Insurer may exit home insurance line over insect infestation

Norwegian insurer Protector Forsikring ASA said on Friday it is fishing for investment bankers to help with a potential exit from change-of-ownership home insurance.

Long a profitable line of insurance, a series of profit warnings stemming from an infestation of gray silverfish, a small, wingless insect known to eat paper and fabric and cause damage to homes as a result, is resulting in “a large number of claims,” Reuters reported Friday.

"We are now considering our strategic options for the change-of-ownership insurance," the company told the wire service.

Protector expects its net combined ratio to worsen to a loss-making 107% in 2018, well above the 92% to 94% it had forecast at the start of the year, Reuters reported.

In 2019, Protector expects a combined ratio of around 96%, the company told Reuters.

The company plans to book all remaining losses relating to gray silverfish in its 2018 accounts, it said.

Protector's shares closed at 47.2 Norwegian krone ($5.56) on Thursday, down 51% from their January all-time high of 97 krone, according to the wire service.