19 December 2014 Insurance

Skuld results hit by big claims in last quarter

Marine insurer Skuld made a $6.5 million underwriting loss for the nine months to November 20, 2014, largely due to a series of substantial claims in the last three months of the period.

Its so-called ‘bottom-line result’, which included $12 million of investment income, came in at a more positive $5.1 million profit but this was also well short of the $31 million it made in the same period a year earlier.

Another positive for the business was an 11 percent growth or $29 million in its premiums compared with the same period last year.

It said it had been hit by a number of large claims in the most recent quarter in excess of $1 million from Skuld members. They have fallen within Skuld’s own club retention and are not shared by the International Group of P&I clubs’ pooling system. Skuld’s claims analyses indicate a tendency towards increasing cargo and collision claims, the company said.

Douglas Jacobsohn, Skuld president and CEO, said: “The increasing claims costs and the challenging churn on the owners’ book of business underlines the importance of Skuld’s diversification strategy where the non-mutual products and our Lloyd’s syndicate Skuld 1897 both enhance the service offering and mitigate some of the required premium increases for our members.

“The quarterly updates from Skuld demonstrate the volatility in our business throughout the year and the importance of having a strong balance sheet to protect our members.

“During 2014 we have expanded our commitments in the London market and this has been a key success factor to our continued growth. Skuld’s London operation has a strong team of skilled underwriters for our Lloyd’s syndicate and the office has been further strengthened with its own risk manager. As a further step in Skuld’s diversification, the London office is now fully equipped to service all P&I products as well, including Owners Mutual P&I/FDD and Charterers P&I/FDD in addition to Skuld Offshore, Skuld Fixed P&I and Skuld Yachts.

“Skuld continues to focus on service, innovation, diversification and growth. Investment in our people is essential as we continue our commitment to provide our members, clients and brokers with first-class service and competence they can rely on.”

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