REBRANDED ERS REPORTS FIRST PROFIT FOR FIVE YEARS

ERS has announced a half-year profit for the first time in five years as it continues its restructure following a sustained period of losses under the former Equity Red Star brand. The specialist motor insurer returned a profit of £1.2m for the six month period, compared with a loss of £23.6m during the comparable period in 2013. The insurer’s loss ratio improved to 63.3% from 74.1% in the first half of 2013, which its combined ratio improved by more than 11 percentage points to 101.5%. ERS rebranded in April this year, having been bought by New York-based private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners a year earlier. ERS’ gross written premiums were £194.9m in the first-half, a year-on-year reduction of around 6%.