Sabre Insurance Group is a UK motor insurer that sells mainly car cover, with smaller motorcycle and taxi books. In 2025 it let premiums fall 14% in a soft market and still lifted profit 4.9% to £51.0m. In the first half of 2026 premiums grew 15.7%, but reported profit dipped 6.3% because the extra business has yet to earn through.
Car insurance priced for profit, not volume
Sabre underwrites motor insurance, meaning it carries the risk and pays the claims. Motor Vehicle is the core: £103m of £116m written premium in the first half of 2026, with 232,000 policies. Motorcycle (£8.9m) and Taxi (£3.7m) are small. Sabre Direct, an online-only motorcycle brand launched in 2025, wins its customers almost entirely through price comparison websites.
Management says profit is the target and volume the output. It aims for a net insurance margin (underwriting profit as a share of net premium) of 18% to 22%. It buys reinsurance and invests about £300m in UK government bonds, government-backed securities and investment-grade corporate bonds. 4 Aug 2026 10 Mar 2026 31 Jul 2025
Pricing fast through the inflation shock
Sabre calls 2022 challenging: claims inflation jumped and profit before tax was £14.0m. It raised prices early. In 2023 some rivals raised prices sharply and others left the market. Sabre's core motor premium grew 47.5%, total premium reached a record £225.1m and profit rose to £23.6m.
In 2024 premium reached a record £236.4m and profit doubled to £48.6m as the business written in 2023 earned through. The shares ended 2024 at 138p, against 151p at the end of 2023. 19 Mar 2024 15 Feb 2024 18 Mar 2025 30 Jul 2024
Ambition 2030: a £80m profit goal
At a Capital Markets Event on 5 December 2024, Sabre set a target of at least £80m profit before tax in 2030, a compound growth rate of about 10% a year from 2024. The plan rests on a direct motorcycle brand, a new pricing platform that sets more differentiated car prices, and better customer service tools. Management said profit growth would come mostly in the second half of the six years.
The wording of the target has not changed in any later report. The motorcycle brand launched on schedule in 2025, and car pricing tests began in late 2025. 5 Dec 2024 18 Mar 2025 31 Jul 2025 10 Mar 2026
Shrinking premiums to protect margin in 2025
Market prices fell in 2024 and 2025 and lagged claims costs. Sabre refused to follow. Four-month premium to April 2025 was down 23%, and full-year premium fell 14.2% to £202.9m. Taxi premium was cut 27.4%. The core motor loss ratio improved to 50.5%, net insurance margin rose to 19.2%, and profit rose to £51.0m.
Management had hoped market prices would rise in the second half of 2025. They stabilised but did not rise meaningfully. The shares fell to 126p in April 2025 and ended the year at 130p. Sabre paid a 13.5p dividend for 2025 and completed a £5m buyback in October 2025. 22 May 2025 10 Mar 2026 31 Jul 2025 3 Oct 2025
“Having priced prudently for potential claims inflation throughout the period, we benefitted from positive experience as inflation moderated in the latter part of the year.” 10 Mar 2026
Growth returns in 2026
Because claims inflation had eased to mid-single digits, Sabre grew policies from the fourth quarter of 2025. First-half 2026 premium rose 15.7% to £116.0m, and Motor Vehicle premium rose more than 18%. Motorcycle premium rose more than 50%. Taxi stayed small.
Profit before tax of £23.9m was 6.3% lower than a year earlier. Premium written in 2025 was low, so less earned in early 2026. Net insurance margin was 15.7%, below the target range. A second £5m buyback began on 2 June and finished in early August. The shares rose from 130p at the end of 2025 to 174p by the end of June. 10 Mar 2026 21 May 2026 4 Aug 2026 2 Jun 2026 5 Aug 2026
Discipline paid, but it has a cost
Sabre grew when the market was hard and shrank when it was soft. Profit rose in 2024 and again in 2025 on that approach. The cost is visible in the accounts: when written premium falls, the expense ratio rises, and it did so in early 2026 (29.9%).
The small lines are volatile. Motorcycle's loss ratio was 120.9% in the first half of 2026, and Taxi's was 111.1% in the first half of 2025. Management blames a few large claims on small books. Its hoped-for market price rise in late 2025 did not arrive, and Sabre has said it still needs one. 4 Aug 2026 10 Mar 2026 31 Jul 2025
Stable executives, a Chair change and recent share sales
Geoff Carter is chief executive and Adam Westwood chief financial officer throughout the period. Chair Andy Pomfret died in November 2023. Rebecca Shelley, interim Chair since then, was confirmed in April 2024. In May 2026 she also became Chair of B.P. Marsh and Partners. A cyber-attack on 16 November 2023 was contained, and the company believed no customer data was breached.
Non-executive director David Neave bought 11,625 shares in October 2025 at about 131p. The 2023 long-term incentive awards vested in full in April 2026. In July 2026 the CEO, CFO and Chief Risk and Governance Officer exercised share options. In August and September 2026 Carter, Westwood and Anneka Kingan sold shares at about 172p to 176p. 20 Nov 2023 19 Apr 2024 27 May 2026 23 Oct 2025 8 Apr 2026 10 Jul 2026 17 Sep 2026 6 Aug 2026 18 Aug 2026 22 Nov 2023
Premium up, profit weighted to the second half
Management says it writes business at target margins, and that the half-year margin reflects timing between written and earned premium. It declared an interim dividend of 4.1p, up from 3.4p. Solvency coverage, a measure of capital buffer, was 175.9% before the dividend and 161.4% after it. The target range after dividends is 140% to 160%. The latest close was 175.2p on 9 October 2026.
Four-month premium to April 2026 was up 15%, led by Motor Vehicle. 4 Aug 2026 21 May 2026 10 Mar 2026
“Reported profit and margins for the period do not fully reflect the strength of our performance.” 4 Aug 2026
Guidance for 2026 and the 2030 target
For 2026 Sabre expects premium growth, profit slightly ahead of 2025's £51.0m and a net insurance margin back within 18% to 22%. The rate of growth depends on how fast the wider market raises prices to match claims inflation. Management expects prices to rise but says the pace is uncertain.
The 2030 target of at least £80m profit before tax stands. Management expects more impact from the new pricing from 2027. It also plans to use AI in pricing and operations. It sees a clearer regulatory path after recent reviews, and says global conflicts have had limited cost impact so far, though that could change. 4 Aug 2026 10 Mar 2026 5 Dec 2024
Written by AI from Sabre Insurance Group's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources