Hastings nine-month gross written premiums up 25%, market share rises

FTSE 250 insurer Hastings posted a rise in gross written premiums for the first nine months of the year as the number of live customer policies increased and the company said it is on track to meet all of its targets for 2019.

In the nine months to 30 September, gross written premiums were up 25% to £714.3m compared with the same period a year ago, with live customer policies of 2.60m, up 14% on the year.

Meanwhile, net revenue grew 22% to £538.3m and the company's share of the UK private car insurance market rose to 7.2% from 6.4%.

Chief executive Gary Hoffman said: " Whilst we have seen some short term market pricing fluctuations following the UK Government's recent Ogden discount rate announcement, our premium and claims inflation have continued to show similar trends to those we reported at the half year.

"We remain focused on our robust underwriting discipline and continue to invest in reinforcing our digital advantage. The continued roll out of Guidewire, our next generation broking and digital platform, is benefitting our customers and will provide a platform for future growth and longer term operating cost efficiencies."

At 0915 BST, the shares were up 0.1% to 319.70p.