Date: May 31, 2018
Iron Rock’s (ROC) Annual General Meeting was held today May 31, 2018, hosted by Managing Director, Mr. Evan Thwaites. Mr. Thwaites initiated the proceedings with the director’s report. Subsequent to the report, a review of the financial year 2017 was presented. From the Director’s Report it was highlighted that gross written premium amounted to $424.46 million, an unrivalled 233% growth from the previous year, compared with a 48% increase in operating expenses of $135.74 million. The company paid a total of $52 million in claims and built insurance reserves to $303 million.
Mr. Thwaites summarized by stating that, “last year was an exciting year for us and one that we deem successful as we wrote more premium and incurred less claims than we had projected when we issued our prospectus.” In addition, he added that, “we accrued more insurance contracts significantly throughout the year which are important to insurance companies as they assist in handling unexpected losses.”
The Director further indicated that they, “encountered difficulties in motor insurance” as is deemed to be very costly. This the led to the decision to limit the writing of these policies. The company is not fully satisfied with where it has reached and has made provisions for improvement. This includes the bettering of the application that handles the motor insurance. Mr. Thwaites stated, “it was not until about July or August of last year that we were satisfied and have introduced it to about our brokers and is now being used by 3 or 4 brokers.” This has brought more relief with respects to motor insurance due to the efficiency provided by the app.
Outlook
The Managing Director declared, “for the next four years the company expects rapid growth in its net premium.” Investment income is an important aspect of the business operations. However, with declining interest rates this can affect the company’s earnings negatively. As such there are revised strategies put in place to lock in interest rates on a longer tenure according to Mr. Thwaites. With a stable foreign exchange rate, Mr. Thwaites alluded that there should not be much impact on the company’s performance for the upcoming year.
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