Company results
Ageas Retail posts falling revenue but rising profit for 2020
Ageas Retail, which includes the Ageas Direct and Rias brands, has reported an 11% drop in revenue to £76m in 2020 with volumes being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Graham Wright heads to Saga from WTW in pricing director role
Graham Wright has been named Saga Insurance pricing director, joining from Willis Towers Watson.
Lloyd’s ready to call time on underperforming syndicates as market delivers £1.4bn H1 profit
Time is running out for Lloyd’s syndicates that have been unable to profitably remediate their books of business, market executives signalled on Thursday as they reported £1.4bn in profits for the first half of the year.
PIB deals cost £92.8m in 2020
The cost of buying eight businesses and three books of business totalled £92.8m in 2020 for PIB Group, a filing at Companies House has revealed.
The top 30 European Insurers 2021: A turbulent time
The impact of Covid-19 saw the European non-life insurance market report a decline in gross written premium and profit after tax. Mathilde Jakobsen, director, analytics, Amsterdam, AM Best, analyses the numbers and reports on the movements in the ranking…
Ardonagh adds £900m to firepower as Ebitda rises and losses narrow
Ardonagh has posted a 33.4% rise in income and a 42.4% increase in Ebitda for the first half of 2021.
Adam Winslow hails progress at Aviva and promises more to come
Aviva has grown across all commercial lines of business and all sizes of brokers this year, UK and Ireland general insurance business CEO Adam Winslow told Post.
Aviva posts highest half year GWP in UK for a decade
Aviva has recorded £2.49bn of gross written premium in the UK for the first half of 2021 up 8% on the same period of last year as it swung back to operating profit.
Zurich UK P&C sees best first half COR in five years
Zurich UK has reported double-digit growth for the first half of 2021, led by SME and mid-market commercial business.
LV and Allianz saw £22m claims hit from floods and storms in July
The floods and storms across the UK last month cost Allianz and LV £15m and £7m respectively, Allianz CEO Jon Dye told Post.
Hiscox shifts cyber insurance stance as it posts $133m H1 profit
Hiscox is seeking to cut its reinsurance exposure to cyber-attacks and refocus its retail cyber insurance portfolio on smaller businesses amid the global surge in ransomware attacks.
'Unpleasant financial results' in store unless motor insurance market turns, says Sabre's Carter
The soft motor insurance market needs to turn sooner rather than later if some market players are to avoid “unpleasant financial results” in the years ahead, Sabre CEO Geoff Carter has warned.
Beazley touts cyber claims frequency reductions as it returns to profit
Underwriting action taken at Beazley towards the end of last year has cut cyber claims frequency in half, the insurer revealed on Friday as it reported a $167.3m (£121.8m) pre-tax profit for the first half of 2021.
Flood Re confident on lowering levy to £135m for next financial year
Flood Re is confident that its build back better proposals and reduced insurer levy will soon get government approval, CEO Andy Bord has confirmed, as he detailed plans for the organisation to buy lower limits in its own reinsurance programme.
Somerset Bridge Group posts loss but rising Ebitda ahead of sale
Somerset Bridge Group has reported a loss after tax of £42.4m for the year ended 31 December 2020 ahead of being snapped up by Bermuda reinsurer Arch Re.
Covid-19 pandemic drives Biba turnover down 36%
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association’s turnover fell by 36% in 2020, however, funds ticked up slightly to just over £4m in the period.
Operating losses worsen at UK General in 2020 as turnover falls
UK General Insurance has posted an operating loss before exceptional items of £7.4m for a 15-month period ended 30 June 2020, more than double the £3.2m deficit the year before.
MGA market trends to drive years of growth for independent program managers, says R&Q's Spiegel
Randall & Quilter expects its program management business to benefit from secular trends in the managing general agent market for at least the next five years, following a bumper growth year in 2020.
Ardonagh recouped £22.75m from Bennetts sale
Ardonagh's first quarter results have revealed it was paid £22.75m for Bennetts, structured through a £1 sale price and the settlement of Bennetts' debt owed to the group.
CII posts £4.9m loss for 2020
The Chartered Insurance Institute has reported a £4.9m loss for the year ended 31 December 2020 as a drop in income caused by the coronavirus pandemic more than outweighed reduced operational expenditure.
Lloyd's CEO Neal says market must maximise underwriting returns after £887m loss
Lloyd’s must take advantage of “once in a generation trading conditions” to return an underwriting profit in 2021, CEO John Neal has said after the market posted an £887m pre-tax loss for 2020.
Ardonagh boss David Ross hits out at CMA Bennetts decision
Ardonagh was “really surprised and disappointed by the approach that was taken” by the Competition and Markets Authority as it blocked the firm buying Bennetts, CEO David Ross has declared.
Big four reinsurers look to hardening market after Covid bites to the tune of £6.5bn
The big four reinsurers believe they are poised to take advantage of the hard market in 2021, with all but Swiss Re reporting profit in 2020 despite a combined property and casualty pandemic hit of £6.5bn.
Sabre top line suffers as motor insurer pushes through 10% price increases in 2020
Sabre CEO Geoff Carter has defended the insurer’s falling profits and premiums, saying that pricing increases pursued throughout 2020 stand it in good stead to take advantage of growth opportunities going forwards.