Profit slides as Beazley eyes Bermuda amid Zurich £8bn takeover
One of the UK’s biggest listed insurance firms suffered a slide in profit as the company prepares to be acquired by Swiss giant Zurich.
FTSE 100 insurer Beazley posted pre-tax profit of $1.14bn (£870m) for the year to end December 2025, a fall of around a fifth compared to the previous year amid a softening in the insurance market and a rise in global volatility.
The Lloyd’s of London underwriter, a pioneer in the cyber insurance market, has made a deliberate pullback in the competitive US cyber market as “the cyber threat environment became ever more dangerous”.
However, the US cyber market, which accounts for 9 per cent of its portfolio, is believed to be operating at a loss. With average renewal prices decreasing on the other side of the Atlantic, the board stated it was “holding firm on rate and terms and conditions and not following the market down”.
The insurer is now focused on “acting decisively in areas of structural opportunity” as it prepares to pivot into Bermuda, aiming to reach $400m in written premiums by 2030.
Bermuda is the world leader in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and is also one of the leading jurisdictions for captive insurance.
Beazley’s multi-strand strategy covers alternative risk transfer for large corporates and captives, specialty reinsurance, including mortgage indemnity, selected specialty insurance classes, property reinsurance, and cyber ILS.
Going into 2026, the board also revealed it will bring “expert teams together to help businesses meet the trillion-dollar opportunity that the energy transition offers”.
Chief executive Adrian Cox said: “As we start 2026, we continue to see a similar pattern of competitive insurance pricing and global instability.
“In this environment, we remain resolutely focused on profitable underwriting and innovating into growth opportunities, particularly with our new Bermuda entity and insurance solutions for the energy transition.”
Zurich’s £8bn takeover
At the start of the week, Beazley agreed to accept Zurich Insurance’s deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Beazley shareholders will be entitled to receive a total of 1,335p per Beazley share, which puts the cost of the deal at around $10.9bn (£8.14bn).
This deal followed two previous rejections in January. Zurich had valued the FTSE 100 group at about £7.7bn, but Beazley rejected the offer, saying the board considered it “materially undervalues” the firm’s future prospects.
On Monday, the Swiss insurer said the Beazley takeover is key to its strategy to become the global leader in speciality insurance. It said it will combine the speciality business, which will be headquartered in London, while leveraging Beazley’s dominant presence at Lloyd’s.
However, unlike other insurance industry mergers, Zurich has committed to maintaining the Beazley brand and will retain its leadership team and talent for the combined business.
Erin Sims, financial services senior analyst at RSM UK, said, “This purchase gives Zurich an expansive footprint in Lloyd’s market…. it will be interesting to see whether Beazley continues business as usual or pivots into other lines under Zurich direction.”