Insurer Hastings to pay dividend despite Bank of England warning
Hastings said today it would go ahead with its planned dividend despite a warning from the Bank of England to the insurance industry to think carefully before paying out cash to shareholders.
Car insurer Hastings said it did not offer any lines affected by coronavirus such as travel or business interruption insurance.
Hastings also said it was not planning on accessing government funds to get through the crisis.
Hastings said it still intended to propose a dividend of 5.5p at its annual meeting on 21 May, down 39 per cent on the previous year.
The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority worte to insurer chief executives last month warning them to examine any payments to shareholders or bonuses for staff in the light of the coronavirus slowdown.
Last week, firms such as Aviva, RSA and Direct Line heeded the Bank’s call and cancelled their dividends.
Hastings said gross written premiums were stable at £234.3m for the three months ended 31 March.
Hastings said live customer policies were up four per cent to 2.87m in the year to 31 March,
Net revenue for the quarter was down slightly at £179.2m, “with policy growth being more than offset by lower earned premiums and reduced investment income,” the company said.
Hastings said its staff were working from home and had continued receiving full pay.
Chief executive Toby van der Meer said: “The first quarter of 2020 has been unprecedented with the COVID-19 outbreak placing additional operational challenges on top of recent industry headwinds. Against this backdrop, Hastings has been agile in responding to customers’ needs and I am immensely proud of how all colleagues have adapted to new ways of working.”
Hastings’ share price rose two per cent to 186p this morning.