Legal & General’s insurance business stagnates in 2016

Life and general insurance provider Legal & General has recorded a 12 percent rise in operating profit in 2016, but the insurance division stagnated during the period.

Overall, operating profits from the company’s divisions grew to £1.90 billion in 2016 from £1.79 billion in 2015. The improvement was driven by Legal & General Retirement, which boosted operating profit by 27 percent to £811 million in 2016.

At the same time, Legal & General Insurance recorded a 1 percent rise in operating profit to £317 million, while General Insurance grew 2 percent to £52 million.

Legal & General Insurance operating profit was flat year-on-year, in part as a consequence of a £39 million lower expected release from the UK retail protection back book, and adverse claims experience of £43 million, primarily in group protection, the company said in a statement. In addition, the 2015 comparator for Legal & General Insurance was impacted by one-off reserve strengthening primarily relating to the modelling of reinsurance contracts in retail protection.

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