Ageas UK delivers good result Wednesday, 6 November 2013 The company has delivered an increase in overall net profit, up 5.6% to £73.7m Ageas UK delivers good result Announcing the 2013 nine month results, Andy Watson, chief executive of Ageas UK commented: ‘It is very pleasing to see improvements in our income, profit and combined ratio which incorporates the addition of our strongly performing Groupama acquisition and the relatively benign weather conditions year-to-date. Our promise to offer more products to more brokers remains important to us and we will continue to focus on supporting brokers through a difficult trading environment. The market remains competitive, especially in Motor where rates have decreased significantly. Our goal is to maintain our underwriting discipline and continue to write good and sustainable business, providing our customers with the high levels of service they have come to expect from Ageas.’ The company has delivered an increase in overall net profit, up 5.6% to £73.7m (£69.8m 9M 2012). This reflects a continuing desire to maintain pricing discipline, particularly in Motor; a prudent approach to protecting against volatile weather events, coupled with a decrease in their impact; and the inclusion of Groupama Insurance Company Limited. Total income was up 6.0% at £1,627.2m (9M 2012 £1,535.9m) with the inclusion of Groupama Insurance Company Limited offsetting a tough trading environment in Retail, and more generally in Motor where premiums are down 14% year-on-year across the market. There have been improvements in loss ratio in Motor and Travel, offset by increased expenses on a like for like basis. This is due to a focus on writing a more profitable mix of business and lower average premiums in line with the market trend. Commercial & Special Risks business has seen a four point combined ratio improvement. Ageas’s was awarded Insurance Company of the Year for the second year in a row at the bodyshop Awards. Ageas has also been shortlisted for a number of forthcoming awards at this year’s Insurance Times Awards including Personal Lines Insurer, Claims Initiative, Customer Service Initiative and Brand Campaign of the Year. Motor (Private Car and Commercial Vehicle) income rose slightly to £495.5m (9M 2012 £489.7m). Aligned with the current market trend, Ageas Insurance has seen lower average premiums but continues to maintain its pricing discipline, writing more business in its chosen segments. Total Motor policies now stand at a record 3.5 million. The acquisition of Groupama Insurance Company Limited has contributed £252.2m in GWP and £11.7m in net profit to the overall nine month results. The business adds a wider range of expertise and complementary products for the company’s strong broker base, reinforcing the strategy to increase the breadth and depth of products available to clients. As a result, the Optima and Exclusively range of products will continue to be available to brokers alongside Ageas’s existing products. The legal integration of Groupama Insurance Company Limited has now completed and its brand has been removed from the UK market in line with the acquisition agreement with Groupama SA. Tesco Underwriting, the Motor and Household insurance partnership with Tesco Bank, of which 50.1 per cent is owned by Ageas, generated GWP of £341.1m during the period (£474.1m 9M 2012). In a market environment of strong competition in Motor, Tesco Underwriting is focusing both on maintaining firm pricing discipline through the underwriting cycle and on its core Clubcard customers, improving the book’s risk profile. Net Profit, after minority interests, was £4.3m (9M 2012: £10.8m) reflecting the impact of reduced Motor average premiums and adverse prior year claims development related to small bodily injury claims. The introduction of stronger underwriting controls and recent positive indicators of lower current year loss ratio experience, are anticipated to deliver an improved result for the remainder of the year.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 22:44:41 +0000
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