Company results
Admiral battens down the hatches
Admiral has been the darling of the stock market for a number of years but, despite record pre-tax profits, its share price took a tumble last week. Chinwe Akomah finds out why.
Post history - 20 years ago: Mortgage losses may hit £900m
Looking back through Post's back catalogue paints a unique picture of more than 150 years of insurance news, as this article from 20 years ago reveals.
Omega points to H1 catastrophes following early losses
Record industry-wide catastrophe losses have been blamed by Lloyd’s insurer Omega for an after-tax loss of $44.5m (£27.2m) in the first half of 2011.
Polish insurer PZU sees profits rise after restructure
PZU SA, Poland’s largest insurer has posted profits up 33% after major restructuring.
Irish insurer FBD reports a return to profitability
Irish insurer FBD has reported pre-tax profits of €20.5m for the six months ended 30 June 2011.
IAG remains disappointed by UK performance
“Disappointing” was the word repeatedly used by Australian giant IAG about its struggling UK business, dominated by Equity Red Star at Lloyd’s that has been ravaged by bodily injury claims.
Hardy's catastrophe losses still 'uncertain'
Specialist Bermuda-based Lloyd’s insurer Hardy Underwriting has said catastrophe losses added 30 points to its combined ratio and warned revisions of estimates could paint an even worse picture.
Market update - High net worth: Time to raise rates in HNW?
Rates in the high net worth market are failing to reflect the risks posed, despite high claims costs. Chinwe Akomah reports on a sector that is starting to come under pressure to deliver results.
Ecclesiastical achieves 96% combined operating ratio
Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical has reported a UK and Ireland combined operating ratio in underwriting of 96%.
Ecclesiastical hit with £419m catastrophe costs
Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical has managed to make a pre-tax profit of £15.6m despite a £7.6m loss in the first half of the year and catastrophe claims costs of £419m.
Admiral unveils plans to expand US business
Admiral has defended its £90.7m net ancillary income claiming referral fees played a minor part in profit and have branded personal injury lawyers’ as the “root cause” of the problem.
Ageas states commitment to commercial lines
Speaking following the release of its half year results for 2011, which saw the insurer report a profit of £23.7m, Barry Smith, chief executive of Ageas UK, told Post that whilst the growth in commercial is “encouraging” there is still a lot more to do.
Ageas UK reports £23.7m H1 insurance profit
Ageas UK has reported total income up 84.5% to £882.0m for the first six months of 2011 compared to same period 2010.
ACI helps Amlin France GWP double but group reports £192.3m loss
Amlin France doubled its gross written premiums for the first half of 2011 compared to 2010, but over the group reported losses of £192.3m before tax (H1 2010: £107m profit).
Amlin posts £192.3m loss
Lloyd’s insurer Amlin blamed catastrophe claims of £314.3m (H1 20010 £127.1m) that added 34 percentage points to its combined ratio for a pre-tax loss of £192.3m (H1 2010: profit of £107.6m).
Charles Taylor Consulting releases interim results
Charles Taylor Consulting has released its interim results for the first six months of 2011.
QBE eyes European acquisitions despite drop in COR for H1 results
Australian insurer QBE has confirmed it is interested in mainland European acquisitions as it reveals its first half results.
Cat claims push QBE COR out to 95.7%
QBE has reported gross written premiums up by 30% to $8.9bn (£5.4bn) for its 2011 half year results.
Allianz’s COR increases to 96.1%
Allianz’s combined written ratio has depreciated slightly to 96.2% (2010 - 95.3%) for its 2011 half year results.
Infrassure Switzerland and Liechtenstein sees capitalisation remain strong
AM Best has affirmed the financial strength ratings of A- Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings of “a-” of Infrassure(Switzerland) and its affiliate, Infrassure Vaduz (Liechtenstein). The outlook for all ratings remains stable.
Bupa sees improved European performance in H1
Healthcare provider Bupa has reported half year revenue for Europe and North America of £1,464.4m, which contributed 37% to the group revenues of £3,929m.
Zurich UK warns of commercial lines 'market correction' if rates do not rise
Zurich UK says raising personal line premiums by 18% for the past two years and commercial rates by 3% helped it to a half year operating profit of £71m, up £8m or 13% on the same period last year.
Kiln 2010 account affected by catastrophes
R J Kiln & Co, part of the Tokio Marine Group, has released updated forecasts for the 2009 and 2010 years of account.
Zurich results show a solid performance
Swiss insurer Zurich has announced a half year operating profit 7% down on 2010 at £2.1bn but said its second quarter was 7% up at $1.3bn.