Insurer's profit as a whole fell 31% against last year

Allianz Insurance chief executive Andrew Torrance does not expect business from subsidiary Premierline Direct, a specialist agent for small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME) policies underwritten primarily by Allianz, to be profitable this year.

Torrance said that while a great deal of work is being put into the underwriting portfolio, “it is not turning an underwriting profit – but equally that was not the expectation because there is always strain when you are growing direct portfolios”. He added that the subsidiary has had a record accident loss ratio so far in 2010 and is performing at levels that will provide “decent” profits. Torrance declined to speculate when Premierline would turn a profit.

Allianz Insurance as a whole made a pre-tax operating profit of £119.1m for the first nine months of 2010, down 31% on the £173.3m it made in the same period last year. However, Torrance said that the result was still ahead of the company’s target.

Allianz Insurance’s combined ratio for the first nine months of 2010 was 95.8%, up from 91% in the same period last year.

Gross written premium increased 4% to £1.25bn from £1.2bn.