Chaucer has said its overall forecasts for the 2003 and 2004 year of accounts have improved and predicted another strong underwriting result for 2005.
The company said total gross premiums for 2005 to date are ahead of last year, with pricing remaining strong. In the year to July, gross written premium was up by 2.7% at £285.4m.
The overall forecast for 2003 for Chaucer's four syndicates has been raised by 1.1% to a mid-point of 15.8% on the company's underwriting interests of £266.2m. Chaucer noted that the forecast for its motor Syndicate 587 has improved particularly strongly as a result of a favourable claims environment, with the estimated profit margin raised to 20%-25% from 17.5%-22.5% previously.
For 2004, the estimated mid-point profit margin is 11.7%, a rise of 0.1%, on underwriting interests of £317m. The forecast profit margin for Syndicate 1084 remains unchanged at 7.5%-15%, while the estimate for Syndicate 1176 has been raised to 30%-40% from 20%-40% previously.
Chaucer said: "Syndicate 1176 continues to perform in line with our expectations for 2003 and 2004 with both premium income and claims experience remaining within budgeted targets,"
