Allianz Holdings reports UK revenue growth despite slight COR rise

Allianz Holdings grew its revenue by 7% in the UK during the first half of 2023 despite its combined operating ratio (COR) seeing a slight rise.

In a trading update published today (10 August 2023), the insurer revealed that the business secured a gross written premium (GWP) of £2.09bn in the six months to June, up from £1.96bn in the same reporting period during 2022.

This was despite Allianz Holdings’ operating profit dropping 5.5% year-on-year from £119.4m to £112.8m.

The insurer said this was predominately driven by inflation, with the COR on a discounted basis increasing by 0.6% from 96% in H1 2022 to 96.6% in H1 2023.

Colm Holmes, chief executive of Allianz Holdings, told Insurance Times that the insurer had been “racing hard” against an inflationary envrionment.

“We’ve continued to see stubbornly high inflation,” he said.

Despite this, Allianz Holdings’ commercial lines GWP increased 5% year-on-year, with the firm stating that it had a strong trading performance across its engineering and casualty portfolios.

And from a personal lines perspective, Allianz Holdings achieved revenues of £1.03bn in H1 2023, up from £959.5m in H1 2022.

“Despite the difficult environment, our focus has remained on ensuring we provide our customers with great products and a fantastic service while at the same time maintaining a strong approach to technical discipline and making sure our pricing remains sustainable,” Holmes said.

“Delivering profitable growth is a key priority for us and the strength of our brands and diverse portfolio of our business has ensured we’ve continued to trade well.”

Other businesses

Meanwhile, Allianz revealed that its commercial UK business posted a revenue of £841.6m in H1 2023.

Allianz Commercial was launched in March 2023 by bringing together Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty (AGCS) UK and Allianz Holdings UK Commercial.

Due to the recent launch, growth was in part driven by the change in accounting standards.

However, Allianz said the commercial business saw higher than expected retentions and strong rates.

Meanwhile, Allianz Partners increased its revenue in the UK by 31.1% year-on-year to £211m, driven by the expansion of new partnerships and consumer demand in travel.

However, Holmes warned that the industry will “continue to face very difficult trading conditions” for the rest of the year.

“Despite these market challenges, I’m proud of what Allianz has achieved,” he added.

“Our trading has remained robust and our focus will remain on being technically excellent, ensuring our pricing models are sustainable and offering competitive solutions for our customers.

“I’m confident that our diverse and resilient product portfolio puts Allianz in an excellent position to achieve our ambitions and with the support of my new leadership team we will be able to ensure that our business continues to navigate these difficult headwinds.”