Sabre Insurance hikes dividend as turnaround gathers speed
Sabre Insurance has reported a 105.9 per cent surge in pre-tax profit for 2024, driven by record-high premium income and strict underwriting discipline.
The UK motor insurer, which has struggled to keep up with the market in recent years, reported gross written premium growth of per cent year-on-year to £236.4m. IFRS profit before tax jumped to £48.6m.
Overall, the company reported a net loss ratio of 58.7 per cent, 2.9 percentage points better than the 61.6 per cent recorded for 2023.
Sabre reported a combined ratio of 84.2 per cent, down from 91.6 per cent in 2023.
The company’s net insurance margin rose to 17.6 per cent, up seven percentage points from 2023.
Off the back of these numbers, Sabre Insurance hiked its dividend by 44.4 per cent to share to 13p. It also announced a £5m share buyback subject to regulatory approval.
The firm’s solvency coverage ratio remained robust at 171.2 per cent post-dividend and 163.1 per cent after the planned buyback.
At the end of last year, Sabre’s boss, chief executive officer Geoff Carter, laid out plans to drive group profit to at least £80m by 2030 by improving underwriting margins and expanding its product range.
Commenting on the result, Carter said: “We grew strongly in the first half of the year when market conditions were attractive, and we maintained our strict underwriting discipline despite a steep decline in market prices during the second half.
“This allowed Sabre Insurance to deliver a strong financial performance and robust capital position for the business. We were delighted to announce our Ambition 2030 growth strategy in December last year and are encouraged by the early progress we have made as we continue to invest in the growth of the business.
“Loss ratios on core Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle are excellent and underpin this strategy, while our complementary growth initiatives are progressing as planned. Sabre Direct, our in-house Motorcycle brand, is being soft launched in March, and core Motor Vehicle pricing tests are planned for H2 2025, in-line with the timeline set out at our recent Capital Markets Event.
“We continue to expect profit growth from Ambition 2030 to be weighted towards the second half of the six-year period as these initiatives gain further traction and momentum – complementing our core business.”