Bermuda-based Lancashire believes Hurricane Isaac, which blew through the Gulf of Mexico last week won’t affect their considerable offshore energy business.“It’s very early days but it hasn’t looked like it has affected anything,” said Richard Brindle, CEO of Lancashire. For the first half of 2012, the company’s energy business totalled $167.8 million in gross premiums, up ten percent over the first six months in 2011.In an interview with The Royal Gazette, Mr Brindle along with CFO Elaine Whelan, reviewed the company’s view on Bermuda, the recent move of its tax base to the UK and their plan to wait out the industry’s down cycle.Lancashire, part of Bermuda’s class of 2005, focuses on writing offshore energy, property catastrophe (a line for which they have recently hired an underwriter in Bermuda), marine and aviation.They also write political risk/terrorism and are starting to focus on underwriting satellite business, planning to ramp up that line “in a modest way”.In July last year, Lancashire announced it was moving its tax base to the UK. Under the UK’s Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) regime, which becomes effective for Lancashire in January 2013, the company is exempt from the rules for three years.“We redomiciled because we think it’s an appropriate thing to do,” explained Mr Brindle. “It means we pay some more tax in the UK but it seems at time of economic crisis there, it was a good thing to do. It was very well received by the Treasury in the UK — the fact that we were the first decent size company to take up the offer to move back under the new rules.”Ms Whelan added that it was a move to help Lancashire keep its speed to market.“It allows us to make group decisions in the UK, meaning that we’ve always prided ourselves on being fast and nimble in our decision making and get into the market quickly and this allows us to be even faster,” she said.But allaying any concerns that this announcement signalled a move out of Bermuda, Mr Brindle said the company, with around 40 employees here, half of whom are Bermudian, is here for the long term.“It doesn’t in any way change our commitment to Bermuda,” he said. “We write all of our property cat reinsurance and our retro business from Bermuda.” He added that the office here houses all of the firm’s modellers, actuaries and its finance department.“Our commitment to Bermuda is indefinite and unconditional.”The company, which reported a $60.6 million pre-tax profit in the second quarter 2012, ceased underwriting direct property and facultative (D&F) business in 2011, citing depressed pricing.Contrary to some of its contemporaries, the company is frank about rates firming up, or not firming up, in any line of business.“I think there are a lot of overly optimistic chat out there,” said Mr Brindle. “Our take on the market is that it’s flat to down.”Lancashire, he says, will quietly manage the down cycle, waiting for a better pricing environment while being “disciplined and patient”.“Year after year it’s harder and harder to make your budgeted returns but that’s absolutely the last time to lose your discipline as far as plunging into new lines of business, opening masses of offices and doing a lot of things that companies do,” said Mr Brindle. “We will really ramp up again when a big market event happens and until then we just have to be patient.”In light of recent acquisition activity within the industry, including Validus’s $623 million purchase of Flagstone Re, does Lancashire have its eye on any potential purchases? Mr Brindle’s answer was firmly in the negative.“No,” he said. “We’re happy doing our own thing.”