Allianz Ireland premiums down 10%

Insurer Allianz said today that gross premiums written in its Irish division were down 9.5 per cent during the third quarter.

Allianz Ireland's combined ratio increased to 104 per cent in the third quarter, compared to 98.9 per cent for the same three-month period a year earlier.

Gross premiums written were down 6.6 per cent for the year-to-date as against 6 per cent for 2008 while net earned premiums down 4 per cent for the first nine months of 2009.

Publishing its latest results this morning, the insurer's parent reported quarterly operating profit of €1.92 billion, up 23 per cent year-on-year.

The company swung to a quarterly net profit of €1.3 billion, from a €2 billion loss in the third quarter of 2008, when it sold its unprofitable Dresdner Bank unit to Commerzbank.

The company's main business of property and casualty insurance posted an 18 per cent decline in operating profit from the year-earlier quarter.

"While pricing is on an upward trend, our volumes remain challenged due to weaker demand, the effects of our portfolio cleaning measures and selective underwriting," Allianz said of the segment, which normally accounts for some 60 per cent of group operating profit but in the third quarter contributed little more than half.

Added reporting: Reuters