Insurance company Lloyds of London said today that in 2010 it made a profit of £2.2 billion, despite the impact of "significant claims" resulting from natural disasters.

The company said that given the earthquakes that affected New Zealand and Chile and the floods in Australia, it had a "solid" set of results.

Lord Levene, Chairman of Lloyds of London, said that the financial services industry is "essential to Britain's economic recovery" and said that insurance played a "crucial role" in helping communities rebuild after disasters and crises.

With the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear concerns coming after (and exceeding) last year's disaster's the CEO of Lloyds of London, Dr Ward, said that these were "challenging times for insurers".

However he added, "We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected and we are working hard to make sure claims are dealt with swiftly so communities in Japan, New Zealand and Australia can rebuild and recover."

Dr Ward also expressed concern about new EU regulations on capital adequacy and risk management for insurers. While Dr Ward said the company was making good progress on implementing the Solvency II regulations, he said, "We must make sure this one piece of regulation doesn't do lasting damage to our international competitiveness - either for Lloyd's or the industry more widely."