Gard yesterday announced its results for the year ending February 20th 2018. At a group level, Gard booked a post-tax surplus of $193m on an Estimated Total Call (ETC) basis. The net combined ratio net was 91% on an ETC basis – a profit of $59m.
Gross written premium was $775m on ETC basis. The investment return was $144m – a return of 6.3%.
Equity reserves after a reduction in the deferred call were $1,249m.
The insurance cost for mutual Members will be reduced by $79m, i.e., a cancellation of the entire deferred call.
Gard CEO Rolf Thore Roppestad said that “despite competitive market conditions, we made an underwriting profit across all areas of our business last year. We also benefited from a first-class investment result. The combination of these factors means that, for the 11th year in a row, we are able to give money back to our Members by reducing their premiums through cancelling part or all of the deferred call.”
The CEO noted that, while the group’s income declined by 11%, “primarily due to an ongoing reduction in pricing and values, as well as lower demand in some segments”, the technical result benefited from a benign claims environment. He added that the club had “benefited from quality Members driving improvements in operations and, as result, attracting new owners of a similar quality with whom to share risk.”