Money carousel

Gable chief executive William Dewsall was paid his full performance-related bonus of £440,000 in 2015 despite his company making a £24.3m pre-tax loss that year.

But the company said in its annual report that it is now reviewing whether the bonus provisions in Dewsall’s contract are having the desired effect.

Under his contract, Dewsall is paid a performance-related cash bonus of £110,000 a quarter if he increases gross written premium (GWP) by more than a set percentage each year, which the company said “the CEO has largely achieved”.

Gable’s GWP increased by 14% to £91.1m in 2015.

But Gable added: “The intention of the bonus thus structured was to generate scale and consequent profitability.

“The board will forthwith commence a fundamental review as to whether or not, having reached the 10th anniversary of the commencement of trading, the existing bonus provisions in the CEO’s contract are delivering the profitability to the shareholders that these provisions were originally designed to generate and whether or not in their present structure they remain relevant to the company’s business model going forward.”

Gable announced today that it is restructuring in a bid to achieve Solvency II compliance. The plans include transferring all of the company’s UK business and most of its European business to third-party insurers through MGAs, and the company has stopped writing new business.

In addition to his £440,000 cash bonus, Dewsall was paid a base salary of £440,000 in 2015. Both amounts were the same as 2014 levels, when Gable made a far smaller pre-tax loss of £5.4m.

But Dewsall’s total pay fell by almost 10% to £835.8m (2014: £924.2m) after a £44.2m payment made to Dewsall in 2014 was recouped.