International General Insurance Holdings Ltd (IGI) has released its financial results for 2018, bannered by a 237% increase in net profit.
2018 was a year of strong recovery for IGI following the most expensive year for catastrophe losses on record in 2017, it said in a statement. Gross written premium (GWP) rose by 9.5% to US$301.56 million in 2018, compared to US$275.3 million the year before. Its net profit increased by 237% to US$26.47 million, up from US$7.86 million. Meanwhile, its combined operating ratio was 88.97%, improving significantly from 103.08% the previous year.
The company’s total assets increased by 2.09% – from US$888.79 million to US$907.35 million.
“Our solid performance is the result of the excellent teams, well-diversified portfolios and strong underwriting ethos we have spent the last 17 years building and developing at IGI,” said Wasef Jabsheh (pictured), vice chairman and chief executive officer of IGI.
“Current market conditions are presenting new and lucrative opportunities, which we will look to capitalise on while continuing to apply our prudent underwriting philosophy.
“We are also very pleased to see action taken by the industry to address the challenging market conditions and facilitate a more stable, profitable environment. Rates are improving, and we hope this is the beginning of the market bringing pricing back to a point where they reflect technical adequacy with the full recognition of the need to return to a stable and profitable underwriting environment.”
