Press release -
ALLIANZ INSURANCE CONTINUES ITS EXCELLENT START TO 2013
Financial Highlights For HY 2013 Compared To HY 2012:
· Gross Written Premiums up 3.2%
· IFRS operating profit up 14.2%
· Combined ratio improves 1.1%
Group Results: HY 2013 HY 2012
Gross Written Premium £ 996.3m £ 965.1m
IFRS Operating Profit (before tax) £ 86.0m £ 75.3m
Combined Ratio 95.7% 96.8%
Divisional Results Breakdown
Commercial - HY 2013 HY 2012
Gross Written Premium £ 534.4m £ 525.9m
Combined Ratio 96.7% 98.6%
Retail -
Gross Written Premium £ 461.9m £ 439.2m
Combined Ratio 94.8% 94.8%
Statement from Chief Executive Officer, Jon Dye
This is my first financial results presentation as CEO of Allianz Insurance and I am very pleased to report that we have continued the positive performance we announced in the first quarter and are on course to deliver an excellent set of results in this financial year.
Compared to the same point in 2012, our Combined Operating Ratio has improved by 1.1% to 95.7% and our operating profit has risen by 14.3%. By any measure these are outstanding results that reflect the success of our long term strategy. This centres around being an underwriting led organisation with focussed distribution and marketing strategies.
Commercial
In our General Commercial business we achieved rate strength of 5.4% across all lines but this only marginally covers the claims inflation we know exists in this market so this is an ongoing cause for concern. During the quarter the prevailing market conditions have continued to slowly improve, maintaining the trend shown in the first three months of this year. However, we are still some way away from a rating environment that enables consistent delivery of acceptable levels of profit.
Our Commercial Motor business remains the stand out performer and we continue to buck the general market performance in this area and achieve good GWP growth at an acceptable level of profit.
We are making steady progress toward achieving the level of financial performance we are looking for in our Property account but it is in the Casualty account, and in particular the Employers’ Liability portfolio, where we will continue to focus considerable attention going forward to get the rate strength that reflects the risk exposures that we have on our book.
I am pleased with the performance of our Engineering business despite the unhelpful macro economic conditions.
Retail
We are achieving year-on-year top line growth in our Retail Broker portfolio as a whole but that is not the case when it comes to the Motor account. Some of our competitors seem to have reduced their rates sharply based on the perceived benefits to come from LASPO, but we have taken a more cautious approach.
The Household account is delivering strong growth and we are looking at more opportunities in this area.
The Corporate Partner business continues to make progress and attract new partnerships. Convincing top brands to become business partners is a significant challenge because they quite rightly demand the very highest levels of service. Our own reputation for delivering to those standards, together with the global strength of our parent company, are serving us well in this market.
Another very strong performance has been delivered by Animal Health (Petplan) which I am pleased to say has been something of a constant in our financial reporting over some years now. GWP was up 10.4% over prior year and the policy count continued on its upward trend, reaching more than 920,000.
Allianz Your Cover is performing well and hitting its new business targets.
Our Legal Protection business continues to deliver an underwriting profit as the operation adapts to a post Jackson reforms environment. I would expect ALP to go on making a positive contribution to the company’s performance well into the future as the opportunity for growth in the civil litigation and legal services areas is substantial and the business is well positioned to take advantage.
Other News
In May we launched the first UK Allianz brand advertising campaign with adverts on outdoor sites, buses, national press and online.
We have developed a strong reputation within the insurance industry by delivering consistently positive financial results, through our commitment to the training and development of expert insurance people across a broad range of disciplines, and by being a stable organisation people can trust. We believe that now is the right time to communicate these strengths more widely through promotion of the Allianz brand.
The campaign will not begin and end this year as we are in this journey for the long haul and I look forward to reporting on our progress towards greater brand recognition during my time as CEO.
Conclusion
We have delivered a strong set of results in the first half of this year and I am very much looking forward to my new challenge of leading this company on the next leg of its journey.
I want to build on the great success Allianz Insurance has achieved over the last decade by continuing with our core principles of putting the customer at the heart of our decision making and targeting profitable business and not growth for the sake of growth.
In my view we have the best people in the insurance industry to deliver against the targets set for Allianz UK and that is a significant advantage for the business in what is arguably the most competitive insurance market in the world.
Jon Dye
Chief Executive
Allianz Insurance
Notes For The Media:
1. Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz SE Group, the largest property and casualty insurer worldwide.
2. For further information please contact:
Mark Bishop, Group Communications Manager, Allianz UK
Tel: 01483 552731 Mobile: 07802 925053 email:mark.bishop@allianz.co.uk
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Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz SE Group, the largest property and casualty insurer worldwide.
