Hamilton Insurance Group is cutting back exposure to property business and pursuing more selective growth in specialty and casualty lines as it braces for softer January reinsurance renewals.

Pina Albo, the group chief executive, told analysts that the Bermudian-based re/insurer was reallocating its capital towards business with better risk-adjusted returns, instead of pursuing premium growth for its own sake.

“We lean in when it’s the time to lean in,” Ms Albo said. “For example, we leant in on property when that market was strong, and then we’re leaning out on property when we see pressure on rates.”

Hamilton reported its third-quarter financial results on Friday. On its earnings call, executives went into detail on the strategy behind growth in specialty and casualty, alongside the pullback from large property accounts.

The company said property-catastrophe rates were under pressure after a relatively mild year for major insured losses. However, Ms Albo said it did not expect price reductions at the January 1 renewals to match those of the last renewal season.

“We don’t expect pricing to diminish as much as it did in the past renewal,” she said.

She added that the traditional reinsurance market is still disciplined and that terms, conditions, retentions and attachment points should stay broadly intact.

“So while pricing is coming down, we still think it’ll be adequate; there’ll just be less premium out there,” Ms Albo said.

Hamilton said it is still writing property cat business, although it is now less prominent in the group’s mix. Its Bermuda platform has expanded in casualty and specialty reinsurance, while its international segment has also grown specialty business and reduced property writings.

The shift has implications for the group’s investment portfolio. Craig Howey, Hamilton’s chief financial officer, said the move into longer-tail casualty and specialty business had contributed to an increase in asset duration to about 3.8 years, from roughly 3.1 to 3.2 years previously.

Management was also cautious on casualty, where re/insurers have are concerned that rates may not fully reflect loss-cost trends.

Hamilton Select, the group’s United States excess and surplus lines platform, has stopped writing medical professional liability business because of what management called persistently unacceptable pricing and terms.

In casualty reinsurance, the group plans more restrained growth after expanding selectively since late 2022, when pricing improved and some competitors were pulling back.

“While we enjoyed some nice targeted growth up to now in the casualty reinsurance lines, I think on a go-forward basis you’re going to see a much more tempered growth in casualty re,” Ms Albo said.

She said Hamilton would concentrate on those clients with strong underwriting, claims and pricing capabilities, and on programmes where insurers keep exposure on their own balance sheets.

The earnings call also provided more detail on the group’s reserve charge due to the Ukraine conflict. Hamilton said it conducted a specialty reserve review after receiving additional claims information, particularly involving aviation reinsurance and retrocession.

Mr Howey said there were long reporting lags for retrocession business and that confidentiality agreements and settlements could restrict information flowing through the market.

Hamilton also said it had reserved its full limit for the Ras Laffan energy-market loss, which it estimated cost the group $17 million. Management kept its underlying loss-ratio guidance for the year, saying that besides that event, the Bermuda segment’s result would have been in line with expectations.