Axa UK profit hit after 29,000 flood claims
Insurance group Axa today said a £223m (€292m) hit from floods and storms in the UK last year knocked nearly a third off annual earnings at its UK general and health insurance arm.
The firm said 2007 underlying earnings at the division plummeted by £83m (€108.8m) to £263m (€344.5m) after it was besieged by claims relating to the adverse weather, including more than 29,000 claims from the June and July floods.
Hoiwever, Axa’s wider UK business shrugged off the impact to see underlying earnings lift 15% to £354 million last year.
The group said it was able to offset the claims payouts by releasing reserves that had been set aside to cover long-running liability claims, which had cost less than expected on settlement.
A 6% increase in life and savings business to £1.09bn (€1.42bn) – on an annual premium equivalent basis – also boosted UK figures.
