Profit before tax at FBD fell to €77m last year despite the gross written premiums increasing 13% as the insurer agreed to an additional 33,000 policies year-on-year.

FBD's pre-tax profit declined 5.3% from €81.4m in 2023, and the group reported €460.2m in gross written premiums in 2024, up 12.5% from €409.1m in 2023, with increases across all sectors but led by farming.

"Retention rates remain consistently high in 2024, particularly in Farmer and Business sectors," FBD said in its annual report.

"New business growth has remained consistently strong in our Farmer sector.

"Our Retail sector has also performed well with new business growth through FBD Direct as well as with An Post Insurance and Bank of Ireland."

Insurance revenue increased 10% from €401m to €441m, but the decrease in profitability was largely down to a 13% lower underwriting result of €66.6m and a €6.2m loss from an unwind of discounting, although investment return rose from €19.1m to €26.1m, reflecting higher yields on bonds and positive returns on risk assets.

The group made an operating profit of €86.5m, down from €92.6m in 2023, before finance and other group costs of €9.4m, also down from €11.2m the previous year.

The average cost of premiums increased by 5.8% across the FBD portfolio, with half of the increase down to customers raising their level of cover and changing business mix, and the rest down to more expensive premiums due in part to inflation.

Private motor average premium increased by 5.5%, in response to high levels of inflation and frequency experienced from 2022 to 2024 in relation to damage claims, FBD said.

Home and farm average premiums increased by 10.3% and 8.1%, respectively, reflecting increases in property sums insured as rebuild costs continued to rise.

FBD incurred €266.7m in gross claims last year, up from €238.1m after seeing property claims increase 23% year-on-year due to storms Isha and Darragh bookending the year.

The average cost of property claims increased by 20% due to a change in the mix of claims, inflation and business interruption settlements. Net of reinsurance weather losses rose year-on-year due to the storms, with a net cost of €14.7m.

Injury average settlement costs remained in line with prior year, however they are 7% lower than 2020, following the introduction of Personal Injury Guidelines the following year.

FBD’s Injuries Resolution Board (IRB) acceptance rates are approaching pre-Guidelines levels, the company said.

Injury settlement rates increased 16% year on year, driven by the closure of historical cases and an increase in activity through the litigation channel.

In terms of motor damage claims, FBD said it saw indications that costs were beginning to stabilise in the second half of 2024, although there is continued evidence of inflationary pressures in commercial motor damage claims.

In its outlook, FBD said that Storm Éowyn is set to be the single biggest storm in FBD's history.

"While it is still too early to determine the total number and gross cost of claims from the weather events of January 2025, FBD's reinsurance programme provides cover for extreme events, and this will mitigate the financial impact to FBD.

"As a result, the overall net cost (including reinstatement premium) for January 2025 weather is currently expected to be approximately €30m."

Tomás Ó Midheach, group CEO of FBD, said the company is prioritising ensuring that claims relating to Storm Éowyn are processed quickly and fairly.

"Looking ahead to 2025, FBD is focused on sustaining this momentum.

"We firmly believe that our relationship-focused approach, supported by a digitally enabled, data-enriched organisation will continue to deliver real value for our customers and stakeholders alike," he said.

(Pic: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)