8th Nov 2013 11:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - Novae Group PLC Friday said its gross written premiums declined in the first nine months of the year, a result of its planned reductions in engineering and motor reinsurance exposure, while investment return also declined.
The specialist insurer, which operates in various lines of business, from marine hull to property and casualty, said its gross written premium was GBP484.6 million in the nine months to September 30, down from last year's GBP510.6 million. Renewal rates across Novae's entire account were flat.
The decline in gross written premium was caused by a 14% decline in reinsurance premium, largely a result of the planned reduction in motor reinsurance.
On the other hand, gross written premium from the insurance segment was up 1.5%, supported by "meaningful new business growth in the UK and US specialty property units and marine liability".
Novae has also established a cyber liability unit, which will start underwriting in January 2014.
But Novae cautioned that it expects the low level of catastrophe losses, coupled with the continued abundance of underwriting capacity in the industry, to put downward pressure on rates across the portfolio going into 2014. That said, the insurer said there are still opportunities for profitable growth in its areas of expertise.
"We continue to build on the solid performance reported at the half year, with underwriting performance also benefiting from a benign quarter for catastrophe losses. We have made some excellent additions to the team in 2013 and, despite the challenging rating environment, the business is in a strong position going into 2014," Matthew Fosh, chief executive, said in a statement.
Novae said its investment return also declined to 0.7% from 1.9%. It made GBP8.6 million on average assets of GBP1.23 billion, but is still targeting a full year return of 1.0%.
Novae shares were down 1.1% to 550.00 pence on Friday morning.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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