Co-op Insurance Services (CIS) said pretax profits reached £134.6m in the 12 months ended 31 December 2003, up from a pre-tax loss of £257.5m for the previous year.
The company said difficult market conditions had contributed to a fall in premium income to £1.8bn, down from nearly £2bn at the end of the previous year. Total premium and income trust fell 11% to £2bn.
For the company's general insurance operations, pre-tax profit, excluding short-term investment fluctuations, rose to £61.7m, compared with the £27.5m recorded for 2002.
CIS maintained its strong capital position throughout the year, and has continued to comfortably meet the required solvency requirements for both life and general insurance business, it said.
“Operating profits for CIS's general insurance business grew strongly in 2003. The increase was due to non-recurring items and favourable weather-related claims experience during the year,” said the company.
