6th May 2015 06:32
LONDON (Alliance News) - Direct Line Insurance Group PLC Wednesday said it is in a good position to meet the goals it has set for 2015, even as the insurer reported lower gross written premium for the first quarter.
In a statement, the home and motor insurer said that gross written premium for its continuing operations fell to GBP746.5 million in the three months ended March 31, compared with GBP753.3 million in the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Premium from motor, home and commercial business was down, partly offset by higher premium from rescue and other personal lines of business.
Its total in-force policies fell by 0.8% to 16.3 million during the three-month period.
The group reiterated its expectation of a combined operating ratio, a key measure of underwriting profitability, in the range of 94% to 96% for ongoing operations after "normalising" for claims from major weather events. A ratio below 100% represents profit.
In addition, Direct Line said it is on track to cut costs in absolute terms in 2015 after cutting first-quarter costs to GBP220.7 million from GBP245.4 million. It expects one-off and restructuring costs of about GBP50 million in 2015.
First-quarter investment return fell to GBP51.8 million from GBP55.7 million.
"We have made a good start to 2015 with a stable trading performance in competitive markets and good momentum on the delivery of our strategic priorities. We continued to invest in technical and digital capabilities to improve our customer propositions and satisfaction, whilst maintaining our focus on efficiency. This progress in the first quarter gives us confidence that we are well positioned to meet our 2015 financial objectives," Chief Executive Paul Geddes said in a statement.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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