Lloyd's has made an estimated loss of £5.23bn for the last three years of account. For the 1999 year it reported a loss of £1.95bn, up from its estimation of £1.67bn in November.
A Lloyd's spokesman said: "The 1999 final result was a combination of a very poor catastrophe record, premium rates at the bottom of a very deep industry down cycle and a continued deterioration in specific classes of business."
The latest projection for 2000 is a loss of £1.72bn. A very early indication for 2001 is a loss of £1.56bn, with the caveat that many policies are still active.
Lloyd's has also begun publishing its accounts on an annual basis, breaking its long-standing tradition of reporting results three years in arrears. On this basis, 2001 saw a loss of £3.11bn, while 2000 suffered a £1.2bn loss.
In January, the Chairman's Strategy Group (CSG) and management consultants Bain & Co recommended results were reported using the General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
Chairman Sax Riley said using annual accounting was "the first tangible manifestation of that desire for change". Lloyd's believes this will bring transparency and allow Lloyd's to be compared with its competitors.
