mn for 2002, an increase of 77.2% over 2001. The profit was mainly due to improved underwriting conditions across most lines of business. The company added that although there was some softening of rates in personal lines business and short-tail catastrophe business at the start of 2003, there was still a hardening of rates for small commercial risks such as property, professional indemnity, directors and officers liability and, particularly, employers liability and public liability.