Premiums and profits improve handsomely at esure

Gross written premiums at esure Group were up 22.8% in its first half at £393.3m, it reported on Thursday, with in-force policies rising 8.8% to 2.258 million.

The FTSE 250 insurance firm said its profit before tax from continuing operations was ahead 44.6% at £45.1m in the six months to 30 June.

Its combined operating ratio improved 2.6 percentage points to 96.6%.

The board declared an interim dividend of 4.1p per share, up from 3.0p a year ago, which it said reflected a payout ratio of 70% of earnings per share, inclusive of a 20% special dividend.

“Esure has performed very well in the first half of the year as the management team continues to drive the group's profitable growth strategy,” said chairman Sir Peter Wood.

“Our solid capital position has led the board to declare an interim dividend of 4.1p per share, which includes a special dividend, at the same time as allowing esure to retain sufficient capital and flexibility to continue to pursue our profitable growth ambitions.”

Esure’s solvency coverage stood at 153%, a slight improvement on the 152% reported in the first half of last year.

“I am delighted with our performance in the first half of 2017,” added chief executive officer Stuart Vann.

“We have delivered strong growth in premiums, policies and profits as the success and momentum of our footprint expansion programme and disciplined underwriting continues to drive the business forward.

“In motor, we are growing across all our customer segments, demonstrating the value and service proposition we offer to customers.”

Vann said he was “really pleased” with the outcome of the company’s reinsurance renewal on 1 July, which he described as “testament” to the firm’s “focused underwriting approach” and “strong relationships” with our reinsurance panel.

“As indicated earlier in the year, we have increased prices in the first half of the year which mitigate this increased cost to the business, whilst continuing to grow.

“Overall, it has been a great start to 2017, and we are firmly on track to deliver results at the positive end of our 2017 guidance.”