By Aidan Gregory

March 18 - (The Insurer) - Sabre Insurance, the UK motor insurer, grew its gross written premium to 236.4 million pounds ($306.9 million) in 2024, up 5% from the previous year, with a net insurance margin of 17.6%, compared to 10.6% in 2023.

In its 2024 annual results on Tuesday, Sabre said its gross written premium last year was its highest ever. The company’s combined operating ratio was 84.2% last year, down from 91.6% in 2023, with a profit after tax of 36 million pounds, almost double its 18.1 million pound profit the previous year.

Sabre has declared a dividend of 44 pence a share for 2024, up 44.4% from 2023, and has also proposed a five million pound share buyback.

On Tuesday, Sabre said it saw steep price reductions across the market in the second half of 2024 and into 2025, with the market now appearing to have returned to a “normal competitive environment” following the volatile price actions seen in recent years.

According to Sabre there was a slight softening of claims inflation last year, although it remains at “high single-digit levels.” The company expects to continue to increase market prices in 2025 to protect its profitability, and expects its margin for 2025 to be within its 18% to 22% target range.

Shares in Sabre have fallen more than 22% over the past year, giving the insurer a market capitalisation of 310 million pounds on the London Stock Exchange. The stock has halved in value since its IPO in December 2017 amid the tough trading conditions in the UK motor insurance market.

UK motor insurers have been grappling with rampant levels of social inflation since the pandemic, with the pace of rate increases struggling to keep pace with the cost of claims.