Talanx ups primary insurance margins, grows double-digit in industrial
Talanx's commercial and specialty primary insurance business increased margins on a one-two punch of tamed losses and a double digit revenue gain, part and parcel to a 21% rise in H1 group profits.
The segment's combined ratio at 93.1% in the first half, down a full percentage point from the prior year reading, proved low enough to confirm Talanx's goal to come in below the 96% mark for the full year. Segment EBIT rose 9.2% to €190 million.
Management cited lower frequency losses, lower large loss payments and a boost from the IFRS17 discounting effects. Large loss payments were €134 million, down 30% from the prior-year period.
Insurance revenues, the IFRS-17 revenue measure already inclusive of actuarial margins, rose 10.7% to €4.2 billion in the first half, enough for Talanx to confirm its forecast for high single digit growth for FY2023.
Management cited “strong growth in commercial and more deliberate business selection in specialty.”
With underwriting margins likewise up in retail international, albeit with slippage in retail Germany, the combined ratio for all primary insurance ended with a fractional improvement, down 0.6 points to 94.3%.
Operating profits rose across all primary segments, including on higher investment gains. Together with the rise in profits at reinsurance unit Hannover Re already reported, the group ended H1 with an attributable net profit of €827 million, a 20.6% increase on the prior year period.
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