Motor insurer Sabre Insurance (SBRE) gained 2% to 261.5p as a trading update ahead of its AGM pointed to a ‘strong’ result for the current financial year.
The company reported that volumes were in line with expectations for the first quarter of 2021 despite continuing to prioritise profitability over volume with price increases ‘materially’ ahead of the wider market.
Gross written premiums for the four months to 30 April 2021 were £46 million compared with £54.6 million a year ago.
Volumes were ahead year-on-year in April and the combined ratio for the financial year - showing the ratio of claims to premiums - is expected to be within the targeted range of 70% to 80%.
A ratio below 100% demonstrates an underwriter is taking in more in premiums than it pays out in claims.
‘CONFIDENT VOLUMES WILL INCREASE’
CEO Geoff Carter commented: ‘Premiums in April were 14.6% higher than the same period last year, with the weekly run-rate increasing relative to 2020 towards the end of the month and into the first week of May. This is despite us being consistent with regard to our pricing discipline and against a backdrop of low quote volumes across the market.
‘Looking forward, we remain confident that volumes will increase as the number of drivers and car sales increase. We also expect that - in due course - the FCA pricing review, changes to small bodily injury claims and ongoing claims inflation will drive some competitors to increase prices materially.’
On this latter point Numis analyst Nick Johnston observed that should this be the case ‘we would expect the relativity of Sabre’s pricing to improve versus the market, thus potentially contributing to income growth’.
