"勞伊茲發表上半年財報"

該保險公司受到今年自然災害不多的幫助。

倫敦的勞伊茲保險公司寫下上半年獲利15.3億英鎊（24.8億美元）的紀錄。這和去年2011年上半年截然不同，當時該公司損失6.97億英鎊（11.3億美元），絕大部分是因為日本地震和海嘯的索賠。勞伊茲保險公司代表告訴記者，今年保險索賠減少了三分之一。

勞伊茲保險公司是世界上最大的保險公司之一，從17世紀後期就開始從事保險業務。又因英國是很大的航海型國家，當時許多生意人和商人都想替他們的船隻投保災難險。勞伊茲保險公司作為替船隻投保的最佳企業，建立了商譽，從那時開始，它的業務範圍拓展到其他不同類型的保險。

首席執行長查理．沃德表示他對數據感到很滿意，但也補充說，還有許多挑戰即將到來，特別是歐元區的債務危機。「對我們來說是個挑戰，但也提供了機會。我們從事與風險相關的產業，幫助人們風險管理。在歐洲的希臘和西班牙，人們仍需要管理他們的資產，而我們就是要來幫助他們的。」他說。

(Business) Lloyds Post Half-Year Profits

The insurers have been helped by a lack of natural disasters this year.

Lloyds of London, the insurance market, recorded half-year profits of 1.53 billion pounds (US$2.48). Thats a big change from the first half of 2011, when the group made a loss of 697 million pounds (US$1.13 billion), largely due to claims resulting from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. A Lloyds representative told reporters that insurance claims were down by one-third this year.

Lloyds is one of the worlds largest insurers, and it has been in business since the late 17th century. As Britain was a great seafaring nation, there were lots of merchants and businessmen who wanted to insure their ships against disaster. Lloyds built a reputation for being the best place to insure ships, and since then, its business has expanded to cover many other forms of insurance.

Chief executive Richard Ward said he was happy with the figures, but added that there are many challenges around the corner, most notably the eurozone debt crisis.It presents a challenge for us, but it also provides an opportunity for us. We are in the business of risk, of helping people manage their risk. On the continent, in Greece and Spain, people still need to manage their assets and we are here to help them, he said.

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