Losses increased by 50 per cent at Axa Green Crescent Insurance during the third quarter as medical premiums fell.
The insurer posted a Dh6.4 million loss for the three months to the end of September, compared with Dh4.3m a year earlier.
Gross written premiums fell 3.5 per cent to Dh10.2m for the quarter, with rising life insurance premiums offsetting a steep fall in medical premiums, which the insurer attributed to a “competitive environment and [a] prudent underwriting policy”.
The insurer, 21 per cent owned by Axa Gulf and 29 per cent by the Kanoo Group, said earlier this year that it planned to follow a “selective” approach with its medical insurance products in the face of cutthroat competition and low margins across the sector, and to increasingly focus on the under-penetrated life insurance segment in a bid to boost profitability.
Life insurance accounted for 69 per cent of gross written premiums for the quarter, up from 12 per cent in the same period last year.
Axa Green Crescent’s shares, listed on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange, ended the day unchanged at 72 fils each.
Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (Adnic) last week announced a profit of Dh36.1m for the third quarter, compared with a Dh32.4m loss a year ago.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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