Bermudian-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd has reported net income of $56.7 million in the third quarter of the year, a drop from $86.3 million in the prior year quarter.

Underwriting income fell by 31.1 per cent to $33 million, while net investment income was $79.6 million, up from $77.9 million in the prior year quarter.

The combined ratio for the quarter was 95.2 per cent, up from 92.7 per cent in the same quarter in 2023.

Gross written premiums in the quarter were $1.11 billion, up 13.6 per cent on the 2023 third quarter figure of $982.7 million.

Net written premiums were $673.6 million, up 7.2 per cent on the prior year quarter.

Mark Cloutier, executive chairman and group chief executive officer, said: “Aspen has once again delivered strong performance across our underwriting and investment portfolios, and from Aspen Capital Markets.

“For the nine months ended September 30, we saw gross written premium grow by 15.8 per cent to $3.6 billion (2023: $3.1 billion), demonstrating the attractiveness of our platform and the relevance of our business to clients and trading partners for both insurance and reinsurance.

“Aspen Capital Markets generated fee income of $112 million, an increase of 22 per cent, while net investment income grew 15.2 per cent to $239 million. The resulting operating income of $288 million represents an increase of 6.5 per cent over the prior year.”

Mr Cloutier added: “In a year challenged by a number of industrywide major loss events, these results are driven by Aspen’s expert and disciplined underwriting, consistent investment performance and a growing contribution from Aspen Capital Markets, resulting in an annualised return on average equity of 17.6 per cent and an adjusted combined operating ratio of 88.2 per cent.

“Looking forward, we believe we have the earnings engines, culture, market standing, and risk management that positions us very well to continue to deliver much needed solutions to our customers and trading partners, while also achieving sustainable growth and consistent returns for our shareholders across a broad spectrum of industry loss event sets and cycles.

“In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, our thoughts are with the communities affected, and we remain committed to playing our part in the recovery and rebuild.

“As a result of our careful and balanced approach to managing our risk portfolio, Aspen’s exposure to Hurricanes Helene and Milton are limited and fall within expectations.

“Hurricane Milton, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, is expected to generate claims in the range of $40-$60 million, based on our modelled loss projections and exposure analysis, at an industry loss estimate of $30 billion, and will be included in the company’s fourth quarter results.”