Ecclesiastical to donate £5m to good causes as it announces positive first half performance (1 Jan – 30 Jun)

Financial headlines

• Ecclesiastical will donate a further £5million to its charitable owner in September 2018 to give to good causes. This will take donations by the financial services group to over £100m to charity over the last five years.
• Gross written premiums (GWP) up 4% from the same period last year at £172.7m (H1 2017: £166.0m), supported by strong retention and new propositions
• Profit before tax of £19.4m (H1 2017: £42.2m)
• Investment returns of £17.7m (H1 2017: £40.1m), returning to more normal levels following exceptional gains last year
•  Underwriting profit of £8.0m giving a combined operating ratio (COR) of 92.3% (H1 2017: profit of £9.6m, COR 90.5%) supported by risk management initiatives and continued favourable claims settlements in the UK

A positive financial performance in the first half of 2018 has enabled Ecclesiastical, the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK, to give a further £5million to good causes.

After an exceptional performance in 2017, underpinned by strong performance of global equity markets, Ecclesiastical’s H1 performance was in line with expectations, with the company posting a profit before tax of £19.4m (H1 2017: £42.2m) in the six months to June 30. The results were boosted by a four per cent increase in gross written premiums (GWP) year-on-year – up from £166.0m to £172.7m.

The company continues to see growth in Art and Private Client, Charity, Heritage and Schemes business and has ambitious plans for the future.

The company celebrated a number of successes in the first half of 2018 including:

• Continued external recognition of the Group as a trusted and specialist financial services organisation, including 1st place Gold Ribbon by Fairer Finance as most trusted provider of UK Home Insurance, Insurance Times Claims Excellence Award, and three Insurance Post Claims Awards for Ecclesiastical, and SEIB winning Personal Lines Broker of the Year at the British Claims Awards.
• Confirmation that the Group’s Canadian Business retained its Top Employer for Young People status for the sixth consecutive year.
• Continued investment in our Art & Private Client capability, with a number of new appointments made and systems enhancements in plan. Successfully developed new relationships in the Schemes market. Also supported brokers with the delivery of our insight programme, helping them to understand and address key issues and challenges in the marketplace. Major investment planned in new systems to make it easier for brokers to do business with us.
• Publication of the Group’s first Impact Report, demonstrating how the Group is changing people’s lives for the better
• New three-year partnership announced with The Prince’s Foundation to support master craft skills to help preserve and protect churches and historic buildings across the UK

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ecclesiastical, said:  “I am delighted to be announcing that a further £5m will be donated to charity following our financial performance in 2018.  This is a major personal milestone for me as it means that we have now donated over £100m to charitable causes since I took the role of CEO just over five years ago.  Alongside this, we have provided financial support directly to a number of programmes and projects with key partners including The Prince’s Foundation, Historic England, and children’s charity Coram.

“Ecclesiastical is unlike any other financial services group - we are a commercial company with a wholly charitable purpose and one of the top five corporate donors in the UK. On behalf of the thousands of beneficiaries worldwide I would like to thank all our customers, brokers, business partners, colleagues and supporters.  Together we are transforming people’s lives for the better.

“The achievement is made all the more special through independent feedback from the UK’s home insurance customers that recognised Ecclesiastical once again as the most trusted insurer in the UK ahead of all other insurers.

“Our ambition is that, together, we can build a movement for good and champion a more caring, ethical and trusted way of doing business.”

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