Hardy Underwriting Bermuda Ltd. plans to buy back about 15 percent of its own shares after it rejected a second takeover bid from Lloyd’s of London insurance market rival Beazley plc.

The Bermuda-based re/insurer will begin the repurchase if Beazley decides not to pursue its takeover efforts.

In a statement released on Friday, Hardy said the scale of the share buyback would depend of prevailing market conditions.

The company added that it had received approval from its board of directors in May this year to buy back 7.8 million shares - or almost 15 percent of ordinary share capital.

“At that time Hardy had no specific intention of utilising this authority but regarded such a facility as an appropriate tool to allow it to purchase shares if appropriate,” the statement added.

Hardy stated that the repurchases would be financed using the company’s internal resources and that the common shares would be held in treasury.

The buyback programme “can be effected without constraining Hardys growth objectives for 2011 or negatively impacting its dividend strategy”, the company stated.

On November 12, Hardy’s board turned down a £171 million ($268 million) cash offer from Beazley, the fifth-biggest Lloyd’s insurer, which valued the company at about 1.4 times the company’s book value.

Hardy also revealed that a third party it did not name had agreed to provide capital to support its underwriting unit at Lloyd’s, Syndicate 382.

This support will amount to 7.5 percent capacity participation for 2011, the company added.

Hardy added that the move enhanced its “ability to grow the business without the need to raise additional equity capital and is designed to facilitate mid-year increases in underwriting should those opportunities arise”.

There will also be opportunities to develop a strategic partnership with the third party capital provider, Hardy said.

The statement added from the end of this year onward, Hardy would disclose its margins over best estimate reserves, which will be a requirement of the new European Union regulation regime for insurers, known as Solvency II.

Hardy added that it had never in the company’s 35-year history been necessary to create a charge on a current year to cover a prior-year reserve deficiency.

Hardy chief executive officer Barbara Merry said: “Our continued reserve strength and ability to secure alternative sources of capital puts Hardy in a strong position to optimise opportunities both in the short term and as and when there is a general hardening of conditions.

“The more explicit disclosures of reserve adequacy that will be required by Solvency II will serve to improve levels of professionalism and transparency across the industry and Hardy is committed to meeting these standards.”