FBD Holdings PLC (FBD) has announced that it expects to report a profit before tax for 2022 of at least €70 million.
In a trading update issued yesterday (Tuesday, February 14), the insurer said that its 2022 full-year financial performance is “expected to be significantly ahead of market expectations”.
However, the company noted that strong underwriting results have been “partially offset” by a negative return on investments.
FBD said that the underwriting performance has benefited from low injury claims frequency.
The performance was also increased as a result of benign weather throughout the year and a positive year prior for reserve development.
The trading update outlined that investment returns are negative for the 2022 year by €10 million through the income statement and by €90 million through other comprehensive income “reflecting the mark to market movement on our bond portfolios”.
The trading update was issued ahead of the publication of FBD’s full-year results on March 10, 2023.
FBD
In August, FBD Holdings reported a profit before tax of €18.9 million for the first six months of 2022, compared to a figure of €22 million for the same period in 2021.
The group reported an underwriting profit for the period of €34.5 million (2021: €13 million).
According to the accounts, average customer insurance premiums remained relatively flat across the portfolio.
The private motor average premium reduced by 8.1% and commercial motor reduced by 3.3%, reflecting the expected reduction in claims costs as a result of the new personal injury guidelines and an improvement in underlying claims experience.
Commercial business average premium increased 6.2% and farm average premium increased by 2.2%, as a result of increases in property elements as sums insured increased due to inflation in construction costs, according to the group.
The average tractor premium increased by 5% due to a higher proportion of newer tractors and the increasing value of existing tractors.
The increase in the home average premium was contained at 2.4% despite increasing sums insured due to inflation, according to FBD.