400% rise in profits for Ecclesiastical
By Sarah Wood | 26th September 2024
Gloucester-based Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc (Ecclesiastical) saw a big rise in profits in its first half.
Results for the six months to June 30 show overall profit before tax of £41.4m - quadrupling the £10.2m achieved in the same period last year.
The specialist insurance group said this was achieved through a substantial insurance service result of £36.8m (H1 2023: £23.0m) and boosted by an investment result of £34.6m (H1 2023: £14.7m), driven by fair value movements in its equities portfolio.

Gross written premiums (GWP) continued to grow, rising to £301.1m (H1 2023: £288.2m). This was driven by new business wins and supported by strong retention and customer loyalty. In the UK and Ireland, GWP rose by 11.3% from £190.9m to £212.5m.
For general insurance, Ecclesiastical reported a strong underwriting profit of £20.4m, a big increase on the £0.3m reported for the same period last year. It said this was due to a more stable claims environment thanks to fewer major events compared to H1 2023.
Ecclesiastical UK continued its growth into new sectors with the launch of its new office professions product in July 2024, for office-based businesses providing professional services, and widened its leisure appetite following a successful launch in 2023.
As part of its mission to contribute to the greater good of society, Ecclesiastical announced a grant of £8m to its charitable owner Benefact Trust in respect of our first half performance. This brings the total given to good causes in the past decade to £231m - and keeps the insurer on course to reach its target of giving £250m to good causes by the end of 2025.
Mark Hews, group chief executive officer of Ecclesiastical, said: "The first half of 2024 saw continued positive trading momentum in the UK with excellent growth in premiums, both in our existing specialisms and in our new leisure sector, which launched last year and has driven 20% of our open market new business.
"In the UK we continued our expansion into adjacent sectors with the launch of our Office Professions product in July 2024, targeted at all clerical-based office risks, such as accountants, architects, estate agents, lawyers, insurance brokers, call centres, graphic designers and consultants.
"I'd like to thank all our colleagues, brokers, customers and partners for their continued support for our unique business. Every one of them is helping us give even more to good causes and making a real difference in the world."
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