(Adds detail, CEO comment)
LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - British insurer RSA said
on Thursday its underwriting profit rose strongly in the first
nine months of 2020 due to improvements it had made to its
underwriting strategy, despite the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic.
RSA's combined ratio, a measure of performance in which a
level below 100% indicates a profit, stood at 90% in the third
quarter, helped also by lower non-pandemic related claims.
RSA did not give full profit numbers in its third quarter
trading statement.
But it said investment income was lower in the year to date,
and group net written premiums fell 3% to 4.7 billion pounds
($6.12 billion).
"RSA's inherent strength and the improvements we have made
are driving the business forward," Chief Executive Stephen
Hester said in a statement, adding that "the outlook for
continued underwriting improvements remains positive".
RSA, best known in Britain for its More Than brand, also has
large operations in Canada, Ireland and Scandinavia.
RSA is appealing some policy wordings in a case brought by
the Financial Conduct Authority against eight insurers over
business interruption insurance claims.
The insurer said on Thursday that it was revising down its
initial estimate of the gross impact of the September ruling by
around 20 million pounds.
RSA has previously said paying claims on the policies would
cost around 104 million pounds, but some of this would be
covered by reinsurance.
($1 = 0.7683 pounds)
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn, editing by Sinead Cruise)
