The Insurance Company of The Bahamas (ICB) suffered a 70.5 percent drop in its net and total comprehensive income in the year ending December 31, 2011, with unexpected disasters attributing to the dent in profits.
Net and total comprehensive income was recorded at $1.1 million for 2011, a sharp decline from the $3.9 million figure in 2010. Chairman of the company Dionisio D'Aguilar said that unfortunate events such as Hurricane Irene and the downtown fires last year hurt the financial performance, but ICB was fortunate enough to still record a profit.
"The Bahamas was not so fortunate in 2011 as Hurricane Irene made an unwelcome visit to our islands," D'Aguilar said.
"Irene caused considerable damage to properties in the Family Islands, but we were relieved that the storm tracked just to the east of New Providence on its northbound path to the U.S. mainland. Thus what could have been a major insured loss for ICB and The Bahamas' general insurance industry ended up being a substantial but very manageable loss."
During the 2011 fiscal year, ICB saw its net claims incurred rise by 111 percent from $1.6 million to $3.5 million. Net commissions incurred doubled from $269,647 in 2010 to $542,417 in 2011, and excess of loss reinsurance dropped 6.6 percent from $3.2 million to $3 million. Total expenses for the period stood at $6 million, a 29.5 percent increase year-on-year.
Gross written premiums were slightly up year-on-year, experiencing a 1.9 percent increase from $41.9 million in 2010 to $42.7 million in 2011. Net retained premiums essentially remained unchanged from 2010 with a 0.1 percent decline recorded, but net premiums earned dropped by 9.9 percent from $8 million to $7.2 million year-on-year.
Total assets from the company rose by 6.9 percent from $63.7 million in 2010 to $68.1 million in 2011, while total liabilities grew by 10.6 percent from $41.8 million to $46.3 million. Net assets remained almost the same year-on-year at $21.8 million, which was the exact figure for total equity.
D'Aguilar said that the 2012 fiscal year will have its fair share of challenges, which will be felt by ICB and general insurance companies in the country. He mentioned that general insurers will have to adjust to the amendments made in the Road Traffic Act as well, which he expects to come into effect in short order.
"Looking ahead to 2012, the trading environment for general insurers is likely to remain extremely challenging," he said. "Consumer spending power is likely to remain weak as high unemployment levels and expensive fuel combine to depress disposable incomes. To make matters worse, government's major capital projects will shortly be coming to an end.
"Against this rather depressing short term outlook, there is hope, however, that The Bahamas' economy will begin to show signs of significant recovery in the next two to three years as we see the completion of the Baha Mar project and anticipate the possibility of an upturn in the United States' economy."

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