RSA reports 6% premium growth in UK

RSA’s UK business reported net written premiums of £570m in the first quarter of 2015, up 6% on the £540m it wrote in the first quarter of 2014.

The growth was mainly driven by commercial lines, where net written premiums were up 9% to £323m (Q1 2014: £296m).

Personal lines net written premium increased by 1% to £247m (Q1 2014: £244m).

RSA said the growth was “flattered” by lower reinsurance costs and the changes to its reinsurance programme set out in February, as well as some one-off items.

Excluding these items, UK net written premiums increased by 3%.

Personal lines

Motor was RSA’s fastest growing personal line in the UK i the first quarter of 2015. Net written premiums increased by 14% to £57m (Q1 2014: £50m).

RSA said the personal motor growth was mainly driven by “strong performance” in its telematics offering. The company added: “We have continued to maintain pricing discipline with year-to-date average rate increases on renewed motor business of 1%.”

Pet insurance net written premiums grew by 8% in the quarter to £71m (Q1 2014: £66m), which RSA said was driven by continued rate increases to cover rising claims inflation.

The growth in motor and pet was offset by a 7% fall in household net written premiums to £119m (Q1 2014: £128m). RSA said the slump was caused by competitive conditions and lower retention.

Commercial lines

In commercial lines, RSA said it continued to maintain underwriting discipline despite “significant price competition” across the market.

The biggest growth was seen in commercial motor, where net written premiums jumped 28% to £46m (Q1 2014: £36m). RSA said the growth was caused by good retention and targeted new business in the fleet portfolio. It was also boosted by changes to its contract with Motability, the insurer’s largest commercial motor customer.

Marine also showed strong growth, with net written premiums increasing 22% to £88m (Q1 2014: £72m). RSA said the marine book benefited from good retention and lower reinsurance costs, as well as the absence of premium adjustments it made in last year’s first quarter.

Commercial property net written premiums rose 7% to £129m (Q1 2014: £121m). This was caused by lower reinsurance premiums, partly offset by targeted exits from some business.

The only UK commercial line to shrink for RSA was liability, where net written premiums fell 10% to £60m (Q1 2014: £67m). RSA said this reflected continuing portfolio remediation, offset by growth in the company’s Regions Packages portfolio.