Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc has reported gross written premiums of £640.3m for the year ended 31st December 2024, representing a rise of 4.1% on the previous year. Its underwriting profit for the year almost doubled to reach £47.6m. The carrier attributed this to the fact 2024 had generated an exceptionally low number of claims and that it had suffered no major losses during the year.

Mark Hews, group chief executive officer of Ecclesiastical, said: “I’m delighted to report excellent financial results for Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc as we continued to deliver on our growth strategy.”

He added: “Profits before tax rose to £82.5m, up from £44.8m in 2023. This included an insurance result of £83.5m (2023: £70.7m) and an investment result of £71.9m (2023: £57.5m). Underwriting profits increased to £47.6m from £24.5m due to continued growth and a more stable claims environment due to lower-than-anticipated large losses and more benign weather conditions. This contrasts with 2023 when we had our single biggest loss in the UK with the devastating fire at St Mark’s Church in London. Gross written premiums rose 4.1% to £640.6m from £615.0m in 2023, driven by new business wins and supported by strong retention and rate strengthening.

“In the UK, we continued to execute our growth strategy, by expanding into new sectors and growing in our specialist niches. We launched our new Office Professions product, for office-based businesses providing professional services, and widened our leisure appetite, following a successful launch in 2023. We continued to build our schemes capability, onboarding several new schemes, and grew our art and private client business.”