Personal lines specialist insurer Ageas UK achieved 49% growth across the first six months of 2024 (H1 2024), according to financial results posted today.
This growth was driven primarily by customer and premium growth, especially in motor, where the firm saw “solid underwriting profitability”.
customer growth and was supported by “repricing actions” in motor, household and healthcare aimed at restoring profitability.
Ageas UK’s Belgian owner Ageas does not split out its UK results from the rest of its European operations in financial reporting, but it added that its non-life combined operating ratio (COR) for Europe stood at 95.1% in H1 2024, with “strong technical performance” in the UK and Portugal called out as drivers of this improved performance.
In the same period last year, the firm’s non-life European operations achieved a COR of 98.1%.
Shareholder dividend
Hans De Cuyper, chief executive at Ageas Group, said: ”Once again, we delivered on our growth strategy driven by excellent overall non-life performance, bolstered by a solid increase in inflows in Asia and a strong recovery in Europe.
“These excellent insurance results allowed us to deliver a robust net operating result for the first half of 2024 and, in line with our commitment, we will be distributing an interim gross cash dividend of £1.26 (€1.50) to our shareholders.”
De Cuyper added that the firm had also decided to launch a new share buyback programme of £168m (€200m).