Sabre Insurance premium volumes 'extremely volatile'

Underwriter Sabre Insurance warned on Thursday that premium volumes continued to be "extremely volatile" amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sabre said premiums were down 5% year-on-year at £43.7m over the twelve months ended 31 March as a result of the initial impact of Covid-19, while new business quotes were down 25% since the coronavirus lockdowns began in late-March.

The FTSE 250-listed group cited consumer behaviour and competitor pricing activity, as well as a decrease in car sales and social distancing measures, for the weakened performance throughout the period.

However, chief executive Geoff Carter did note the group had seen an improvement in premium levels as May progressed.

Carter said: "With market volatility expected to continue at least until the current social distancing measures start to ease, and probably for several months thereafter, it remains difficult to forecast the full-year premium outcome with any certainty at this stage.

"However, we are confident that the year-on-year reduction in premium written reflects the temporary and unique market conditions and volatility."

Sabre also highlighted continued strong organic capital generation - with a solvency coverage ratio of 186%, exceeding its preferred range of 140-160%.

Significantly, it remained minded to return excess capital through an additional interim dividend at "the appropriate point this year" and stated it was confident of "maintaining an attractive dividend for 2020".

As of 0910 BST, Sabre shares were down 0.89% at 277p.