QUINN-direct Insurance - FURTHER SUCCESS IN 2004
- QUINN-direct - Further gain in market share as prices continue to fall.
7 March 2005
| |
2004 |
2003 |
| Premium Income |
€473m |
€355m |
| Underwriting Profit |
€98m |
€72m |
| Investment Gains |
€55m |
€65m |
| Pre-Tax Profit |
€153m |
€128m |
QUINN-
direct Insurance, the Irish insurer today announced that it made a Pre Tax Profit of €153m in 2004. This is an increase of 19% over the 2003 result. Written premiums increased by 33% to €473m in the period even though insurance rates have continued to reduce across all business lines. This increase in premium income further consolidates the Company position as a premier Irish insurer and demonstrates its ability to grow in an increasingly competitive market.
Despite reductions in average premiums, underwriting margins have been maintained. This has been achieved through a combination of ongoing efficiency of operation and cost control; proactive claims management and strong underwriting processes in all business segments.
The high rate of growth experienced by the Company in Ireland, over the previous 8 years has continued in 2004. There has also been a positive start to the Company's operations in the UK where it opened its first sales support office at Salford Quays in Manchester, further enhancing its physical presence in the UK market.
Further investment has been made in leading-edge contact-centre technology infrastructure and staff development, with the Company now employing over 1,000 personnel in its five offices in Ireland and the UK.
The General Manager of QUINN-
direct; Kevin Lunney said:
"We are extremely pleased with the strong growth and profit being generated by each segment of our business. There is significant strength in the underwriting performance and this is attributable to a number of factors.
- Our predominantly direct business model continues to be more efficient and cost effective than traditional sales methods.
- We believe we have a good understanding of the needs of our business customers given the wide range of industries that the Quinn Group has experience of. This, combined with a true partnership approach to risk management is proving highly successful with our commercial customers in both the UK and Ireland.
- There has been evidence that recent government initiatives in Ireland have lowered the cost of claims on the roads and in the workplace.
- We adopt a very proactive approach to claims management, which helps reduce our exposure to legal and related costs.
These and other factors giveQUINN-
direct a significant cost advantage over our competitors and enable us to pass on meaningful cost savings to customers. Prices have reduced by more than 10% on average in the period, in line with previous years, and similar reductions are expected in the current year. The competitiveness of our pricing has been repeatedly proven in national surveys and is reflected in the 33% growth in turnover in the period.
We foresee that the continuing efficiencies of ou operation will ensur that our position as th fastest growing insurer in Ireland will be maintained. Our very stron capital base and moder physical infrastructure have created the necessary environment to achieve sustained growt into the future. We ar therefore confident in ou ability to further improve our position in both markets and see significant ongoing opportunities to further exten our reach in terms of products and marke share.”
For further information, please contact:
Brian Bell, WHPR
Tel: (01) 669 0030
