EUROP Assistance has posted pre-tax profits of £2.215m for the year 2000, up 26% from £1.762m the previous year.
The assistance company's turnover also rose by 12.5% to £69.9m from £62.13m in 1999, and it has now set aggressive targets for 2001.
The company has reported improvements for the fifth consecutive year.
Last year, Europ Assistance, which operates in 205 countries and has a network of 250,000 service providers worldwide, focused on selling home, motor, travel and legal products.
A spokesman said profits were due to “a steady intake of clients, strengthening of existing relationships and increasing the call centre capacity”. He added competitive pressures were very noticeable in 2000, with soft market rates prevailing, particularly in the travel insurance sector.
Managing director Paul Monks said: “A lot of effort went into growing current turnover levels. The company has shown great resilience which can only be attributed to the high levels of assistance services we provide, a highly skilled workforce and the substantial scope of our global network.”
In the clear
EUROP Assistance has been cleared of allegations that it was incorrectly recording legal expenses deals.
Last year, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) received a letter saying some companies may be coding them in Class 16, which is for “miscellaneous financial loss” or Class 15, which is for “suretyship”, against risk of loss from the person injured. The FSA has since investigated and said Europ Assistance is correctly logging After The Event policies under Class 17, which is for legal expenses insurance.
