Financial Ratings – Page 87
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NewsZurich group GI profit drops 23% in first quarter
Zurich’s global general insurance (GI) business made an operating profit of $542m (£375m) in the first quarter of 2016, down 23% on the $706m it made in last year’s first quarter. But while the result was down on 2015’s first quarter, Zurich said the performance was ...
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NewsBroker Network now 100% independent of Towergate - Clark
Broker Network is now 100% independent from Towergate in its day-to-day activities and operations, says new executive chairman Ian Clark. Private equity house HPS recently raised its stake in Broker Network to around 80% of the business. The rest of the business is owned by minority ...
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NewsMotor premiums up 7.2% in Q1 – Biba/Acturis
Personal motor premiums increased by 7.2% in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the same period last year, according to the Biba/Acturis Insurance Price Index. This excludes recent rises in insurance premium tax (IPT). With the November IPT hike to 9.5% from 6% included, the ...
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NewsNovae GWP grows 9.8% in first quarter despite rate pressure
Novae reported gross written premium (GWP) of £282.8m in the first quarter of 2016, up 9.8% on the £257.6m it reported in last year’s first quarter. The Lloyd’s insurer enjoyed growth across all three of its business segments. The casualty unit reported the strongest growth, where ...
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NewsAllianz UK profit up 43% in first quarter
Allianz UK made an operating profit of £47.4m in the first quarter of 2016, up 43% on the £33.2m it reported in last year’s first quarter. The insurer’s combined operating ratio improved by 1.8 percentage points to 95.9% (Q1 2015: 97.7%). But gross written premium fell ...
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NewsHiscox group GWP up 10.3% in six months; UK GWP up 5.8%
Hiscox saw group gross written premiums rise 10.3% to £640.5m in the six months to March, up from £561.7m a year earlier. Hiscox UK GWP rose 5.8% to £110.5m from £103.5m a year earlier, which the company described as “a strong result in a challenging market”. ...
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NewsTowergate staff in £30m incentive scheme deal
Towergate has entered its staff into an incentive scheme worth more than £30m. One part of the scheme is worth £30.4m and Towergate has already made two payments to staff, with a final tranche due later this year, The Telegraph reports. Under Towergate’s old reward scheme ...
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NewsWillis GB profit and revenues fall in first quarter
Willis Towers Watson’s UK broking division Willis GB made an operating profit of $20m (£13.8m) in the first quarter of 2016, down 4.8% on the $21m it made in last year’s first quarter. The division, which comprises Willis’s UK retail broking and London market speciality business, ...
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NewsHester buys £479,850-worth of RSA shares after results announcement
RSA chief executive Stephen Hester has placed a huge bet on the success of his strategy for the business, buying £479,850 worth of shares in the insurer. He bought the shares yesterday after the release of RSA’s first quarter results that showed RSA’s UK and Ireland ...
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Online onlyAXA and Ageas only insurers to make 2015 underwriting profits
AXA and Ageas were the only two carriers to make an underwriting profit in commerical lines in 2015. That is the results from a study of the PRA Returns of Aviva, RSA, Allianz, AXA, Ageas, DLG and LV=. Their collective premium fell a massive 19% ...
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Online onlyUK commercial lines market shrinks 19% in 2015
The main players in the UK’s commercial lines market had their premium shrink by a massive 19% last year, according to Insurance Times analysis of PRA Returns. The collective premium of Aviva, RSA, Allianz, AXA, Ageas, Direct Line Group and LV= fell from £5.5bn to ...
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NewsBeazley first quarter GWP up 7% as rates fall 1%
Lloyd’s insurer Beazley wrote gross premiums of $538m (£401.6m) in the first quarter of 2016, up 7% on the $546m it wrote in the same quarter last year. The increase came despite a 1% cut in rates in the quarter. The Lloyd’s insurer also reported a ...
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NewsRSA UK and Ireland premiums rise 2% in first quarter
RSA’s UK and Ireland business brought in net written premium of £635m in the first quarter of 2016, up 2% on the £622m generated in the same period last year. The insurer said in a trading update this morning that first quarter 2016 UK personal lines ...
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NewsEsure reports 15.5% increase in GWP
Esure has reported a 15.5% increase in gross written premium (GWP) to £151m for the first quarter of 2016. This is made up of a 17.1% increase in motor GWP to £128.9m, while home GWP was also up 7.3% to £22.1m as a result of the ...
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NewsValue of Electra’s Davies stake jumps 65%
Private equity house Electra’s stake in claims firm Davies jumped 65% in the six months to 31 March 2016, Electra’s accounts show. The value of the 57% stake, which Electra bought when it backed Davies’s management buyout in 2011, is now worth £38m, up from the ...
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NewsDirect Line Group GWP up 4.2% in first quarter
Direct Line Group reported gross written premium (GWP) from continuing operations of £777.8m in the first quarter of 2016, up 4.2% on the £746.5m it reported in the same quarter last year. This was despite a 1.8% drop in in-force policy numbers to 15.9 ...
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NewsHome premiums up sharply while motor stalls in Q1, says AA
Home insurance premiums have increased sharply over the past three months, while motor premiums have stalled, according to the AA. The AA’s benchmark British Insurance Premium Index shows that premiums for the average quoted Shoparound premium (average of the five cheapest quotes for each ‘customer’ in ...
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NewsAIG reports lower profits in Q1 as investment income hit
AIG reported a lower-than-expected profit for the third straight quarter as poor returns from hedge funds hurt its investment income. Group operating profit fell 54% to $773 million in the first quarter, partly due to restructuring costs of $122m. Pre-tax income in AIG’s commercial property and ...
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NewsAon broking unit reports 4% profit rise and 3% organic growth
Aon’s Risk Solutions division made an operating profit of $429m (£294.5m) in the first quarter of 2016, up 4% on the $412m it made in last year’s first quarter. The profit increase came despite a 1% drop in revenue at the division to $1.87bn (Q1 2015: ...
