Swiss insurer Helvetia Group has posted a net income after tax of CHF179.4m ($192.7m) for the first half of 2013, an increase of 13.4% compared to CHF158.2m ($170m) for the same period last year.
The company's business volume grew by 4.7% to CHF4.77bn ($512.5m), compared to CHF4.52m ($5.12m) for the same period last year, primarily due to strong growth of business in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
The group's combined ratio in the non-life business was 94.9% in the first half of 2013, compared to 93.7% in the same period of 2012. The group's claims ratio, however, remained unchanged at the previous year's level despite rise in bad weather claims.
The new business margin in the life business is 1.4% against 0.9% in 2012, which is within the target corridor.
Helvetia Group CEO Stefan Loacker said, "Once again, Helvetia achieved profitable growth and raised its profit and premium volume further. We are confident that we are ready for the future and will continue to strengthen our competitive position in our markets."
