Beazley (BEZ.L)
Beazley is a specialist insurer that protects businesses against complex, high-stakes risks like cyber attacks, professional errors, and natural disasters.
Is Beazley a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Strong expertise in niche, high-value insurance markets. Worth weighing: Earnings have seen a recent dip. Below, we lay out what it does, what its numbers mean, and the honest risks, so you can decide for yourself.
Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Beazley actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Beazley fell as much as −21% from a high to a later low. Drops of this size are a normal part of owning a share - worth knowing in advance, so a dip doesn't come as a shock.
Worst peak-to-trough fall in the daily closing price over the period we hold. Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
Beazley becomes the dominant global player in specialist risk.
A fundamental shift in how businesses manage their own risks.
What does Beazley do?
Think of Beazley as the insurer for the things that keep business owners awake at night, such as data breaches or major legal claims. Client premiums are pooled and invested while the firm waits to see whether any claims need paying out. What really matters here is the gap between the premiums they collect and the actual cost of the claims they end up settling.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and quality, and weakest on growth.
- ✓Pays a dividend - about 1.9% a year
- ✓Very profitable - turns about 15% of sales into profit
- ·Low P/E of 12 vs last year's earnings
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- ✓Strong return on shareholder money (ROE 19%)
- Momentum screens high (73/100)
- Strong expertise in niche, high-value insurance markets
- High return on equity suggests efficient management
- Lower volatility compared to the broader market
- Growth screens low (28/100)
- A sudden spike in large-scale natural disasters
- Increased regulatory pressure on the insurance industry
- Cyber threats evolving faster than insurance models can predict
What do Beazley's numbers mean?
Does Beazley pay a dividend?
Yes - Beazley currently pays a dividend of about 1.9% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.
What do the numbers say about Beazley's dividend?
There's no rating here, and we don't judge whether the dividend will continue - that would be advice. Here are the figures income investors usually look at, and what each one means, so you can weigh it up yourself.
Figures are from the latest available data and can be distorted by one-off results. Past payments don't predict future ones, and a dividend can be cut at any time. This lays out the numbers to help you understand them - it is not a view on what will happen.
When does Beazley report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Beazley is next scheduled to report on about 2026-08-05 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
Each quarter a company reports its results against what analysts expected. ‘Beating’ or ‘missing’ is about that expectation, not whether the business is doing well in absolute terms.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Reported vs expected earnings per share (EPS) from published results; the expectation is the analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates that can move.
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What are the scenarios for Beazley?
An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros and cons of Beazley?
How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Strong expertise in niche, high-value insurance markets
- High return on equity: How much profit the company makes for each £1 shareholders have put in. Higher usually means a more efficient business. suggests efficient management
- Lower volatility compared to the broader market
- Earnings have seen a recent dip
- Revenue growth: How fast the company's sales grew versus a year ago. is currently quite flat
- Business is highly sensitive to unpredictable global events
- A sudden spike in large-scale natural disasters
- Increased regulatory pressure on the insurance industry
- Cyber threats evolving faster than insurance models can predict
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A sustained period of massive, industry-wide insurance losses
- A major change in the company's underwriting strategy
Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →
This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.