RSA Canada reports 15% growth in net written premiums for first half of 2013

RSA Canada has reported a 15% growth in its net written premiums for the first six months of the year to $1.36 billion, versus $1.18 billion in the first half of 2012.

“In the first half of the year we’ve continued to outperform the industry with strong organic growth across both personal and commercial lines, in addition to benefits resulting from our acquisition of L’Union Canadienne (UC) in Q4 2012,” Rowan Saunders, RSA Canada’s president and CEO noted in a statement.

In commercial lines, premiums were up 14% to $468 million. For personal lines, including Johnson Inc., premiums were up 16% to $892 million, driven by the UC acquisition, the company noted.

Broker business, particularly in British Columbia, improved retention across the book, RSA added.

However, its underwriting result of $23 million was “inevitably negatively impacted by severe weather, namely late-June’s flooding in Southern Alberta, which is expected to be one of the largest natural catastrophes in Canadian history,” the insurer said.

Gross claims for that event are above reinsurance retentions, the company said, leading to a maximum net loss of $75 million.  As a result, the combined operating ratio was 98.7%.  Excluding the impact of the Alberta floods, the COR was 93.3%.

“The first half of 2013 has seen unprecedented severe weather, and the heavy GTA rainfall of July 8 has the potential to result in another significant catastrophic event for the industry,” Saunders noted.

“A benefit of being part of a large international insurer is that we’ve been able to leverage resources and experience from other Group countries to ensure we are doing everything we can to get our customers back to normal as quickly as possible,” he added.