Ecclesiastical posts underwriting profit of £20.4m for H1 2024

Gloucester-based specialty insurer Ecclesiastical Insurance has posted a general insurance underwriting profit of £20.4m for the six months ended 30 June 2024 in its latest financial results. 

This represented an improvement from the same period in 2023, when underwriting profit stood at just £0.3m.

Gross written premium for the same period also rose by 11.3% in the UK and Ireland, from £190.9m in 2023 to £212.5m in the latest stats. 

Ecclesiastical put the improved profitability of its underwriting partially down to a “more stable claims environment, thanks to fewer major events compared to H1 2023”. 

Positive momentum

Mark Hews, group chief executive at Ecclesiastical owner Benefact Group, said: ”The first half of 2024 saw continued positive trading momentum in the UK with excellent growth in premiums, both in our existing specialisms and in our new leisure sector, which launched last year and has driven 20% of our open market new business.

”In the UK, we continued our expansion into adjacent sectors with the launch of our office professions product in July 2024, targeted at all clerical-based office risks. Alongside this, we expanded our distribution capabilities with the introduction of our digital portal Schemes+ to help brokers manage their schemes more effectively.”

Hews added that, in addition to the more stable claims environment, the insurer’s underwriting profit figure was supported by a “continued focus on protecting our prestigious portfolio of heritage properties, both in the UK and abroad”.

Ecclesiastical also noted that it donated £8m to charity in H1 2024, in respect to financial performance in 2023. It added that it had agreed to donate a further £8m to fund grants to those most in need in society/