Britannia P&I posts much-improved 2025/26 results
The Britannia Group reports a satisfactory set of results for the year showing a profit of USD60.9m. This reflects a reduction in large claims that improved the underwriting loss to USD27.9m, combined with strong investment returns of USD88.8m (including foreign exchange gains). Britannia Group says the improvement in the combined ratio to 111.3% from 137.7% demonstrates the hard work of its underwriting team over several renewals, as well as the exceptional nature of events in the previous year.
The most significant factor in the improved underwriting result is lower claims costs. Retained claims, those below USD10m, were down 25% from last year, returning to more normal levels. Pool claims were also lower than in the previous year with the number and value down, although the value remains relatively high in historical terms.
The Britannia Group’s investment return was again very strong, despite some volatility early in the year. Both bonds and equities performed well which resulted in a gain of USD88.8m representing a return of 9.0%, considerably ahead of expected returns.
The Britannia Group was able to add USD32.1m to free reserves during the year, after a capital return of approximately USD28.8m to Members post renewal in February 2025. The free reserves now stand at USD572.2m, underlining once again the capital strength of the Group. This was confirmed by S&P as they continue to rate the Britannia Group’s capital strength above their 99.99% confidence level with exceptional liquidity.
Britannia Group’s Chair, Egied Verbeeck (pictured), commented: “With geopolitical uncertainty continuing to present challenges for shipowners, the Britannia Group remains steadfast in supporting its Members. Our commitment to sustainable mutuality continues to sit at the very heart of the Britannia Group, alongside the importance of maintaining our strong and trusted brand.
“From a financial perspective 2025/26 has been a significantly improved year. We believed that the result for 2024/25 had been adversely affected by a series of one-off events and this year’s result supports that view with claims returning to a much more normal level. We continue to progress towards a breakeven underwriting result at the pace decided by the Board and consistent with our mutual ethos.”
The Britannia Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2026 will be published on the Britannia website in the next few days.