Several UK insurers scrap plans to pay £1.3bn in dividends
A group of UK insurers have scrapped plans to pay £1.3bn in dividends, increasing the pressure on firms that have ignored the Bank of England’s call to consider cancelling shareholder payouts due to the coronavirus crisis.
Firms including Aviva, RSA, Hiscox and Direct Line announced on Wednesday they were cancelling their dividends for 2019 and would not consider further payouts until the end of the year.
This has meant cancelling about £1.3bn in collective shareholder payments, including a £839.4m dividend from Aviva that was due in June 2020.
The majority of the UK’s largest insurers have heeded guidance by the Bank, which last month fired a warning shot at the industry over planned payouts, after pushing UK banks to do the same.
The move will increase the pressure on Legal & General to follow suit, after it pledged to pay £754m to investors, regardless of the regulator’s guidance.
Other UK-headquartered insurers including Phoenix Group, Admiral and Prudential have so far stayed silent on the issue.
Prudential may try to avoid heeding the Bank’s guidance, as it is regulated in Hong Kong where the bulk of its operations are based. However, Russ Mould, an investment director at AJ Bell, said Prudential may still bow to public pressure. “In general, there’s some public and political perception that companies need to be more careful with their cash and make sure they can withstand more difficult times ahead.
“It seems likely Legal & General, looking more and more the outlier, will have to follow suit.”
The Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority, which is in charge of financial stability in the UK, said it welcomed the decision from some insurers to pause dividends, given the economic uncertainty.
It said: “When insurers are considering whether or not to proceed with any dividend payments, their boards should pay close attention to the need to protect policyholders and maintain safety and soundness. Decisions regarding capital or significant risk management issues need to be informed by a range of scenarios, including very severe ones.”
William Ryder, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that while insurers such as RSA and Direct Line would be well-capitalised in normal circumstances, “the coming months are not going to be normal”.
He said: “It’s worth remembering that the bailout of American insurer AIG was a key moment in the 2008 financial crisis, and we can’t risk a loss of confidence in the industry now. We understand, therefore, why the regulator isn’t comfortable leaving it to management to assess their capacity to pay a dividend.”
Admiral, Phoenix and Prudential declined to comment.
