LONDON (Bloomberg) — Amlin Plc, the biggest insurer at Lloyd's of London, said first-half profit declined 39 percent as claims almost doubled.

Pretax profit fell to £107.6 million ($167 million) from £177.1 million a year earlier, the London-based company said in a statement yesterday. That almost matched the £108 million median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The cost of paying out claims rose to £541.5 million from £198.9 million in the same period in 2009.

"These results, after significant first-half catastrophe losses, again demonstrate the robustness of our business model," chief executive officer Charles Philipps said in the statement.

"We are well-positioned to take advantage of future growth opportunities."

Amlin, which insures ships, airplanes and oil rigs from the UK, France and Bermuda, boosted revenue this year after making acquisitions in the Netherlands and France.

Lloyd's insurers suffered higher-than-expected claims in the first half, after February's earthquake in Chile and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which began in April.

Amlin raised its first-half dividend to 7.2 pence a share from 6.5 pence in 2009. That beat the seven pence a share payout estimated by the analysts. Net income fell 49 percent to £84.5 million.

The biggest single claim in the first half was related to the Chilean earthquake, Amlin said. The insurer reduced its earthquake loss estimate to $132.3 million from $158.4 million because of additional reinsurance cover.

Earlier this year the company announced it would redomesticate its Bermuda unit to Switzerland. The company said the restructuring would have no operational impact on the Island unit, which became a branch of the Swiss company.