April 24 (Reuters) – Australian general insurer Suncorp said on Friday it had secured a reinsurance protection of up to A$2.4 billion ($1.71 billion) over five years and projected a gross written premium growth of 3% for fiscal 2026.
The protection, set to start on June 30, will attach at A$1.85 billion in fiscal 2027, which is A$50 million more than its expected natural hazard allowance, excluding claims handling expenses and profit commission, it said.
The agreement is expected to reduce overall volatility in net claims costs and drive a one-off capital release of about A$100 million through a modest reduction in the capital target, the firm said in its statement.
“The underlying margin outlook remains unchanged at the upper end of our target range but with significantly improved resilience and reduced volatility in earnings,” said acting CEO Jeremy Robson.
The company also said it anticipates that its natural hazard costs for fiscal 2026 will exceed the allowance by approximately A$250 million.
The firm left its underlying insurance trading ratio outlook for 2026 unchanged at the upper end of its 10%-12% range.
($1 = 1.4023 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Vijay Kishore)
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