OREANDA-NEWS. May 15, 2015. The UK P&I Club ("The UK Club"), one of the leading shipping protection and indemnity mutual insurers, announces its financial results for the year ended 20 February 2015.

·      Free reserves increased by \\$20 million taking the Club's capital including hybrid capital to a new high of \\$548 million

·      Free reserves and hybrid capital of \\$4.32 per ton

·      The financial year combined ratio was 104% and average combined ratio of 101% over the past five years

·      S&P rating maintained at full A (stable)

·      During the year the Club added net 3.5 million gross tons of mutual business taking mutual owned tonnage to 127 million gross tons

·      Combined mutual owned and chartered tonnage now stands at over 225 million gross tons, an increase of over 3% from 20 February 2014 - 20 February 2015

·      Average cost of claims continues to increase despite the number of claims in 2014 down by 8%

Alan Olivier, Chairman of the UK P&I Club, says: "This has been a good year for the Club and provides an excellent platform to take the Club forward having weathered the impact of the high claims in 2013 and the challenging market conditions."

"The number of claims in 2014 was down by 8% compared to 2013, and by 40% compared to a decade ago. Some of this is driven by the Club's approach to the quality of its Membership, and some by macroeconomic factors. But at the same time, the average cost of claims is increasing and is now 20% higher than five years ago, with people claims costing almost twice what they did a decade ago. While we must be mindful of the difficulties faced by many Members in current market conditions, we must keep premiums moving forwards in line with claims inflation and in anticipation of an eventual upturn in the market."

"The free reserves have increased by \\$20 million, which takes the Club's capital to \\$548 million. A result achieved through disciplined underwriting and a solid investment return of 5%. The average combined ratio over the last five years was 101% and a very creditable result in the aftermath of 2013."

"I look forward to working with the board and the Managers in order to continue to maintain the Club's position as the market's leading shipowner controlled provider of P&I insurance."

Hugo Wynn-Williams, Chief Executive of Thomas Miller P&I, the UK P&I Club's managers, says: "The Club's average five year combined ratio is amongst the best in our market and underlines the financial strength of the Club. We will continue to seek to maintain balanced underwriting and achieve the best results for our Members."