Full-year profit at Royal & Sun Alliance has inched up by 5%, helped by cost controls and lower storm damage claims.
R&SA said its operating result for the year to Dec 31 2006 came in at £780m, up from £743m the previous year.
The improvement reflected cost discipline and lower claims for weather-related damage than in 2005, which pushed insurance profits up 18% to £310m.
RSA said its plan to cut £130m in costs by mid-2008 was running ahead of schedule.
The improved cost efficiency offset slow revenue growth, with net premium income climbing just 3% to £5.48bn, held back by stiff competition.
R&SA's combined operating ratio improved to 93.3% from 94.1% in 2005, and the group said it is targeting a ratio of below 95% for 2007.
Including £499m in asset writedowns and trading losses from the group's troubled US operation, which it sold earlier this week, RSA had a post-tax loss of £20m.
The US unit, which was closed to new business in 2003 after being hit by potentially ruinous asbestos-related claims, was bought by its own management in a deal that completed on Monday.
The disposal eliminates RSA's exposure to future asbestos claims in the US, and has sparked speculation of a takeover bid for the company, with Finland's Sampo named as a possible buyer earlier this week.
However, according to reports, chief executive Andy Haste said: "It's all speculative and hypothetical, and I'm not going to comment."
