Shareholders and customers of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) can certainly feel confident that their financial investment is sound and policies soundly backed, according to the leading insurance company’s latest unaudited, half year financial statements.

In its six month report for the period ended June 30, 2015, ICBL noted that it had seen positive results in a number of areas, in particular shareholder income and revenue for the business.

Net income after taxes attributable to equity holders was Bds $8.2 million, a strong position compared to $3.5 million for the same six month period in 2014. For shareholders, this meant an annualized 11 percent return for the first half of 2015.

Gross premiums written also showed improvement, ending the period at $73.9 million, an increase of 5 percent.

“Despite the very challenging economic environment and competitive nature of the market, we were still able to improve on our performance when compared to the same period last year. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, management and Board of Directors, who have remained focused on building on our existing relationships with our customers and other stakeholders, attracting new customers, and enhancing our product offerings, along with improving our level of service.”

Mrs. Innes spoke to the company’s continued strategic investment in upgrading its technological infrastructure, with operating expenses for the period reaching $16.3 million, up 4.5 percent over the same period in 2014:

“We expected that 90 percent of our new technological platforms and systems would be implemented during the year, which led to the slight increase in operating expenditure for the period under review. Our customers will certainly benefit from this investment, as has already been the case with our Group Health clients through our easyCLAIMS online portal launched in June 2015.”

The Managing Director & CEO went on to make mention of ICBL’s recently reaffirmed financial strength rating, from rating agency A.M. Best.

“We have maintained our A.M. Best A- (Excellent) rating, thanks to our solid capitalization, leading presence in the market and favourable earnings in recent years. This is a great achievement for ICBL within the context of a still recovering Barbados economy, and lets our shareholders and valued customers know that whatever the challenges, they can rest assured that they are doing business with a financially sound company.”