Brit Insurance’s full-year, after-tax profit surged 36.2 per cent to $651.8 million, helped by a strong performance from its growing Bermudian-based reinsurance unit.

The London-headquartered group, which is owned by Fairfax Financial, wrote gross premium of $3.09 billion, an increase of 3.8 per cent over 2024 at constant rates of exchange.

The group sees growth opportunities for Brit Re, which has been based in Bermuda for eight years.

Martin Thompson, group chief executive officer, said: “I am pleased with how we executed against our plan to expand our presence in Bermuda this year.

“Through Brit Re we are building a long-term Bermudian reinsurance platform (with meaningful scale).

“The platform is giving us access to business and talent outside of London while benefiting from the Brit brand and our deep underwriting expertise.

“The team in Bermuda have delivered a strong result in 2025 and we look forward to continuing the development of the platform in 2026 and beyond.”

In January, Brit Re announced it would start writing US and global property direct and facultative reinsurance out of Bermuda, with Tom Ayton, vice-president, property D&F, having relocated from London to head the offering.

The Brit Re team is led by Jonathan Stephenson, head of office.

Brit Re underwrites a diversified portfolio of property, casualty and specialty business both domestically and globally.

Brit Insurance reported a group 2025 combined ratio, after discounting, of 81.9 per cent, compared to 75.4 per cent in 2024, and an undiscounted combined ratio of 89.3 per cent.

Return on net tangible assets was 28.8 per cent, up from 25.8 per cent in 2024. The investment return was $586.5 million or 9 per cent, compared to 4.8 per cent in the previous year.

This is the first set of annual results of the reconstituted Brit Group, since the separation of Ki Financial on January 1, 2025.

“Although our results reflect the relatively benign loss environment in 2025, the unprecedented Los Angeles wildfires at the start of the year were another reminder that catastrophe exposure isn’t defined solely by windstorms in the second half,” Mr Thompson said.

“They also reinforced the importance of thoughtful portfolio construction, diversification and aggregation management and a diligent and efficient claims service to enable customers to get back on their feet when they need us most.

“Against the backdrop of a shifting market environment, we have continued to focus on building our position and reputation as a lead market.”

Mr Thompson added that while 2025 brought increasing pressure on both rate and terms, Brit believes that “attractive margins remain in many lines, and this is where we are choosing to deploy our capital and grow”.

“Looking ahead to 2026, our strategy remains unchanged. Our aspiration for the group is to be a long-term winner at Lloyd’s, supported by our clear strategic focus on lead underwriting and sustainable profitability.

“We are fortunate to have our ownership with Fairfax, which allows us to have a long-term mindset. In the near term, we remain focused on managing the cycle and delivering against our objectives, against the backdrop of a market which continues to become more competitive and challenging.”