IGI rebounds from 2017 cat losses

International General Insurance Holdings, which owns reinsurer IGI Bermuda, has announced that it made a profit of $26.47 million for the 2018 financial year.

This was up 237 percent up from $7.86 million profit it made in the previous year.

The company said that 2018 saw a strong recovery for it following the most expensive year for catastrophe losses on record in 2017. IGI added that the Group has a clear and focused vision of growth in new and existing markets, putting IGI back in track for another robust performance for the 2018 financial year.

Gross written premium (GWP) rose by 9.5 percent to $301.56 million in 2018, compared to $275.3 million the year before. The combined operating ratio was 88.97 percent, considerably down from last year’s figure of 103.08 percent.

The total assets of the company increased by 2.09 percent to $907.35 million in 2018 from $888.79 million in 2017.

Wasef Jabsheh, vice chairman and chief executive officer of IGI, said: “Our solid performance is the result of the excellent teams, well-diversified portfolios and strong underwriting ethos we have spent the last 17 years building and developing at IGI.

“Current market conditions are presenting new and lucrative opportunities, which we will look to capitalise on whilst continuing to apply our prudent underwriting philosophy.

“We are also very pleased to see action taken by the industry to address the challenging market conditions and facilitate a more stable, profitable environment. Rates are improving, and we hope this is the beginning of the market bringing pricing back to a point where they reflect technical adequacy with the full recognition of the need to return to a stable and profitable underwriting environment.”