International General Insurance Holdings Ltd. (IGI) has reported profit of US $14.5 million for the first quarter of 2021, compared with a loss of $900,000 for the same period last year.
This was partly attributable to an improvement in underwriting performance, as the net underwriting result stood at $27.6 million at March 31st, versus $23.2 million previously.
Investment income likewise moved from a $2.0 million loss in Q1 2020 to a $5.0 million positive result this year. The company said the performance in 2020 was due to significant unrealized revaluation losses on investments caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.
And IGI also saw a far smaller loss on foreign exchange this year, at $1.2 million versus $11.9 million previously.
The combined ratio for the quarter came to 84.6%, up slightly from 81.3% in Q1 2020 as the earlier figure had benefitted from the weakening of the Pound Sterling against the U.S. dollar, IGI explained.
Gross written premiums were $100.6 million for Q1 2021, compared to $99.2 million last year. While market conditions remained positive, IGI also continued to further refine its existing portfolio and seek improved terms and conditions.
Breaking down this result by segment, gross and net premiums written for reinsurance business were $9.0 million, compared to $7.0 million previously, and represented approximately 9% of IGI’s gross written premiums for the quarter.
The net underwriting result for the Reinsurance Segment was $1.5 million, compared to $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2020 primarily due to a $1.9 million higher level of claims and claims adjustment expenses, partially offset by a $1.3 million higher net premium earned in the first quarter of 2021.
The Long-tail Segment represented 38% of IGI’s gross written premiums and includes all professional and financial lines written by the company, including D&O, professional indemnity, financial institutions, legal expenses, as well as surety, marine liability, inherent defects insurance, and general third-party liability (non U.S. casualty).
Gross premiums written for this segment were $38.2 million, and the net underwriting result was $12.7 million.
Finally, the Short-tail Segment represented approximately 53% of premiums, and includes energy, property, general aviation, ports and terminals, marine trades, marine cargo, construction and engineering, and political violence.
This segment recorded gross premiums written of $53.4 million and a net underwriting result $13.4 million, boosted by an increase in net premiums earned of $4.5 million and a $0.9 million lower level of claims and claims adjustment expenses.
“We have had a very solid start to 2021 on the back of our strong performance in 2020,” said IGI Chairman and CEO Wasef Jabsheh.
“Our results for the first quarter of 2021 clearly illustrate the strength of our underwriting capabilities and our agility in managing the portfolio to maximize returns. While rate momentum remained robust with increases of more than 15% across our portfolio during the first quarter, we saw the pace of rate acceleration slowing down in certain lines. Gross written premiums were broadly in line with the first quarter of 2020, but more significantly, net earned premiums were up 20.0% with a combined ratio of 84.6%,” Jabsheh continued.
“Having completed our first full year as a U.S. listed company, I am very pleased with our progress, having grown our book value per share by 15.1% from March 31, 2020. We look forward to continuing our long track-record of success in generating value for our shareholders.”
