April 24 (Reuters) - Australia's Suncorp said on Friday it had secured up to A$2.4 billion ($1.71 billion) in reinsurance protection over five years and forecast 3% gross written premium (GWP) growth for fiscal 2026, sending its shares to a near five-month high.
Shares of the general insurer jumped as much as 10.2% to A$17.98 in early trade, hitting their highest since November 28. The stock was set for its biggest daily rise since August 21, 2020, if current gains held.
The reinsurance protection,
set to start on June 30, will attach at A$1.85 billion in fiscal 2027, which is A$50 million more than its expected natural hazard allowance, excluding claims handling expenses and profit commission, Suncorp said.
The agreement is expected to reduce overall volatility in net claims costs and drive a one-off capital release of about A$100 million through a modest reduction in the capital target, the firm said in a statement.
"The underlying margin outlook remains unchanged at the upper end of our target range but with significantly improved resilience and reduced volatility in earnings," said acting CEO Jeremy Robson.
The company also said it anticipates that its natural hazard costs for fiscal 2026 will exceed the allowance by approximately A$250 million, subject to there being no further material events.
"GWP growth has been impacted predominately by the ongoing weakness in the New Zealand dollar, which is expected to reduce growth by ~0.4 percentage points in Australian dollar terms, and the impact from the improved risk mix shifts in Home," Suncorp said, referring to the change in its fiscal 2026 GWP growth outlook.
The firm left its underlying insurance trading ratio outlook for 2026 unchanged at the upper end of its 10%-12% range.
($1 = 1.4023 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Vijay Kishore and Subhranshu Sahu)
