FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
STRATEGIC REPORT
GOVERNANCE
Reinsurance recapture During 2020, the Group recaptured all of the remaining quota share reinsurance arrangements held by its subsidiary Just Retirement Limited (“JRL”). These reinsurance treaties included financing arrangements, which allowed a capital benefit under the old Solvency I regime. The treaties allowed the recapture of business once the financing loan from the reinsurer had been repaid, and the Group has now fully repaid all such financing arrangements. Net premium revenue Net premium revenue has decreased by 7% to £2,653m (2020: £2,856m), as the one-off reinsurance recapture and premiums ceded described above more than offset the increase in gross premiums written. Net investment income Net investment income decreased to an expense of £130m (2020: income of £1,778m). The main components of investment income are interest earned and changes in fair value of the Group’s corporate bond, mortgage and other fixed income assets. There has been an increase in risk-free rates during the year which has resulted in unrealised losses in relation to assets held at fair value, and hence the swing from income to expense, as in the prior period, interest rates fell. We closely match our assets and liabilities, hence fluctuations in interest rates will drive both sides of the IFRS balance sheet. We actively hedge interest rate exposure to protect the Solvency II capital position and in doing so we accept the accounting volatility. Net claims paid Net claims paid increased to £1,141m (2020: £1,000m) reflecting the continuing growth of the in-force book. Change in insurance liabilities Change in insurance liabilities was £1,039m for the current year (2020: £2,983m). The decrease is principally due to an increase in the valuation interest rate due to the rise in risk-free rates noted above. The prior period also reflected a reinsurance recapture. Acquisition costs Acquisition costs have increased to £49m (2020: £44m), mainly due to a 3% increase in LTM origination to fund the 25% increase in new business premiums, which are now backed by a reduced LTM ratio. Other operating expenses Other operating expenses decreased to £193m in the current year from £220m in 2020. This reduction reflects the benefit of the cost saving initiatives carried out over the past three years. Finance costs The Group’s overall finance costs decreased to £137m (2020: £159m). The main driver relates to a reduction in reinsurance deposits, which have fallen in line with the £940m reinsurance recaptures made at the end of 2020, as mentioned above. This decrease was partly offset by a full year of interest on the Tier 2 loan notes issued in October 2020. Note that the coupon on the Group’s Restricted Tier 1 notes is recognised as a capital distribution directly within equity and not within finance costs. Income tax Income tax for the year ended 31 December 2021 was a credit of £5m (2020: charge of £44m). The effective tax rate of 26.4% (2020: 18.7%) is 7.4% higher than the standard 19% corporation tax rate. This is due to the small base of profit/loss for 2021 compared to 2020 leading to the impact of tax adjustments having a far more significant impact on the effective tax rate than in 2020.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME The table below presents the Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the Group, with key line item explanations.
Year ended 31 December 2021 £m
Year ended 31 December 2020 £m
2,676
Gross premiums written
2,148
(23)
Reinsurance premiums ceded
(232)
–
Reinsurance recapture Net premium revenue Net investment income
940
2,653
2,856 1,778
(130)
16
Fee and commission income
11
Total revenue Net claims paid
2,539
4,645
(1,141) (1,039)
(1,000) (2,983)
Change in insurance liabilities
(1)
Change in investment contract liabilities
(2)
(49)
Acquisition costs
(44)
(193) (137)
Other operating expenses
(220) (159)
Finance costs
Total claims and expenses (Loss)/profit before tax
(2,560)
(4,408)
(21)
237
5
Income tax
(44)
(Loss)/profit after tax
(16)
193
Gross premiums written Gross premiums written for the year were £2,676m, an increase of 25% compared to the prior period (2020: £2,148m). As discussed above, this reflects the strong growth in Retirement Income new business premiums, driven by growth in DB deferred and GIfL business. Reinsurance premiums ceded Reinsurance premiums ceded (expense of £23m) has decreased significantly in the current period as the first six months of 2020 included a one-off reinsurance expense in relation to a pioneering DB partnering transaction.
55
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