Covéa Insurance 2020 results

Covéa Insurance plc has today announced its financial results for 2020.  The company is reporting a 6.9% reduction in gross written premiums to £725.7m, a loss after tax of £30.8m, and a combined operating ratio of 109.6%.

The gross written premium (GWP) and combined operating ratio (COR) by main product line were as follows:

In a year dominated by the wide-reaching impacts of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the company has delivered a resilient performance, continuing to deliver high-quality services to its customers and business partners throughout the year, in spite of the challenges of moving to a “work from home” solution for the vast majority of its people. 

Gross written premiums were 6.9% lower than in 2019, with strong growth in Home, Commercial Lines and Pet offset by a decline in Personal Lines Motor, as a result of price reductions to reflect the lower levels of car usage and a focus on underwriting discipline. 

The company’s underwriting result was adversely impacted by the cost of claims relating to the pandemic.  Commercial and Protection claims were significantly higher than anticipated, including net business interruption claims relating to the lockdowns of £46.5m, and £7.1m of additional payment and income protection claims, largely associated with increased unemployment rates.  These additional costs more than offset a reduction in Motor claims as a result of lower levels of car usage. 

Announcing the results, James Reader, Chief Executive, commented: 

“2020 was a year unlike any other and I am immensely proud of, and grateful to, our people who, despite all the challenges arising from the pandemic, pulled together and supported each other to ensure that we continued to deliver for our customers and partners. 

“Whilst our result for the year is obviously disappointing, I am also proud that we’ve done the right things for our customers through these difficult times.  In the very early days of the pandemic, we identified that a small proportion of our commercial policies provided cover for the impact of the lockdown.  We communicated that fact to the impacted customers within days of the Government’s announcement and have been proactively paying claims since last April.  By the end of the year, over 75% of valid claims had been settled.  

“Looking to the future, I’m confident that we are well positioned to benefit from customers’ increasing expectations for high-quality products and services. We have maintained the pace of our digital transformation programme, which is replacing our legacy IT systems with a new platform that will provide an important foundation to enable our future growth. We have also continued to both strengthen our existing partner relationships and build new ones.  Our recently announced partnership with Vitality is an exciting step for Covéa Insurance and a great example of what the future holds for our business”.

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About Covéa Insurance

Covéa Insurance Plc is the UK underwriting business of leading French mutual insurance group Covéa (which includes the global reinsurer PartnerRe since July 2022). 

Covéa Insurance looks after the insurance needs of UK customers, across a range of product lines; delivering financial reassurance through its Standard & Poor’s ‘AA- stable’ rating, as a guaranteed subsidiary of Covéa.  

Covéa Insurance has a strong people and service ethos and holds ServiceMark accreditation with Distinction for its Personal Lines operation and its Commercial & HNW Claims teams, as well as Chartered Insurer status for its Commercial business. Covéa Insurance is signatory to the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and the insurance Inclusivity Pledge and has been named one of the top 75 employers in West Yorkshire & the Humber. In 2022 Covéa Insurance was named Insurer of the Year at the British Claims Awards and Personal Lines Insurer of the Year at the Insurance Times Awards.