Country for PR: United Kingdom
Contributor: PR Newswire Europe
Thursday, March 28 2019 - 07:39
AsiaNet
Oil Insurance Limited (OIL) Declares $250 Million Dividend and Modifies Two Components of the Rating and Premium Plan
HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 28, 2019 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

OIL held its 2019 Shareholder's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, March 
21st at the Hamilton Princess in Bermuda. During the meeting, it conducted the 
review and approval of the 2018 annual financial statements as well as the 
election of directors.

For 2018, OIL recorded a $404.6 million underwriting loss. After factoring in 
net investment losses and administrative expenses, OIL's net loss for the year 
was $675.6 million. For additional information about OIL's 2018 financial 
results, please visit www.oil.bm to view our audited financial statements. 
After the review of the year-end financials, shareholders approved the 
financial statements and the re-appointment of KPMG as auditors for the fiscal 
2019 year.

In addition, the Company reported at the AGM that the Board of Directors had 
declared a dividend in an aggregate amount of $250 million to all shareholders 
on record as of January 1, 2019 payable on or before August 30, 2019.

Theodore Guidry II, Chairman of the Board, explained, "The Board decided to 
authorize the $250 million dividend after carefully reviewing the company's 
multi-year Capital Management Plan.  Despite the 2018 financial results, the 
plan clearly indicated that there was capital available to pay a dividend 
without negatively compromising the capital and financial strength of the 
company. As in the past, it is our policy to return available capital to the 
shareholders when prudent to do so."

Lastly, the shareholders approved two changes to the Shareholders Agreement. 
The first decision protects the company from future potential credit losses. 
Commencing in 2019, all shareholders must be investment grade if they wish to 
elect or continue to elect the Retrospective Premium Plan that allows a 
shareholder to retroactively purchase up to 40% of the $400 million limit on a 
strict dollar of premium for dollar of loss basis over the subsequent five-year 
period.  The second decision eliminates the need for shareholders to declare 
assets located in the Offshore Region of the Gulf of Mexico for purposes of 
determining pool percentages in the Offshore Designated Named Windstorm pool. 
This decision was warranted as a matter of equity given that OIL excluded 
coverage for Offshore Gulf of Mexico Windstorm starting in 2018.

Bertil C. Olsson, President & CEO, commented that, "While 2018 turned out to be 
financially challenging, OIL is focused on creating long term value and we 
continue to enjoy a strong commitment and belief in the system by our dedicated 
shareholder base. Including 2018, OIL has charged its shareholders $2.1 billion 
in premium over the last five years while returning $1.8 billion of dividends 
during that same period. While premiums did increase in 2019, the recently 
announced dividend will offset a significant amount of that increase for our 
members. OIL continues to operate from a position of strength and will continue 
to offer long-term value to the world's leading energy companies."

George Hutchings, Senior Vice President & COO, stated that, "The most important 
accomplishments of 2018 were operational.  Several strategic initiatives were 
completed including delivering on our promise to provide our shareholders with 
detailed Data Analytics at the Annual General Meeting, further improvements to 
our offering for the Renewable Energy industry as well as Standard & Poors 
upgrading OIL by one notch to "A" Stable in September 2018. We also continue to 
see strong interest from energy companies around the world and are pleased to 
announce that Braskem S.A. joined the mutual in December 2018 as our first 
South American member."

After the AGM adjourned, the Board of Directors met and elected Theodore Guidry 
II as Chairman of the Board and Fabrizio Mastrantonio as Deputy Chairman for 
2019.

For more information about OIL's property coverages and related value go to 
www.oil.bm. 

Oil Insurance Limited (OIL) insures over $3.0 trillion of global energy assets 
for more than fifty members with property limits up to $400 million totaling 
more than $19 billion in total A- rated property capacity. Members are medium 
to large sized public and private energy companies with at least $1 billion in 
physical property assets and an investment grade rating or equivalent. 
Products/coverage offered include Property (Physical Damage), Windstorm 
(excluding Offshore GOM), Non Gradual Pollution, Control of Well, Removal of 
Wreck, Terrorism, Cyber, Construction and Cargo. The industry sectors that OIL 
protects include Offshore and Onshore Exploration & Production, Refining and 
Marketing, Petrochemicals, Mining, Pipelines, Electric Utilities, Renewables 
and other related energy business sectors.


Source: Oil Insurance Limited
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