FBD Holdings said today that January’s Storm Éowyn is set to be the single biggest storm event in the company’s history.
The insurance company said that while it is still too early to determine the total number and gross cost of claims from the storm and the very cold spell earlier that month, the overall net cost for January 2025 weather is currently expected to about €30m.
FBD Holdings today reported a 5.4% fall in pre-tax profit despite a 12.5% increase in gross written premium.
The insurer made a profit of €77m last year, down from €81.4m in 2023. Its total operating profit fell to €86.45m from €92.64m.
It said it posted policy count growth of 6.3% for the year, with 33,000 additional policies written in 2024.
FBD said its gross written premium increased by 12.5% to €460m last year from €409m in 2023 due to customers increasing their level of insurance cover and a changing business mix,, while insurance revenue rose by 10% to €441m.
It said its property notifications increased by 23% last year compared to 2023, with Storm Isha in January 2024 and Storm Darragh in December contributing significantly to this.
Meanwhile, the average cost of property claims increased by 20% last year, due to a change in mix of claims, inflation and business interruption settlements.
FBD said its private motor average premium increased by 5.5% due to high levels of inflation and frequency seen over 2022 to 2024 in relation to damage claims.
Home and farm average premiums jumped by 10.3% and 8.1% respectively, which FBD said reflected increases in property sums insured as rebuild costs continued to rise.
The company said its motor damage claims started to stabilise in the second half of the year, but added there is evidence of continued inflationary pressure in commercial motor damage claims.
Weather and large claims losses were higher last year than 2023 mainly due to Storm Isha and Storm Darragh, with a net cost to FBD of €14.7m.
It said that property notifications rose by 23% last year on 2023 due to those two big storms. The average cost of property claims increased by 20% due to a change in the mix of claims, inflation and business interruption settlements.
Injury average settlement costs were in line with 2023 and are 7% lower than 2020, which FBD said signalled a generally positive trend since the introduction of the Personal Injury Guidelines in 2021.
It noted that injury settlement rates were up 16% due to the closure of historical cases and a rise in activity though the litigation channel.
FBD also said that large injury claims – defined as a value greater than €250,000 – were slightly lower than the average of the past 10 years.
The company said that given its strong financial performance last year, it is proposing to pay an interim dividend of 100 cent per share for for the year, unchanged from 2023.
FBD’s group chief executive Tomás Ó Midheach said that 2024 was another year of strong performance, with the result underpinned by increased business growth, positive underwriting results and increased investment returns.
“At FBD, we fully understand the significant impact of recent severe weather events, particularly the effect Storm Éoywn has had on many of our customers. We are wholly committed to supporting those who rely on us at a time like this. Our priority is to ensure that claims are processed quickly and fairly,” the CEO said.
“Our sustained growth and prudent capital management has enabled us to deliver four successive years of dividends, demonstrating the strength of the business. Annual dividend sustainability while maintaining a strong capital position, continues to be one of our key goals,” he stated.
“Looking ahead to 2025, FBD is focused on sustaining this momentum. We firmly believe that our relationship focused approach, supported by a digitally enabled, data enriched organisation will continue to deliver real value for our customers and stakeholders alike,” he added.
