Lloyd's of London insurer Amlin this week predicted full-year earnings were on track to come in much higher than forecasts after the benign 2005 hurricane season.

The London-listed insurer, which opened up a new operation in Bermuda earlier this year, said its gross written premiums were up 25 percent over the first nine months of the year, while claims had come in at a record low of just 10.5 percent.

The company said that if its new Bermuda operations were taken into account , its loss ratio would fall to just 9.9 percent. The previous low was in 2003, when claims came in at 11.9 percent of premiums.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, Charles Philipps, Amlin's chief executive, said: "2006 performance to date has exceeded expectations owing to an exceptionally low level of claims in a year when we have increased premiums, particularly for catastrophe-exposed business."

Amlin experienced rapid premium growth in its company's non-marine division but also saw more modest rate increases in the aviation and marine markets. The only division where rates fell was the group's UK commercial division.

The Independent newspaper said analysts moved to upgrade their forecasts for Amlin's full-year results, while Bridgewell also upgraded its overall recommendation on the stock from underweight to neutral.

Shares in the company rose more than 5.3 percent to close at 305.5p, giving the group a market value of $1.63 billion. The shares have now risen more than 22 percent since the start of the year.