Specialist churches and charities insurer Ecclesiastical made a pre-tax profit of £15.6m in the first half of 2011, compared with a £7.6m loss in the same period last year.

The 2010 loss excludes the results of Ecclesiastical’s with-profits life business, which was transferred to Engage Mutual in late 2010.

The improved performance despite a £419m gross claims cost as a result of the large number of global natural catastrophes in the first half of 2011. Events included the Australian floods and Japan and New Zealand earthquakes.

Ecclesiastical said the first-half gross claims number exceeded the full-year total for 2010.

As a result of the heavy claims burden, Ecclesiastical made a first-half 2011 underwriting loss of £7.5m, although this was an improvement over the £15.5m loss reported in the first half of 2010.

The combined ratio was 104.9% (H1 2010: 111.3%).

Offsetting the underwriting loss was a £29.9m investment return, up 17% on the £17.8m the company made in the first half of 2010. Ecclesiastical attributed this improvement to more stable stock markets in the first half of 2011.

“Our results are a clear indication that some of the decisions made and actions taken in 2010 have enabled us to deliver a profit despite extremely difficult market conditions and an unusually high gross claims cost,” said Ecclesiastical chief executive Michael Tripp in a statement.

He added that the UK business had done particularly well, turning in a £3m underwriting profit and 10% growth on the previous year. “We’ve achieved this through an increasingly strong underwriting discipline, through product and cover reviews and launches, and by securing a number of significant high-profile business wins in the first half year,” Tripp said.

Ecclesiastical H1 2011 results in £m (compared with H1 2010)

  • General insurance gross written premium: 240 (240)
  • Underwriting loss: 7.5 (15.5)
  • Investment return: 29.9 (17.8)
  • Pre-tax result: +15.6 (-7.6)
  • Combined ratio: 104.9% (111.3%)

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