Amlin Plc, the largest Lloyd’s of London insurer by market value, returned to profit in 2012 as catastrophe claims fell.The re/insurance heavyweight reported a healthy profit before tax of £264.2 million ($398.5 million) in 2012. That missed the £277 million average estimate of 17 analysts polled by Bloomberg.The results do mark a significant improvement from 2011 when the company reported a loss before tax of £193.8 million ($292.3 million).However, the London-based firm did not follow its market rivals Beazley, Hiscox and Lancashire in announcing a special dividend.“In 2012, Amlin returned to robust profitability and generated a strong return on equity,” Amlin CEO, Charles Philipps said in the statement. “Recent growth is building earnings momentum and with profits from our non-catastrophe businesses improving, we are well positioned to continue to expand into more favourable market conditions.”The insurer returned to profit after catastrophe claims fell even after Hurricane Sandy, which struck the East Coast of the US in October. The firm paid £141.6 million ($213.5 million) for Sandy, which was part of large catastrophe claims totaling £152.3 million ($229.7 million) last year, down from £501 million ($755.6 million) in 2011.The company said it also benefited from “a strong overall underwriting result,” helped by improving trading conditions such as for catastrophe reinsurance.Total income climbed to £2.14 billion ($3.22 billion) in 2012, compared with £1.98 billion ($2.98 billion) the previous year, the company said. It plans to pay a full-year dividend of 24 pence a share, up from 23 pence a share.“In 2012, the group delivered a strong financial performance despite the losses incurred from Hurricane Sandy and a challenging economic environment,” Mr Philipps said.