(Reuters) -Sabre Insurance said on Tuesday that its annual pre-tax profit more than doubled, as its competitive prices helped the British motor insurer navigate a challenging insurance market. Supply chain issues and high inflation following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war pushed up the cost of motor repairs, leading to higher premiums and benefiting the likes of Sabre. Although, the motor insurance market was also hit badly in 2024 as a landmark case on car loan mis-selling, higher costs of claims and falling premiums weighed on the companies. Sabre reported an IFRS pre-tax profit of 48.6 million pounds ($63.1 million) for the year ended December 2024, marking a 106% jump from the previous year. Its gross written premium rose 5% year-on-year to a record 236.4 million pounds. "We grew strongly in the first half of the year when market conditions were attractive, and we maintained our strict underwriting discipline despite a steep decline in market prices during the second half," Group CEO Geoff Carter said. Sabre also proposed its first share buyback of 5 million pounds. ($1 = 0.7705 pounds) (Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Savio D'Souza) (Reuters) -Sabre Insurance said on Tuesday that its annual pre-tax profit more than doubled, as its competitive prices helped the British motor insurer navigate a challenging insurance market. Supply chain issues and high inflation following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war pushed up the cost of motor repairs, leading to higher premiums and benefiting the likes of Sabre. Although, the motor insurance market was also hit badly in 2024 as a landmark case on car loan mis-selling, higher costs of claims and falling premiums weighed on the companies. Sabre reported an IFRS pre-tax profit of 48.6 million pounds ($63.1 million) for the year ended December 2024, marking a 106% jump from the previous year. Its gross written premium rose 5% year-on-year to a record 236.4 million pounds. "We grew strongly in the first half of the year when market conditions were attractive, and we maintained our strict underwriting discipline despite a steep decline in market prices during the second half," Group CEO Geoff Carter said. Sabre also proposed its first share buyback of 5 million pounds. ($1 = 0.7705 pounds) (Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Savio D'Souza)
