Company results
Admiral sees £33m Ogden blow in first half
Admiral has reported a hit of £33m from Ogden in the first half of 2019, with a total estimated hit of between £50m and £60m.
The NED Blog: The importance of the audit committee
Challenging the executive management team in terms of the decisions they make is a key responsibility of being a non-executive director. Michael Gaughan explains that one of the aspects of the role is to sit on various Board Committees to look at…
This month in Post: Insurtechs, results and discount rate
London seems strangely quiet in the summer, most people are away on holiday, and out of office replies are basically a given.
Aviva UK profit dips as result of restructuring but excludes £45m Ogden hit
Aviva’s UK general insurance business delivered an operating profit of £172m for the first half of 2019, though the result excludes the £45m expense of strengthening reserves following last month’s discount rate decision.
Zurich posts a 144% profit increase in H1
Zurich UK GI has seen an increase of 144% in operating profits for the first half of 2019.
Ageas UK CEO slams government over discount rate review
Ageas UK CEO Andy Watson has criticised the government’s handling of the recent discount rate review, saying decisions made by some insurers to release reserves in anticipation of a higher rate were “a reasonable thing to do.”
Ageas sees payout for refusing to gamble on Ogden
Ageas UK saw a £27.6m bounce as a result of the discount rate change, offsetting large motor losses for the half.
ERS reports a decrease in COR following discount rate change
Specialist motor insurer ERS has reported a profit of £3.1m, a decrease on £5.6m for the same period last year.
Allianz commercial COR slips
Allianz UK has seen commercial lines underwriting profit slip in the first half.
RSA to ‘remain vigilant’ on London Market business
RSA UK & International CEO Scott Egan hailed progress in the first half of 2019, but said the insurer will remain “vigilant” where it comes to its London Market business.
Direct Line profit slips 10% in H1
Direct Line saw profit slide 10.2% for H1 compared to the first half of 2018.
Sabre GWP drops in H1 from ‘intense competitive pressure’
Sabre’s combined operating ratio remained in its target of within the mid-70s range, while premiums shrank 7% in the first half of 2019.
Hiscox posts H1 profit of $168m, despite higher volume of claims
Hiscox has reported a profit before tax of $168m for the first quarter of 2019, up from a profit of $162.7m on the same period last year, despite a higher volume of claims.
Aston Lark poised for further acquisitions after posting profits in 2018
Aston Lark made a profit during its transformational year.
This week: Rolling in it
Thursday seemed an appropriate day for insurtech Hippo to announce the outcome of its latest funding round – with temperatures reaching 38°C in places, the urge to emulate the mud-wallowing tendencies of its namesake animal became more and more tempting.
Go Compare profits continue to fall
Go Compare parent, Goco Group, saw its pre-tax profits fall 52% year-on-year to £7.6m, as revenues from its core price comparison site also slumped.
Date set for Covéa legal action as Scor CEO hails ‘strong performance’ in H1 2019
Scor’s property and casualty division has seen growth in H1 2019, while legal action against Covéa and its CEO and chairman Thierry Derez will continue in 2020.
Investment returns drive Beazley half-year profit as it strengthens cat reserves
Beazley saw double-digital premium growth in the first six months of the year, posting a pre-tax profit of $166.4m (£133.9m) largely driven by “exceptional” investment returns.
This week: Gaukward moment for insurers following Ogden change
It was around Spring when office chat turned to the trend of insurers bolstering full year accounts through claims reserve releases.
Broker Network parent gears up for new round of acquisitions
Broker Network’s parent Bravo Group is set to agree an £80m loan facility with a major global bank that will spur its next round of acquisitions, beginning in the second half of 2019.
Analysis: RSA UK&I - getting back on track?
Following two consecutive years of poor underwriting results in the UK, RSA has taken decisive action to restructure its business and shrink premiums
Blog: Aviva's plan to split its UK business is more of a reset than a shake-up
This week Aviva has been tipped to unveil a new structure which will again see its UK general insurance and life/pensions businesses split. Jonathan Swift reflects on why this should not come as a surprise as history dictates the insurer has never been…
This week in Post: Conference, cuts and conservative leadership
This week, along with the rest of the team, I attended the British Insurance Brokers’ Association conference. I knew it would be an action-packed week - but nothing could prepare me for what was ahead.
RSA's hard line on underwriting ‘likely to yield better result’
RSA will likely return to better than expected result this year after making £260m of cuts to business lines, analysts say.