QBE INSURANCE GROUP Annual General Meeting All amounts in Australian dollars unless otherwise stated.

Transcription

1 Annual General Meeting 2009 All amounts in Australian dollars unless otherwise stated.

2 John Cloney Chairman 2

3 Results of proxy voting A total of 4,874 valid proxy forms were received. The respective votes have been accumulated and summarised by Link Market Services Limited as set out below: Resolution For Open Against Abstain 2 463,818,887 3,767, ,167,742 2,904, ,715,315 4,927,862 12,981, ,036, ,032,725 3,806,774 24,557,339 1,084,423 5a 540,620,314 3,925,372 34,471, ,731 5b 553,766,397 3,943,313 21,314, ,267 5c 574,138,753 3,946, , ,000 5d 573,945,172 3,945,218 1,101, ,678 3

4 Results year ended 31 December 2008 Solid net profit after tax of $1.86 billion Overall return on average shareholders funds, a standout 20.9% Total dividends per share up 3% to 126 cents with dividend payout of $1.19 billion up 11% from 2007 Acknowledge the significant support by shareholders, investing over $2.1 billion in recent share issues 4

5 Share price performance Quality technical underwriting and financial result overshadowed by decline in QBE share price QBE stock impacted by global market volatility and economic turmoil over past six months Shares have traded in a wide range from around $22.40 at end of June 2008 to below $16 in March

6 140 Australian share price movements Relative Share Price / Index Movements July 2008 to March 2009 Base at 1 July 2008 = Overall share price movement 1 July 2008 to 13 March 2009 QBE down 9% - QBE down 30% - ASX down index down 33% - Financials (ex property) index down 27% QBE Financial-x-Property ASX Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 6

7 Dividend Final dividend of 65 cents per share, franked at the rate of 20% Lower franking expected to continue in foreseeable future due to lower level of Australian profits $165 million or 26% of the 2008 final dividend was reinvested Over the past ten years the average dividend payout ratio has been around 58.5% of reported profit after tax Compound average growth in dividends per share over the past 10 years was 16.9% per annum 7

8 Balance sheet QBE s balance sheet has grown considerably in 2008 due to acquisitions and impact of the weaker Australian dollar Total assets at the end of 2008 were $48.4 billion, up 22% compared with last year Around 8% of growth due to movements in foreign exchange rates The balance of the increase is due mainly to profits after dividends, the 11 acquisitions completed in 2008 and the capital raised in December 8

9 Foreign currency impacts QBE has significant assets and liabilities in overseas currencies At entity level we match assets and liabilities in the same currency For many years overseas shareholders funds have been managed back into Australian dollars through foreign currency borrowings and forward foreign exchange contracts Significant increase in US dollar net assets from $0.5 billion in 2006 to $4.0 billion in 2008 As foreshadowed in the 2008 annual report, the majority of these hedges have now been unwound A 5% movement in the Australian dollar against all currencies is estimated to impact projected 2009 net profit after tax by around $80 million 9

10 Net invested funds 31 Dec Dec 2007 $M % $M % Cash 2, Short term money 16, , Fixed interest securities and other 7, , Equities 1, , Investment properties Total investments and cash 28, , Borrowings 3,666 3,458 Net invested funds 24,875 21,148 Continue to adopt a low risk strategy for the management of our investment portfolio Equity investments currently comprise around 5% of the portfolio Fixed interest investments continue to be short in duration, currently at around six months on average 10

11 Borrowings Total borrowings at 31 December 2008 were $3.7 billion, slightly up from $3.5 billion in 2007 Borrowings to shareholders equity at end of 2008 was 33% compared with 41% at the end of 2007 Majority of our borrowings are long term with 74% repayable beyond five years The lower borrowings ratio provides us flexibility for future funding options 11

12 Capital adequacy Post results investor concerns around QBE s capital adequacy position with market speculation of a further capital raising QBE maintains more than $3.3 billion capital in excess of our calculation of the minimum regulatory capital requirement Regulatory capital remains more than adequate at year end with around 1.7 times the minimum capital requirement Our capital adequacy multiple has slightly increased since year end and is substantially higher than our minimum target of 1.5 times 12

13 Capital adequacy Not in the long term interests of shareholders to retain excessive regulatory capital QBE shareholders funds up from $4.0 billion in 2004 to over $11.1 billion in 2008 Our capital levels are more than adequate to meet our budgeted growth plans for 2009 and beyond 13

14 Corporate governance and risk management With operations in 45 countries, QBE must comply with multiple statutory, regulatory and financial rating requirements We support the principles of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and encourage sensible regulation using risk based criteria QBE continues to work with APRA and insurance industry bodies on refinement of prudential framework for conglomerates Our business practices and risk tolerances reflect emerging weather patterns and are incorporated into our sophisticated modelling scenarios QBE s approach to climate change is set out in more detail in the 2008 annual report 14

15 QBE people QBE is strongly focused on staff development, succession planning and the reward and retention of our quality people Our culture and values are key to: increasing the long term wealth of shareholders customer satisfaction and retention employee motivation maintaining integrity in all our dealings Staff incentive schemes aligned with creation of shareholder wealth Weighted average ROE for top 50 global insurers and reinsurers in 2008 was 3% compared with QBE s 2008 ROE of 20.9% Success of our incentive schemes is best demonstrated by extremely low turnover of senior employees and the wealth created for our shareholders over many years 15

16 Results for 1 st quarter 2009 On track to meet our targeted full year insurance profit margin of 16% to 18% Another difficult year expected for investment yields given global uncertainty Forecasts are subject to usual caveats e.g. large individual risk and catastrophe claims not exceeding significant allowances in our business plans; no material exchange rate movements; and no major falls in equity markets or interest rates 16

17 Frank O Halloran Chief Executive Officer 17

18 Summary of 2008 results Very satisfactory given the global financial crisis and increase in frequency of large individual risk and catastrophe claims Completed 11 earnings per share accretive acquisitions which will assist premium growth and profitability in 2009 and beyond Quality insurance results: Gross written premium up 6% to $13.1 billlion Net earned premium up 9% to $11.1 billion Combined operating ratio was an excellent 88.5% Ratio of insurance profit to net earned premium very strong at 19.7% Cash flow from operations was $2.3 billion Substantial majority of 45 countries in which we operate and products written produced underwriting profits and exceeded our minimum ROE of 15% 18

19 Comparison with original targets* Gross written premium in Australian dollars was targeted to increase by 7.5%; it was up 6% Net earned premium was targeted to increase by close to 10%; it was up 9% Combined commission and expense ratio was targeted to be 31.5% or less; it was 30.9% Gross investment yield was targeted to be around 5.5%; it was 2.9% due to the fall in equity markets and lower interest rates Gross written premium lower than expectations - primarily due to inadequate pricing but retention of quality customers remains high * February

20 Comparison with original targets* Excellent insurance profit slightly lower than market expectations Lower insurance profit due to lower interest yield on policyholders funds and conservative approach to reserving for financial and credit related products Net incurred claims from weather related catastrophes in 2008 there were 29 catastrophes with a net cost of $424 million compared with 21 catastrophes in 2007 at a net cost of $317 million * February

21 QBE performance Consistently produced underwriting profitability and return on equity in the top quartile of top 25 global insurance companies Continued strict approach to allocation of capital to products that meet our 15% return on equity hurdle Maintain focus on bottom line profitability - quality not quantity QBE s 20 year average compound annual growth in gross written premium was 18.7% despite the significant rise in the Australian dollar in recent years QBE s gross written premium growth $427 million in 1988 $2.4 billion in 1998 $13.1 billion in 2008 Profitability growth $29 million in 1988 $141 million in 1998 $1.86 billion in

22 Acquisitions 2008 was a year of continued growth from acquisitions with an initial $2.7 billion spent on 11 acquisitions targeted to produce new gross written premium of $900 million and profit before tax of $565 million in 2009 In particular we acquired: Deep South, a specialist commercial motor underwriting agency; North Pointe Holdings, a specialist general insurer; Residential lenders mortgage insurers, PMI Australia and PMI Asia; Community Association Underwriters agency; ZC Sterling, a specialist home insurance underwriting agency; and Burnett, marine and energy agency. Underwriting agencies acquired in Australia, US and Europe at an initial cost of $1.4 billion and expected to produce a return on our investment in excess of 20% in 2009 Purchased Australian and Hong Kong residential lenders mortgage insurance business, now called QBE LMI, with insurance liabilities held equivalent to cover a 60 day default rate of around 9% - currently around 0.55% 22

23 Strong balance sheet Low risk investment portfolio is 99% liquid with cash and fixed interest securities at an average six months duration QBE s physical equities exposure has been reduced to around 5% of the total investment portfolio since year end Short duration strategy and focus on quality cash and fixed interest investments enabled us to benefit from the wider credit spreads on reinvestment and avoid impairment on any one of our $27 billion of securities Over 90 days receivables continue to be low Reinsurance recoveries on outstanding claims are substantially with highly rated reinsurers Provisions for doubtful debts and reinsurance recoveries are conservative with minimal bad debt write-offs over many years 23

24 Strong balance sheet Net outstanding claims of $16.2 billion includes discounted risk margins of $1.2 billion Probability of adequacy of 86% using risk-free government bond rates Probability of adequacy close to 94% using normalised risk-free rates from 2011 and onwards Overall claims development over past 10 financial years shows a positive release of prior claims on an undiscounted basis - this is expected to continue Unearned premium liabilities of $7.1 billion includes substantial risk margins and allowances for large individual risk and catastrophe claims in 2009 Ratio of borrowings to shareholders funds is at lowest level for many years at 33% with majority of our borrowings maturing beyond 10 years Capital adequacy ratio is strong with sufficient surplus capital for growth from bolt on acquisitions - $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion of gross written premium by year end 24

25 Terry Ibbottson CEO - Australia 25

26 Australia Gross written premium $m 2,914 2,596 Gross earned premium $m 2,800 2,518 Net earned premium $m 2,363 2,141 Claims ratio % Commission ratio % Expense ratio % Combined operating ratio % Insurance margin %

27 Mike Goodwin CEO - Asia Pacific 27

28 Asia Pacific Gross written premium $m Gross earned premium $m Net earned premium $m Claims ratio % Commission ratio % Expense ratio % Combined operating ratio % Insurance margin %

29 Steven Burns CEO European operations 29

30 European operations QBE Insurance Europe Lloyd s division Total European operations Gross written premium $m 2,525 2,503 2,486 2,634 5,011 5,137 Gross earned premium $m 2,374 2,537 2,379 2,621 4,753 5,158 Net earned premium $m 1,881 2,026 1,371 1,627 3,252 3,653 Claims ratio % Commission ratio % Expense ratio % Combined operating ratio % Insurance margin %

31 Vince McLenaghan Group COO & acting CEO the Americas 31

32 the Americas Gross written premium $m 4,462 3,656 Gross earned premium $m 4,590 3,976 Net earned premium $m 3,108 2,574 Claims ratio % Commission ratio % Expense ratio % Combined operating ratio % Insurance margin %

33 Des Fogarty President Equator Re 33

34 Equator Re - captive reinsurer Gross written premium $m 2,231 1,990 Gross earned premium $m 1,978 1,631 Net earned premium $m 1,913 1,426 Claims ratio % Commission ratio % Expense ratio % Combined operating ratio % Insurance margin %

35 Mark ten Hove Group General Manager - Investments 35

36 Investment division Short duration strategy on cash and fixed interest investments and low risk absolute return approach have enabled us to avoid impairment Gross yield on cash and fixed interest portfolio was 5.1% compared with 5.9% Net investment income included three large items from the global financial crisis: $554 million realised and unrealised losses on equities, foreign exchange gains of $409 million and a $303 million profit on repurchase of QBE perpetual debt 36

37 Expectations for 2009 QBE s businesses and balance sheet in great shape to capitalise on the many available opportunities Overall average premium rates expected to increase by 4% with positive signs for further hardening market conditions Subject to exchange rates not changing materially from current levels, we expect 2009 gross written premium and net earned premium to be up by between 20% - 25% Combined operating ratio of less than 88% Significant increase in underwriting profit by close to 30% 37

38 Expectations for 2009 Lower insurance profit margins in a range of 16%-18% of net earned premium, mainly due to reduced investment yields on policyholders funds In a full year, based on a $30 billion cash and fixed interest portfolio, a 1% movement in interest rates is equivalent to around $300 million profit before tax. Our short duration strategy means that an upwards movement in interest rates will be very beneficial for shareholders Low risk investment strategy will continue in 2009 with target gross yield of around 3% in 2009 Net investment income will be enhanced by $270 million of foreign exchange gains, net of interest rate differentials, and $45 million of pre tax gains on the repurchase of perpetual debt 38

39 QBE s position in the market In the top 25 insurance/reinsurance businesses around the world measured by net written premium In the top quartile by underwriting profitability and return on equity Strong culture of leadership, business acumen and integrity Our minimum return on equity targets unchanged for each of our products and our businesses QBE culture is supported by a successful programme developed inhouse called OPENUPQBE Small turnover of our senior management and technical staff QBE s incentive scheme directly related to return on equity and aligned to the creation of wealth for shareholders 39

40 Total employees around 13,000 as at 31 December 2008 The Americas 4,858 Investments 61 Equator Re 15 Group 77 Australia 3,815 Asia Pacific 1,273 European Operations 2,829 40

41 QBE Group head office management 41

42 Item 1: To receive and consider the financial reports 42

43 Item 2: To adopt the remuneration report 43

44 Item 3: To ratify the issue of ordinary shares to institutional investors 44

45 Item 4: To renew the Company s proportional takeover approval provisions 45

46 Item 5 a To re-elect Mr John Cloney 46

47 Item 5 b To re-elect Ms Isabel Hudson 47

48 Item 5 c To re-elect Ms Belinda Hutchinson 48

49 Item 5 d To re-elect Ms Irene Lee 49

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