Legal & General's non-life business achieved an 85% growth in profits to £37m for 2001 compared to £20m in 2000, it reported today.
The booming general insurance business contributed to an overall profit growth of 10% for the group to a total of £751m.
Net written premiums in the general insurance business increased by 8% to £269m, compared to £249m in 2000.
Legal & General's huge household account, which represents more than three quarters of net written premiums in general insurance, produced an operating profit of £15m, compared to £5m in 2000.
The increase was due to lower bad weather claims, the company said.
The company's mortgage indemnity business made an operating profit of £14m, compared to £21m in 2000, with a third of the total profit coming from the release of reserves put aside for mortgage indemnity contracts taken out before 1993.
Other personal lines business made an operating profit of £8m, compared to a £6m loss in 2000, when the company booked a hit from the closure of an overseas account.
Distribution deals with Barclays and Alliance and Leicester helped push the UK life and pensions business, which posted a 17% increase in profits to £532m from £454m.
