DESPITE General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica Limited’s (GENAC) core operation generating 25 per cent more in profit before tax (PBT) of $121.9 million for the first quarter, its Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) subsidiaries dragged the group’s consolidated PBT down by 20 per cent to $27.61 million.

The general insurer’s Jamaican operation wrote ten per cent more in gross premiums to a historic $3.4 billion as it continues to broaden its domestic client base. The T&T subsidiary saw its gross premium rise by 40 per cent to $201.2 million while its Barbados start-up recorded a 75 per cent rise in gross premiums to $108.7 million in its second year of operation. GENAC owns 65 per cent of its Trinidad subsidiary and 80 per cent of its Barbados operations. Group premiums increased from $3.30 billion to $3.67 billion in Q1 2022.

Even with higher reinsurance costs, a smaller change in its unearned premiums saw GENAC’s consolidated net premiums rise by 12 per cent to $808.22 million. However, due to the increase in management expenses and claims, its underwriting profit dropped by 18 per cent to $21.41 million. Though investment income declined from $48.86 million to $44.03 million, the quarterly report stated, “with interest rates trending upwards, we expect corresponding increases in our consolidated investment income over the short to medium term”.

A reduced tax base saw consolidated net profit coming in 65 per cent higher at $25.64 million. After removing the non-controlling interest, GENAC’s profit attributable to shareholders grew 36 per cent to $48.99 million. Earnings per share remained flat at $0.02.

Total assets increased by nine per cent to $13.20 billion, with $1.07 billion in cash and $3.40 billion in investment securities. Total liabilities rose by 13 per cent to $10.22 billion as its insurance reserves climbed to $8.27 billion. Equity attributable to shareholders closed the period at $2.70 billion.

GENAC’s stock price marginally declined on Friday to $5.88, which leaves it down two per cent year to date with a market capitalisation of $6.06 billion. Genac’s 2021 audited financials should have been filed by May 20, but remains outstanding at the moment.

“While the global economy continued to be challenged by the [novel coronavirus] pandemic, General Accident’s focused, dynamic management team and dedicated staff have enabled us to achieve good performance. In fact, the increased adoption of technology in the Caribbean region, accelerated by the pandemic, has validated our commitment to a regional digital strategy. Our presence in all three of the Caribbean’s largest insurance markets diversifies our underwriting risk and creates economies of scale. However, it also better enables General Accident to invest, develop and deploy digital insurance solutions,” the report ended.