Sabre Insurance Group Plc has reiterated its full-year guidance as part of the motor insurer’s trading update for the first four months of 2023.
According to the underwriter, here’s how it performed in the period in terms of gross written premium (GWP):
|
GWP source |
January-April 2023 |
January-April 2022 |
|---|---|---|
|
Motor |
£47.9 million |
£45.3 million |
|
Motorcycle |
£6.3 million |
£12 million |
|
Taxi |
£4.7 million |
£2.5 million |
|
Total |
£58.9 million |
£59.8 million |
In its trading update, Sabre highlighted its expectation for the full year, which is high single-digit growth in overall GWP. Meanwhile, claims inflation is anticipated to remain at around 10%.
Commenting on the numbers, chief executive Geoff Carter said: “I am pleased to be able to continue my message of cautious optimism from our full-year results into our first update for 2023, and indeed I am feeling slightly more optimistic given strong volumes in recent weeks. In particular, we have been encouraged by the trends that we have been seeing from mid-March and into May.
“There is clear evidence that market pricing is improving, and we have seen weekly gross written premiums across this period in our core motor business over 20% higher than the same time last year. We anticipate this trend of improving market pricing will continue, albeit it is too early to tell what the pace and trajectory of improvement will be, and are confident in our ability to continue to grow volumes at the appropriate margin.”
Carter pointed out that the insurer is currently in the “fortunate position” of making pricing decisions aimed at finding an optimal point between volume growth and margin enhancement.
“We expect the loss ratios in the core motor business to improve through the rest of 2023, with pricing actions reflecting ongoing inflation,” added the CEO. “Volumes for the taxi business have been suppressed while this market segment remains challenging. The actions we took last year and this year to increase the profitability of the motorcycle businesses should generate a positive contribution to profit.
“If these positive market pricing trends and run-rates continue through the rest of the year, we anticipate a strong bounce-back in earnings compared to 2022.”
What do you think about Sabre’s trading update? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
