LONDON (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based Hiscox Ltd., the third-biggest insurer at the Lloyd's of London market, said first-half profit rose 29 percent on higher premium income.

Pretax profit for the six months to June 30 rose to £141.4 million ($231.5 million) from £109.2 million a year earlier, the company said yesterday in a statement, beating the £107 million median estimate from six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Gross premiums written rose to £906 million from £639.4 million a year earlier, Hiscox said.

The company was profiting "from the high catastrophe rates in a large part of our account, whilst keeping our tinder dry on the non-catastrophe business and focusing on our specialist areas in which we have competitive advantages", chairman Robert Hiscox said in the statement.

The financial crisis and losses on Hurricanes Ike and Gustav in 2008 eroded capital in the insurance industry and boosted premium rates for non-life insurance this year. Hiscox, which insures assets from classic cars to oil refining equipment and provides cover against marine piracy, said in June it planned to increase capacity at its main sales unit, Syndicate 33, by a third.

"For the next year or two, the focus really is on developing a profitable presence in the US," chief executive officer Bronek Masojada said in a telephone interview yesterday. "We'll make money in America, but it'll be some time," he said. Hiscox now employs about 200 people in the US following an expansion programme, he added.

Net income rose to £122.1 million from £84.4 million in the same period, the company said.

Hiscox increased its interim dividend to 4.5 pence per share from 4.25 pence per share. The stock rose 1.6 percent to 330.6 pence in London trading yesterday, giving the company a market value of more than £1.2 billion.