Lloyd's posts loss in worst ever catastrophe year

Lloyd’s has reported a £516m loss for 2011 in its worst catastrophe claim year on record.

The loss lies in stark contrast to the £2.195bn profit made in 2010.

The market paid out £12.9bn in claims, £4.6bn of which were catastrophe claims, the largest amount in Lloyd’s 324 year history.

The combined operating ratio came in at 106.8%, a 13 point slide on 2010 (93.3%).

The loss follows a series of major catastrophes last year including flooding in Australia in January, the second earthquake in New Zealand in February, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March and the floods in