What's next for Personal Lines insurance?
On a day when we should be together at the BIBA 2020 Conference discussing the key industry issues, opportunities and inspirational developments; we unexpectedly find ourselves using new and different ways of working, keeping in touch and supporting customer needs in a much changed environment. In times like these, our priority is helping our people and our customers to navigate the unchartered territory we find ourselves in as a society.
Today, as I report Ageas’s first quarter financial results in the UK, I reflect on the beginning of the year and have many reasons to be proud.
We cannot underestimate the impact that the weather events had on our customers. In the weekends that followed, we saw an unprecedented volume of calls, but our people quickly responded to those in the affected areas to ensure our customers were supported in their time of need. The priority remains to get these customers back in their properties, while operating in very unusual circumstances.
Only a month later we find ourselves in a pandemic situation but, working together, we have responded quickly and continue to provide a fantastic service to our customers and, importantly, ensure we keep the UK's key workers mobile.
As we look at the financial situation for the first three months of the year, our net result reflects an impact of £23.5m from storms Ciara and Dennis in February across the home, motor and commercial lines of business. This compares with a strong first quarter in 2019 following a period of benign weather.
This has led to a combined ratio of 107%, which excluding the weather impact would have been resilient at 98.7%. Our income was broadly flat compared to last year, although we have been pleased to see growth in household business following the launch of our New House Guard product, as well as growth in new deals and the digital channel in our commercial lines business.
Looking into the second quarter, the lockdown has had a varied impact on our product lines. While motor claims frequencies have reduced across the industry, it is still too early to have a clear picture on the overall impact. We moved early to reduce our motor pricing to reflect the current situation; we are not applying any inflationary rate increases during this period; and we continue to consider all fair options for our customers.
As we look further ahead, we have a stable business with a strong solvency position - giving us the confidence we need to emerge from a resilient position and reflect on how we become even stronger over the next few months.
As this is my last time reporting Ageas’s results in the UK before I hand over the reins to Ant Middle, I want to take this opportunity to express my huge appreciation for your support while I have been at Ageas and in particular in what has been a truly unprecedented start to the year.
Stay safe and well,
Andy Watson
CEO, Ageas UK
