Not a catastrophe by any means but pretax profits declined to 2.2 billion pounds from 3.9 billion the previous year, with huge disasters happening in the period, in the shape of major earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand and huge floods across wide areas of Australia. 

The financial year year has been tough with above average numbers of natural catastrophies.

There has also been the man made and very public disaster in the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig and resulting record spillage of crude oil into the surrounding ocean.

Lloyds have not put forward a figure for eventual exposure to Japanese claims caused by the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and possible nuclear reactor meltdown, which may cost the global Insurance industry somewhere in the region of £22 billion but it is early days regarding the total bill here.

This is against the backdrop of a stricken power plant that may never produce energy again and the efects of radiation to Fukushima in Japan and the surrounding area.