In the first six months of 2026, Ecclesiastical’s UK and Ireland business saw gross written premium increase by 2.7% to reach £233.4m (H1 2025: £227.2m). Underwriting profit went up from £16.6m in H1 2025 to £18.7m in the first of this year, while its combined operating ratio of 86.1% was an improvement of 0.8 percentage points on the previous half.

Ecclesiastical also has insurance operations in Canada and Australia. At group level, the carrier reported H1 insurance revenue of £328.7m, up on the £320.2m achieved the previous year. Profit before tax was £56.3m, up from £54.5m, while the group combined operating ratio of 87.4%% was an improvement of 1.7 percentage points on the same half last year.

Mark Hews, group chief executive officer of Ecclesiastical and Benefact Group plc, said: “For general insurance, we reported a healthy underwriting result. It is important, however, to recognise that this performance was supported by lower than anticipated levels of weather-related claims activity and a relatively benign large loss environment during the first half of the year.

“While those conditions are welcome, we recognise they can change quickly and we remain mindful of the inherent volatility of the markets we serve. We have benefited from benign weather during the period and it is important to view these results in that context.”

He added: “As we look ahead to the second half of the year, we remain focused on maintaining underwriting discipline, delivering outstanding service, supporting our customers through an evolving risk landscape and growing our business in a sustainable way that enables us to increase our contribution to good causes for years to come.”