LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Lloyd's of London said on

Monday it expected $2.3 billion in net losses caused by the

recent Los Angeles wildfires, as the insurance marketplace

reported a dip in underwriting profit for last year.

The estimated loss from the wildfires in January, which killed

more than two dozen people and destroyed or damaged more than

16,000 structures, follows an announcement by Germany's Munich

Re that it faced about 1.2 billion euros ($1.3

billion) in claims from the fires.

Hannover Re, another German reinsurer, forecast claims of

700 million euros while French insurer AXA estimated a

pre-tax impact of about 100 million euros.

"We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to those

affected by the California fires earlier this year. Although we

are still assessing the full impact, we do not expect this to be

a capital event," Burkhard Keese, Lloyd's chief financial

officer, said in a statement.

Lloyd's said the estimated losses were not included in its

results for 2024, which it released on Monday in a set of

preliminary numbers before its final full-year results are

published on March 20.

Keese described 2024 as an "excellent underwriting year" for

Lloyd's as gross written premiums rose 6.5% on a year-on-year

basis to 55.5 billion pounds, thanks primarily to growth in its

property and reinsurance divisions.

However, underwriting profit dropped to 5.3 billion pounds,

10% lower than the 5.9 billion pounds it reported for 2023.

Lloyd's said its combined ratio rose to 86.9%, up from 84%

in the previous year. The combined ratio is an industry measure,

with a reading below 100% meaning earnings from premiums are

higher than the amount paid out in claims.

Lloyd's is a commercial insurance and reinsurance market,

with more than 50 member companies.

($1 = 0.9234 euros)