REG - Sabre Insurance Grp - Trading Update

Sabre InsuranceAnnouncement

22/10/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0295J  Sabre Insurance Group PLC  22 October 2024

22 October 2024

Sabre Insurance Group plc

Trading Update

On track for record premium income and strong, on-target profit

Sabre Insurance Group plc (the "Group" or "Sabre"), one of the UK's leading
motor insurance underwriters, today provides an update on trading for the
period from 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024.

                                        Unaudited                         Year ended

                                        Nine months ended                 31 December

                                        30 September
                                        2024        2023        % Change   2023
 Gross written premium - Motor Vehicle  £165.6m     £140.5m     18%       £199.0m
 Gross written premium - Motorcycle     £8.2m       £10.7m      (23%)     £11.8m
 Gross written premium - Taxi           £12.7m      £11.0m      15%       £14.3m
 Gross written premium - Total          £186.5m     £162.2m     15%       £225.1m
 Post-dividend solvency capital ratio   195%        191%                  171%

 

Key Highlights

-    Gross Written Premium up 15% against the same period in 2023, on-track
to deliver record Gross Written Premium for the year

-    Continued to increase rates to cover elevated claims inflation, in
contrast to the wider market

-    Policies continue to be written at target margins - underpinning
profitable growth for this year and positioning Sabre well into 2025

-    Focus on disciplined underwriting reflected in expectation of a
profitable out-turn across all product lines

-    Continued strong capital generation supports confidence in the ability
to pay an attractive dividend for the year

-    Policy count as at 30 September 2024: Motor - 230k (30 September 2023:
222k), Motorcycle - 38k (30 September 2023: 45k), Taxi - 11k (30 September
2023: 13k)

 

Capital Markets Event

-    A capital markets session for investors and analysts, focussed on how
our strategy and business model will deliver growth and value for our
shareholders in the medium-term, will be held on 5th December 2024

 

Market trends

-    Some signs of claims inflation moderating, but remains at a high
single-digit level

-    Despite this, increasing competition for volume in the mass-market is
evident in clear signs of market price reductions

-    However, level of market discounting far lower than the extreme price
movements seen in recent years suggesting a more stable trading environment

-    We continue to expect market prices will need to increase to reflect
current levels of inflation

-    We note the recent announcement of a cross-government motor insurance
taskforce, supported by industry experts, formed to help identify the factors
behind rapidly rising premiums. We are pleased that this is primarily
focussing on options to tackle the underlying cost inflation driving premium
increases

-    We also note the Financial Conduct Authority's recently announced
premium finance market study. We look forward to engaging with the regulator
as appropriate, and can confirm our full compliance with fair value rules and
our belief that we have very limited regulatory exposure. The proportion of
our profits expected to be generated through premium finance income remains
minimal

 

Full-year profit guidance reaffirmed, slight softening in gross written
premium

-    We continue to anticipate strong year-on-year premium growth, and
profit in line with current market expectations

-    We expect our year-on-year premium growth to be moderated slightly and
to be in-line with our view of high single digit claims inflation

 

Geoff Carter, Chief Executive Officer of Sabre, commented:

"I'm pleased with our performance at the Q3 stage and look forward with
confidence to a strong full-year result. Importantly, our resolute price
discipline means we expect to continue this good performance in future
periods.

We have seen clear signs that market pricing has softened considerably during
the summer. Our view is that market price movements outstrip any potential
short-term benefits from a slight softening in claims inflation. We remain
confident in our view on inflation and that market pricing will have to
reflect this in due course.

Our proven, disciplined strategy has enabled us to adapt to changing market
conditions successfully and rapidly. We were able to grow very strongly in
attractive market conditions in H1, and then to accept slightly lower, but
still good, volumes in Q3.

I am also excited that we are now completing the foundation work that will
support our multi-year growth strategy. I look forward to discussing this at
an update session for analysts and investors in December and updating on our
progress in future results presentations."

 

 Investor enquiries              01306 747 272
 Sabre Insurance Group plc

 Geoff Carter / Adam Westwood

 Media enquiries                 020 7353 4200
 Teneo                           sabre@teneo.com (mailto:sabre@teneo.com)
 James Macey White / Ffion Dash

 

LEI Code: 2138006RXRQ8P8VKGV98

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