General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica posted net profit of $1.22 billion for the year ended December 31, 2011, representing a considerable rise in earnings from the $122 million net profit posted for 2010.

This was due largely to an $847.2 million one-off income it earned from the sale of shares to its parent company, Musson (which owns 80 per cent of the insurer).

Not including the non-recurring and extraordinary items, General Accident’s adjusted net profit was $220.9 million, up 78 per cent from adjusted net profit in 2010.

The improved performance reflects higher gross premium revenue ($3.6 billion in 2011 compared with $2.2 billion in 2010), lower claims expenses ($420 million in 2011 compared with $427 million) and better underwriting profit — profit made strictly from its insurance business — which improved from $69 million in 2010 to $162 million last year.

“This year’s premiums, underwriting profit and net profit were the highest in our (30-year) history,” said PB Scott, who chairs the insurance company’s board. “Importantly, our performance was driven by solid results in both of the ways we make a profit: Writing insurance and investing our resources wisely. In 2011, we made an underwriting profit for the fourth time in the last five years and produced investment returns above inflation and short-term interest rates.”