Insurer sees 2013 profit jump to £312.8m from the £184.3m recorded for 2012.
Direct Line Group (DLG) has reported a 14.2% rise in operating profit for 2013 to £562.5m (2012: £461.2m), with pre-tax profits up at £423.9m (2012: £249.1m).
The insurer also revealed that post-tax profit surged by 70% to £312.8m for the year compared to the £184.3m posted for 2012.
DLG’s combined operating ratio (COR) also beat its 2013 target of 98%, coming in at 96.1%, an improvement on the 99.2% registered in the previous 12 months.
The provider attributed this COR improvement to a “higher than expected” prior-year reserve releases of 12.4 percentage points.
Meanwhile, gross written premium (GWP) edged down slightly to £3.8bn from £4bn.
DLG, which also owns NIG and Direct Line for Business, saw the number of in-force commercial policies bump up to 583,000 from 466,000.
Commercial GWP for 2013 also rose to £474.5m from 2012’s £425.6m.
And the commercial division saw its COR improve to 106.8% from 108.2%, which DLG stated was “principally as a result of better underlying underwriting performance and a lower commission and expense ratio”.
Paul Geddes, DLG CEO, said: “We have continued to make good progress on our strategic priorities, helping us to achieve our 2013 financial targets in highly competitive markets.
“In UK motor, our improved pricing capability and claims management, as well as benefits arising from recent legal reforms, enabled us to reduce average prices for customers by 3% during 2013.
“In home, recent UK weather events have emphasised the importance of insurance.”
source: www.insuranceage.co.uk