Mitsui puts commercial motor book into run-off

Mitsui Sumitomo at Lloyd’s is putting its commercial motor book into run-off, putting at risk three job roles.

Mitusi will no longer be accepting renewals or new business in the new year, but will honour its commitments to outstanding policies.

The Lloyd’s insurer had commercial motor gross written premium of £29.6m in 2009 and £12.7m in 2010.

Graeme Rayner, head of underwriting, property and casualty, said the book being placed into run-off was ‘well-under’ £10m GWP.

Asked if losing motor would erode its ability to offer clients package premiums, Rayner said most commercial motor business was offered separately.

He said that there were bodily injury claims coming through in the commercial motor book, but it was in line with the rest of the market.

Instead, he said the decision to put the motor business into run-off was about taking Mitsui into a new strategic direction.

Rayner said: “We invested heavily in our regional network, so we invested in businesses and underwriting centres in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin.

“We’ve recently hired a property owners’ team to just reinforce what we are doing in the UK regional market and motor has become less and less core to what we’re doing.

“It’s below £10m premium, it’s a difficult market and we wanted to deploy our resource in building market leading businesses where we can really sell.”

On bodily injury, he said: “I don’t think our experience was anything different to anyone else in that market. But to be really honest, it’s not about experience, it’s about strategic decision going forward.”

Mitusi is targeting a combined operating ratio of under 100% for 2011.

Mitsui’s Syndicate 3210 made a loss of £19.2m last year after recording a combined operating ratio of 219.5% in professional indemnity. There was also catastrophe losses and the firm needed an infusion of capital to bolster its deteriorating reserves.

The insurer made a £14.4m profit in 2009.

“We are targeting profitable growth and tighter expense management, with the aim of a sub-100 combined ratio this year,” Mitsui at Lloyd’s general counsel David Casement told Insurance Times in April.