Fewer disasters put insurer Amlin back in the black

Lloyd's of London insurer Amlin bounced back into profit thanks to fewer catastrophes this year than last and also revealed it paid tax at a rate of barely more than 8 per cent.

Although Amlin is in the FTSE 100 and based in London, it has a strong Bermudian arm where it writes large chunks of its business.

For the six months to June it made a profit of £184.5m, compared with a loss last time around of £192.3m. Those losses followed the Costa Concordia shipping disaster, as well as earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan.

Amlin's chief executive, Charles Philipps, defended the tax rate of 8.4 per cent, down from 21.2 per cent last year.

"We bore losses last year so the tax loss is carried forward, and secondly profits generated in Bermuda are tax free," he said. "We clearly do not shy away from paying tax on our UK profits."

Amlin's combined ratio was 84 per cent. that means it made a profit of 16p on every pound of premiums paid. This compares with a combined ratio of 122 per cent for the same period a year ago.