Esure gross written premiums rise, sees FY at top end of guidance

Esure said on Thursday that it expects to deliver results at the top end of its guidance for 2017 as it reported a rise in first-quarter gross written premiums.

In a trading update for the three months to the end of March, the group said written premiums were up 24.1% to £187.4m, with Motor premiums up 29%, but those for Home down 4.9%.

Chief executive officer Stuart Vann said: "We have made a strong start to 2017, with trading in Motor particularly pleasing. Our strategic initiatives are performing well and provide us with great opportunities and confidence to deliver our growth ambition of 3 million policies by 2020.

"In Motor, along with the market, we have started to increase pricing in response to the change in the Ogden discount rate and continued our growth momentum. In Home, the market remains challenging and we continue to temper our growth as we do not believe current market conditions provide opportunities for profitable growth. However, the Home portfolio continues to deliver a positive contribution to the group."

The group said that following a better start to the year than it expected, it is now on track to deliver results at the top end of the 2017 guidance given at the full-year results in March.

Esure said in March that assuming stable market conditions and normal weather, it continued to expect strong growth in both premiums and in-force policies at 15-20% and 5-10%, respectively, with a combined operating ratio in the region of 96-98%.