Company results
Higher reserve releases drive 6% increase in Admiral motor profits
Admiral CEO Henry Engelhardt has branded the opening six months of 2015 “a good start to a challenging year” after the insurer delivered a 1% increase in group pre-tax profit to £186.1m (H1 2014: £184.9m).
Quindell inquiries expected to run for years as shareholders seek redress
Hundreds of shareholders of beleaguered outsourcer Quindell are gearing up to seek compensation following “misleading statements” by the firm’s former management, as market insiders reveal investigations into the company could run for several years.
QBE Europe eyes full year growth after delivering soaring H1 profits
A benign catastrophe period and continued favourable prior accident year reserve development have been credited for an 184% increase in insurance profit to $278m (£178m) at QBE European Operations at the halfway marker.
QBE gains in first half from asset sales and improved COR; CEO targets growth
Sydney-headquartered QBE saw a 24% rise in first half after tax profits to $488m (£331m) compared with $392m in the first half of last year.
Penny Black's Insurance Week - 20 August 2015
Penny is not a fan of numbers – other than in relation to how many names she has on her dance card.
ERS delivers £2.8m loss as transformation project takes its toll
Broker-only motor insurer ERS has attributed costs associated with its ongoing transformation project and reduced investment income as drivers behind it delivering a £2.8m loss in the first half of 2015.
Results round-up: H1 2015
Its results season again, and here at Post we have put together a single source of information to make finding the results from this half of 2015 a little easier.
Allianz buoyed by P&C growth in China, Indonesia and Malaysia
Allianz's Asia-Pacific property and casualty division saw gross written premiums increase to €869m (£619m) in the first half up 26% from €688m last year.
Tysers reaps benefits of broker restructure with uplift in profits
Tysers has seen the benefits of restructuring its broker divisions with a strong round of results, which included a 21.6% hike in pre-tax profits.
Dye denies Allianz UK's reinsurance arrangement is for acquisition 'war chest'
Allianz UK's 12% drop in operating profit in the first half of 2015 was impacted by a quota share reinsurance arrangement agreed with sister company Allianz Re, according to CEO Jon Dye.
Claims environment blamed as Esure motor profits tumble by 80% in H1
Esure’s underlying profit before tax plummeted by 21.3% over the course of the past year, with the figure for the first half of 2015 standing at £46.5m (H1 2014: £59.1m).
Allianz cites competitive market conditions as first half profits fall 12%
Allianz's UK pre-tax profits fell 12% in the first half of 2015 to £56.5m compared to £64.2m in the same period last year.
'Cracks appearing' in DLG reserving policy, Macquarie analysts claim
Direct Line Group posted a £100m rise in operating profit in the first six months of 2015 but analysts at investment bank Macquarie have suggested that “cracks are appearing” in the insurer's reserving policy.
Blog: Five big percentages to emerge from the latest results season
Other than an over-use of the word "benign", insurers' first half/second quarter results statements were also littered with significant percentage figures - both good and bad. This is Post's round-up of some of the headline-grabbing numbers.
Allianz Group estimates 2015 operating profit at upper target range
Operating profit in Allianz Group's property and casualty division rose 29.7% to €1.35bn (£952m) in the second quarter of 2015 as the company confirmed its operating profit outlook for the full year would reach €10.8bn.
Lewis focused on correcting 113.6% personal motor COR
RSA UK and Western Europe CEO Steve Lewis is "clearly focused" on improving the performance of the company's personal lines motor division after it reported a significantly deteriorated combined operating ratio for the first six months of 2015.
Tulloch points to internal loan returns as driver of operating profit drop
Aviva UK & Ireland general insurance CEO Maurice Tulloch has cited returns on the insurer's internal loan as a key factor in the division's drop in operating profit reported within the company's first half results today (6 August).
Zurich UK GI faces ‘a struggle ahead’ as H1 profit falls by 50%
Business operating profit for Zurich’s UK general insurance business halved to £50m in the first six months of 2015 (H1 2014: £100m) as the insurer suffered a higher than average number of large losses, only partially offset by benign weather.
Markel reports 90% H1 combined ratio
Markel International has reported a comprehensive loss to shareholders of $132.9m (£85.1m) in the second quarter of 2015 compared to a loss of $250.6m in Q2 2014.
Aviva UK GI records best COR in 8 years despite fall in profits
Aviva was aided by benign weather conditions in delivering its best UK general insurance combined operating ratio for eight years in the opening six months of 2015, however operating profit fell 11% to £223m (H1 2014: £251m).
Munich Re upgrades profit estimate after drop in major losses
Munich Re has upgraded its profit forecast for 2015 to above €3bn after tax (£2.1bn) on the back of encouraging second quarter results.
Hester bigs up RSA's ‘stand-alone' value in face of Zurich deal
RSA's strategy dictates it will have a strong stand-alone value in the coming years, according to group CEO Stephen Hester who has assured shareholders he is serving their interests in the face of a potential takeover bid from Zurich.
RSA reports record UK underwriting profits as Hester praises ‘excellent' progress
RSA has reported record UK underwriting profits of £77m and a combined operating ratio for the region of 94.4% for the first six months of 2015.
Large losses and rising expenses hamper Zurich's first half global results
Zurich blamed a 15% fall in pre-tax global profits to $2.2bn (£1.4bn) in the first half of 2015 on a significantly lower contribution from its GI business.