2024 ANNUAL REPORT

All of Protector’s business is done through selected brokers and agents, with which the company has a broad and good collaboration. A significant part of the insurance portfolio is channelled through the largest broker houses in the Nordics and the UK.

The company has high and defined service standards, on which both brokers and clients are offered service level agreements (SLAs). All processes and steps necessary to meet the high standards are reviewed and analysed at individual and team level through KPI measurements.

Protector’s most important promise to brokers and clients is to be easy to do business with, commercially attractive and trustworthy.

Protector’s prioritised market segments are commercial lines of business, public lines of business and the affinity market. The company is a total provider of non-life insurance, and clients represent a broad range of industries and risks.

The commercial segment includes both small and large companies and affinity programs. We tailor insurance solutions for large companies and can develop own concepts through affinity programs as well as facilitate solutions for cross-border clients.

The public segment consists primarily of municipalities and county authorities. Protector is the largest insurance carrier within municipal insurance in Scandinavia, insuring more than 600 municipalities and county councils. In UK public sector and housing, Protector is currently one of the three largest insurance carriers with more than 420 clients, whereof 181 within local authorities and 140 housing associations.

Protector’s long-term profitability target is a combined ratio below 91%. This implies growth through consistent risk selection, market pricing, cost-effective operations, and risk improvements. By involving the correct expertise in the process, the company aims to ensure consistent, effective, and high-quality decision-making.

Existing clients are evaluated on the same basis as new risks. The renewal process will constitute the basis for making changes to policy terms, pricing, and risk management initiatives. The renewal strategy shall always be rational and data driven, ensuring that the profitability targets are achieved at first renewal.

All business units have appointed a product owner or Chief Underwriter (UW) for every product. This person is responsible for sharing their experiences with colleagues cross-border, maintaining and developing terms, risk selection according to the company’s UW guidelines, understanding the local market conditions and securing deliveries through the established underwriting process.

Protector’s claims prevention measures are comprehensive, and include, among other things, consultations and inspections that uncover potential safety risks, training of employees and management in HSE (health, safety and environment) and safety routines. The aim of the measures is to be able to provide targeted recommendations and action plans that are effective and realistic based on patterns emerging from claims data.

Reinsurance protects Protector’s equity, allowing solvency relief and ensuring an equalisation of the results over time. Protector uses estimates from EIOPA as a framework for determining protection through reinsurance (Excess of Loss). The protection must normally cover a claim volume with a return period of 200 years. Protector has limited the risk for own account to a maximum of 100 MNOK/SEK/DKK, 10 MGBP or 10 MEUR for individual events.

Protector prepares a renewal strategy for the individual reinsurance contracts in collaboration with the company’s reinsurance broker. This strategy deals with both objectives for commercial conditions, and changes in the capacity (limit) of the individual contracts, evaluation of the level of own account and contract scope, as well as general clauses, terms and conditions. Protector normally buys reinsurance through reinsurers with a credit rating of A- (S&P), or higher.

Claims handling is the “moment of truth” and is an integral part of the company. Most claims are handled in-house, but third parties are engaged when competence or capacity is needed. Currently claims handling employees are 40% of our operational workforce.

Protector’s claims handling is built on high quality standards ensuring that injured parties can trust that they will receive the compensation they are entitled to, in a way that provides trust and security. To achieve this, we have set the following five quality criteria as a basis:

1. Speed of settlement
2. Communication
3. Competency
4. Accuracy
5. Overall service

The most important criteria for perceived quality in claims handling, is speed of settlement. Protector has developed a paradigm called Clean Desk; a framework with ways of thinking and acting to ensure that claims handlers deliver on time without compromising quality. All claim handlers are evaluated on the five quality criteria. The company regularly requests feedback from brokers and clients so that the interests are aligned in the best possible way.

The asset management mandate set by the Board of Directors within the regulatory framework defines Protector’s investment strategy. It allows for investments in equities, fixed income, private equity and real estate. The company manage its financial assets in-house; analysts thoroughly assess and calculate returns for financial investment alternatives and rank them by risk adjusted return. As a Norwegian insurance company, Protector must comply with EUs Solvency II directive, detailing the capital consumption per risk alternative and the relationship between them. The prudential regime aims to ensure adequate protection of policyholders and other beneficiaries.

Protector performs stress tests to ensure that the balance sheet can withstand the most severe financial distress; the company tests the results being negatively impacted by poor technical profitability and turmoil in all financial asset classes, all at the same time.

At least every quarter, Protector make an overall assessment of all risks in the company’s books and risks the company may face in the future. Based on this, allocation of available capital is made towards alternatives considered, maximising risk adjusted return on equity. This includes, in prioritised order, profitable insurance growth, financial investments, cash as an option, and distribution of capital to shareholders through dividends or buy-back of the company’s own shares.

IT is a major contributor to Protector’s profitable growth through the availability of data, process support and improvement and automation. IT covers Information security, Information Compliance, Infrastructure stability and Innovation through the use of technology, at industry benchmark cost to ensure:

• Systems and processes are 100% secure, compliant and documented
• Business critical systems are stable and perform well
• Relevant data is captured, managed and used to enable best-in-class decision-making
• Processes in UW, contracting, broker service and claims handling are improved
• Self-service and sharing of information with brokers and clients for an efficient value chain
• Tasks that do not benefit from manual interaction are automated

Protector’s core insurance systems are developed, maintained, and operated by the company’s own IT professionals. In-house IT is strengthened by close cooperation with the providers of a modern technology stack, and a Cloud-based infrastructure. This gives the company access to the latest technology and enables recruitment of highly skilled resources, creating a unique combination of advanced technology and deep business understanding. A well-functioning cooperation in the matrix puts ownership of IT initiatives in the business units and reduces time to market for innovations. By sharing common goals and KPIs, an important part of the One Team Performance Culture, excellent business and IT cooperation is further enhanced.

Protector’s IT department maintains close relationships with brokers, clients, authorities, financial and insurance organisations, and their IT departments. By recruiting, developing, and retaining the right people, internal employee satisfaction survey results show IT is an organisation that is very attractive to be a part of.

Protector’s support functions operate largely as a centralised hub, delivering services to the business units. These services encompass data availability, data distribution and data analysis, accounting, business support, process development, project management, compliance, overall risk assessment and reporting, financial controlling, actuarial analyses, HR, marketing, and cultural and leadership development. The administration is committed to creating efficient support functions that add value to the business units. Understanding roles and responsibilities, along with managing the matrix as One Team, is key to further improving the quality and efficiency of our support functions.

Value based leadership defines Protector and is a fundamental part of the company’s business strategy, ensuring all employees work towards common goals. Our guidelines provide a clear framework for decision-making, accountability, and collaboration, reinforcing our One Team approach.

We are committed to attracting, developing, and retaining the right talent. Continuous learning is essential, supported by our Knowledge Hub, which facilitates onboarding, training, and competence development. Employees receive structured feedback through quarterly personal development discussions and 270º/360º reviews, ensuring alignment with company values and ongoing professional growth.

Protector has a long-standing commitment to leadership development. Our programs ensure a steady pipeline of leaders who deeply understand and embody our culture.

Protector asserts that if an insurance company excels in its core business, it also contributes to sustainability. Consequently, Protector’s sustainability strategy supports its core business and consists of the following pillars: people, climate-conscious underwriting, climate-efficient solutions and responsible business conduct.

This means the company fosters an engaging and inclusive workplace that develops industry-leading expertise, manages climate risks through underwriting and loss prevention, promotes climate-efficient claims settlements, and maintains high standards of business conduct while driving sustainable practices through active investment management. These priorities directly support Protector's core activities of pricing insurance risk, loss prevention, claims handling, and investment management.

The Protector share is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Company announcements and trading announcements are published in English - and in Norwegian on an optional basis. Interim reports and annual reports are published in English only.

In 2024, Protector’s share price increased by 58.3 %. The Oslo Benchmark (OSEBX) increased by 9.1 % during the same period. In 2023, Protector’s share price increased by 43.1 %, while the Oslo Benchmark index increased by 9.9 % during the same period. The average daily trading volume of Protector’s shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange was 74,299 shares in 2024, relative to 95,332 in 2023. At the end of 2024, the Protector share was traded at NOK 285.0 . The market value of total outstanding shares was NOK 23,493 million.

In accordance with the company’s adopted distribution policy, the intention in the coming years is to distribute 20 - 80% of the profit for the year to shareholders. The final determination will be based on the company’s result, capital requirements including satisfactory buffers and the necessary flexibility for growth and development in the company. Distribution of dividends will be considered at a solvency margin above 150%. With a solvency margin above 200%, the Board’s intention is to over time return excess capital to the shareholders in the form of special dividends or buy-back of own shares.

The Board prepares quarterly distribution assessments on the basis of the most recently approved annual accounts.

The company has issued a total of 82,500,000 shares and there is only one class of shares with equal rights for all shareholders. A list of Protector’s largest shareholders is provided in note 12. Equity in this report.

The annual general meeting of Protector Forsikring ASA will be held at the company’s premises at Støperigata 2, Oslo, on Thursday April 10th, 2025 at 4.00 pm. The notice will be sent to all shareholders and to the Oslo Stock Exchange. The notice to the Annual General Meeting will also be published on the company’s website protectorforsikring.no.

In 2024, gross written premiums grew 15% in local currencies. With a combined ratio of 88.1 %, we achieved an 11.9% profit on insurance operations.

Underlying profitability remains strong. Large losses totalled NOK 851 million (7.2 %), aligning with our normalized level around 7% where the majority happened in Denmark and the UK—none exceeding reinsurance retention. Claims provisions from prior years developed positively by 0.9 %. Adjusted for these factors, all countries contributed positively to growth and profitability.

Profitable growth is driven by a focused strategy, disciplined underwriting, efficient claims handling, and targeted actions to counter inflation.

In the UK Public Sector and Housing market, we see signs of competitors coming back into the tender processes, mostly rational in current pricing. The Scandinavian market remains disciplined, with insurers openly advocating price increases where needed.

Expanding beyond Norway has reinforced our performance culture. Building new teams in new markets brings about people with new experiences and perspectives, challenging us to stay true to ‘The Challenger’ mindset. We invest heavily in aligning with our principles while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy. We aim to stand apart, not blend in.

Growth has always defined Protector—both in business and careers. Profitable growth allows us to develop people, matching their passion and purpose with what drives our economic success. This means proactive, continuous and transparent succession planning.

Starting 2022, we explored new European markets, initially focusing on Spain. However, limited amount and quality of data prevented fact-based decision making, so we shifted focus to France. There, brokers met us with large amounts of high-quality data. By early 2024, our first French employees joined, training in Manchester and Copenhagen for 12–18 months. Disciplined efforts enabled us to start quoting French business incepting 1 January 2025.

Our ‘One Team’ approach unites employees across business units. Sharing best practices strengthens us, and I’m proud of our collaboration across functions and geographies. Thank you to all employees for continuously evolving our culture and delivering strong results.

With growth comes the need for more talent. We aim to attract a wider, more diverse applicant pool through increased visibility and innovative recruitment methods. This strengthens our team and our company.

In 2024, our investment portfolio returned NOK 1,059 million (4.9 %), with equities at 3.6 % and fixed income at 5.1 %. We invest for the long term, with short-term gains and losses mostly unrealized. Since in-house management began in 2014, excess returns have been exceptional.

Average reference rate in the fixed income portfolio decreased by 0.1 percentage points, while the risk premium (spread) dropped by 37 basis points. Together with movements in the portfolio, this resulted in a decline in the expected yield from 5.8% (year-end 2023) to 5.2% (year-end 2024).

Our equity strategy remains unchanged. Underlying performance is good, with an average 41% discount to intrinsic value across 35 holdings.

Since 2023, we actively manage interest rate risk, aligning fixed income duration with Solvency II provisions per country. This reduces balance sheet risk and P&L volatility.

Investments are core to Protector—balancing risk and reward is what we do both within insurance and in financial markets. Assets under management reached NOK 22.0 billion (up from NOK 18.7 billion), with 16.2 % in equities and 83.8 % in fixed income and hedging instruments.

We further strengthened our risk assessment process by involving a broader range of expertise throughout 2024. Risks and opportunities are evaluated quarterly—or more often if needed—ensuring well-informed capital allocation and readiness for turbulent times.

When profitable growth opportunities arise in insurance or investments, or when market conditions are uncertain, we prioritise capital retention over shareholder distribution.

By year-end 2024, our solvency capital ratio (SCR-ratio) stands at 193%, providing a solid foundation and strategic flexibility.

A.M. Best has reaffirmed our bbb+ investment grade credit rating with a positive outlook.

Fact-based decision-making is central to our performance culture. At Protector, everyone has the opportunity and responsibility to make decisions within their role, guided by common tools and principles. Autonomy means some decisions will not be perfect, but with the right culture, mistakes become learning opportunities.

In 2023–2024, we strengthened this mindset starting with leadership development, improving documentation of assumptions and making insights more accessible for learning and challenge.

Entering 2025, our focus shifts to treating ‘data as currency’. To enhance fact-based decision-making and technological progress, we will improve quality, structure and accessibility of data.

Brokers and agents are key partners in our value chain. We focus on joint solutions to enhance quality, efficiency, and competitiveness.

Feedback from brokers and clients has been very positive, reflecting ongoing dialogue and targeted improvements in processes, data quality, and technology. Internal and external surveys, along with industry awards in Denmark and Norway, confirm our high service standards.

Thank you for your trust. We remain committed to working exclusively with brokers and continuously improving our shared value chain.

In spite of the rapid profitable growth, our cost ratio remains stable. As we are still early in our journey, we invest in competence and capacity to support future growth.

We focus on understanding our cost position and where spending strengthens our competitive edge. At the same time, we invest in people, processes, and technology to stay prepared for future opportunities and risks.

In 2024, these investments continued. However, we still have work to do in fully leveraging quality and efficiency improvements to ensure cost control and scalability.

The insurance service result was NOK 417 million ( 230 ), corresponding to a combined ratio at 85.5 % (91.4 %). The improved profitability mainly derives from the exit of unprofitable broker-driven initiatives towards the consumer sector and price increases to counter claims inflation.

In 2024, Protector reclaimed 1st place in our own Broker Satisfaction Index. The relationships and relative product offerings have been strengthened. Protector will continue the dialogue and work to remain the preferred partner for brokers.

Gross written premium amounted to NOK 2,895 million ( 2,754 ), representing 5% growth (3% in local currencies). The growth is driven partly by price increases to counter claims inflation, and partly new sales within motor in our small- and medium-sized enterprise segment (SME).

The loss ratio, net of reinsurance was 71.3 % (78.0 %), including run-off gains at 3.7 % on previous years’ claims provisions as well as a large loss ratio at 2.3 %.

The cost ratio was 14.1 % (13.4 %). The higher cost ratio mainly derives from higher commissions connected to our growth in SME, as well as staffing up to meet current and future growth.

Sweden had an average of 151 FTEs (permanent employees) in 2024. The culture is always top of the mind and especially important when the Swedish team is as big as it is now. The organisation holds most competence in-house, but Nordic specialty resources support on some P&C underwriting. Within claims handling, specialty resources are sourced externally when necessary.

The insurance service result was NOK 308 million ( 55 ), corresponding to a combined ratio at 86.4 % (97.1 %). Results improved through targeted price increases in motor and property to offset claims inflation. Employee benefits profitability improved, except for medical treatment.

For the second year in a row, we won two external quality surveys in 2024, along with our own Broker Satisfaction Index. This is a testament to our strong focus on quality over time combined with a constructive dialogue with our partners.

Gross written premium amounted to NOK 2,355 million ( 1,941 ), representing 21% growth. The growth is driven by a strong renewal rate, price increases above inflation and high client retention.

The loss ratio, net of reinsurance was 79.2 % (89.8 %) and includes run-off gains at 1.2 % on previous years’ claims provisions as well as a large loss ratio at 1.8 %.

The cost ratio was 7.2 % (7.3 %). We are comfortable with the underlying cost ratio but will continue to look for efficiency gains through innovation.

Norway had an average of 76 FTEs (permanent employees) in 2024.

The investment portfolio returned NOK 1,059 million in 2024. The high yield portfolio stood out in 2024 with returns of 13,7%. However, do not get too excited about strong returns in a single year nor too disappointed when the returns are poor. Instead, measure us on our long-term performance.

Performance in the fixed income portfolio always needs to be evaluated through a full credit cycle. We have so far only had limited losses, but our focus on credit quality has a price in normal years with low/no volatility. In good times “all” companies get funding. Due to this effect, we expect slightly lower return than peers in non-crisis years. However, companies that should not have been financed will cause losses and real risk-adjusted return will be visible over time. This strategy of slight underperformance in most periods and large outperformance during turbulence, has so far paid off with strong outperformance since insourcing the fixed income portfolio in 2015. In 2024 the expected underperformance in a strong high yield market didn’t happen. Our portfolio returned 13,7% compared to the Nordic DnB HY index with 12,1%.

2024 was another strong year for the bond portfolio. A combination of no credit losses, general spread tightening and large spread tightening in some large positions contributed to this result. We reduced our HY portfolio including HY bond funds from NOK 4.5 billion to NOK 3.9 billion, mainly as a result of spread tightening during 2024. It is always important to keep our disciplined approach, but especially in periods with low credit spreads. Credit spreads tend to be volatile, and we expect to come back to a more normal allocation if the spread levels normalize.

Our long-term results on the HY and equity portfolio (excl. options) are:

^{HTD: Equities Oct 2014-Dec 2024, High Yield Sept 2015-Dec 2024}

In our annual report, we consistently explore key themes shaping our investment strategies. Last year, we focused on the critical concept of productive paranoia and its absence in various listed companies. This year, we write about the efficient market hypothesis and reflect on our journey so far.

Clifford Asness of AQR Capital Management highlighted an intriguing trend in his article, “The Less Efficient Market Hypothesis,” published in the November issue of The Journal of Portfolio Management. He argues that over the past 34 years, markets have become less informationally efficient in the relative pricing of common stocks, particularly over medium horizons. According to Asness, the rise of social media is a primary driver of this phenomenon.

Warren Buffett echoed similar concerns in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway investors, likening today’s stock market to a casino where rapid buying and selling dominate. Buffett remarked, “For whatever reasons, markets now exhibit far more casino-like behavior than they did when I was young. The casino now resides in many homes and daily tempts the occupants.”

A compelling illustration of market inefficiency is seen in the price-to-book ratio of the most expensive 30% of stocks relative to the cheapest 30% (among large caps). From 1950 to 1998, this ratio fluctuated between 3× and 6×. However, during the dot-com bubble (1999–2000), it skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. This crushed value strategy returns as already expensive stocks surged even higher. Remarkably, these distortions seem to be re-emerging, just two decades later.

As someone who started as a portfolio manager on the Oslo Stock Exchange and witnessed the dot-com bubble firsthand, it’s surprising to see history repeating itself so soon. However, for us at Protector, this presents a significant opportunity—albeit with heightened risk of short-term deviations from index performance. Fortunately, our Board of Directors understands these dynamics, enabling us to adopt a long-term perspective. In our equity portfolio we believe we see a lot of pessimism priced at approximately 8× expected earnings over the next 12 months.

Reflecting on our journey since insourcing investments in 2015, we recognize the importance of:

1. A unified, one-team effort across capital and insurance (including reinsurance).
2. A well-informed and supportive Board of Directors.
3. Maintaining discipline in times of market uncertainty.

When the world goes to hell, many things become difficult with cloudy vision in most of the market. We need to focus on what is easy and what we know well (e.g. Mowi-bonds in covid). In a period with many opportunities, diversification is critical. Looking back on the windows we have utilized we have always chosen the low-risk approach.

1. Preparedness: Maintain a “buy list” to react swiftly to forced sellers’ opportunities.
2. Holistic Focus: Evaluate all options, including bond funds. In hindsight, focusing more on total returns (rather than RoE) and increasing equity allocations during mid-2020 would have yielded stronger outcomes.
3. Risk-Taking: In periods like 2022, credit spreads were highly attractive. A more aggressive approach could have capitalized on these opportunities. We held back due to high perceived likelihood of real estate sector getting worse and the balance between investing at strong expected returns vs waiting for potential to get worse.

For years, we maintained minimal exposure to real estate debt due to low yields. However, the steep rise in interest rates created significant opportunities as companies faced financial strain, banks reduced lending, and terms improved. We allocated around NOK 1 billion to secured private debt, though limited sourcing channels constrained us. While sourcing has improved, this window has mostly closed as banks regain appetite.

Since 2017, we have tracked the discount to intrinsic value in our equity portfolio, which has ranged from 17% to 47%. Historically, our returns have aligned with expectations (~17% average returns). Unsurprisingly, higher discounts have correlated strongly with higher returns—a key area for improvement is to utilize this going forward. At year-end 2024, the portfolio discount stood at 41%, offering reasons for optimism over the next five years, albeit without guarantees.

Market volatility shows no signs of abating, which is positive for an active investor like Protector. Looking back, we have leveraged distress windows effectively, opting for low-risk alternatives in uncertain environments. Our intrinsic value calculations and underwriting discipline have been consistent, yielding long-term returns in line with expectations. While bond-portfolio losses are inevitable at some point, we remain confident they will be lower than credit ratings suggest.

As always, if you as an owner or potential investor reading this have any relevant suggestions (books, equity cases, bond cases, etc.) on how we can improve feel free to reach out. We received some recommendations during 2024 and are very thankful. We are of the opinion that the most valuable input we can get is a short thesis on any of the companies we are invested in.

The company reported a profit before tax of NOK 2,052 million ( 1,933 ). The result is due to a strong insurance service result and a good net income from investments. The return on equity was 31.6 % (37.7 %).

Gross written premium increased by 18% to a total of NOK 12,333 million ( 10,423 ). Adjusted for currency effects, the increase was 15% (37%), driven mainly by premium increases, low churn and strong growth in the United Kingdom. The insurance revenue increased to NOK 11,783 million ( 9,386 ), corresponding to growth of 26%.

In the United Kingdom, gross written premium increased by 26% to a total of NOK 5,457 million. The growth in the Nordic countries was: 5% in Sweden (incl. Finland) to a total of NOK 2,895 million, 21% in Norway to a total of NOK 2,355 million and 16% in Denmark to a total of NOK 1,627 million. In local currencies, the growth was 21% in the UK, 3% in Sweden, 21% in Norway and 14% in Denmark. On company level, the renewal rate was 99% (104%).

The insurance service result was NOK 1,404 million ( 1,080 ), corresponding to a combined ratio of 88.1 % (88.5 %). The improvement is driven by strong results in the UK, Sweden and Norway. Denmark contributed negatively to the technical result, strongly affected by large property claims.

The loss ratio, net of reinsurance, was 77.5 % (77.7 %). Large losses, net of reinsurance, amounted to NOK 851 million ( 551 ) or 7.2 % (5.9 %). The run-off level was 0.9 % gains (0.3 % losses).

Discounting of claims reserves was lower at -3.8 % (-4.2 %), reflecting the lower level of interest rates. The underlying claims ratio (adjusted for large claims, run-off, discounting and risk adjustment) improved by 1.0 percentage point. The cost ratio decreased to 10.6 % from 10.8 % in the prior year driven by premium growth. Excluding broker commissions, the cost ratio was 6.4 % (6.4 %).

Net income from investments yielded a total return of NOK 1,059 million ( 1,372 ), corresponding to 4.9 % (7.9 %). The investment return is driven by good returns on fixed-income securities and acceptable returns on equities. The return on the fixed-income portfolio was 5.1 % (7.6 %) and the return on the equity portfolio was 3.6 % (9.8 %).

The net insurance finance result impacted the profit before tax negatively with NOK -213 million (-384 ).

The net effective tax rate for the year was 25.0 % (22.7 %). Of total taxes, current tax expense accounted for NOK 625 million ( 397 ) and deferred tax income for NOK 112 million ( expense 43 ). Net profit for the year was NOK 1,539 million ( 1,509 ).

Pursuant to the requirements of Norwegian accounting legislation, the Board confirms that the requirements for the going concern assumption have been met and that the annual accounts have been prepared on this basis.

Protector’s solvency capital requirement ratio (SCR-ratio) calculated in accordance with the Solvency II rules was 193%. The calculation of the SCR-ratio is described in note 3.5 Capital management. The company’s objective is to maintain a SCR-ratio above 150%.

The company’s equity amounted to NOK 5,439 million, an increase of NOK 910 million. Dividend payments in 2024 have reduced equity by NOK 742 million.

Cash flow from operating activities amounted to NOK 1,294 million. Net cash flow was positive by NOK 314 million.

Cash and cash equivalents amounted to NOK 1,178 million at the end of 2024. The cash flow increase is mainly due to unsettled trade securities at year end.

Protector’s BBB+ Long-Term Issuer Credit rating from A.M. Best was affirmed in July. Outlooks were affirmed positive.

Risk-taking is at the core of the company’s operations. Continuous monitoring and active management of risk is therefore an integrated area of the company’s operations and organisation. Protector’s risk management is based on the company targets, strategy and risk exposure limits decided by the Board. The Board defines the framework for the company’s risk appetite and the capital which must be available to cover eventual losses. The company’s risk exposure is mainly related to insurance risk, liquidity risk, market risk, foreign exchange risk, credit risk, operational risk, strategic risk and climate risk. A detailed description of these can be found in note 3. Risk and capital management.

Protector’s governance systems are based on principles set out in the Norwegian Code of Conduct for Corporate Governance. See the STATEMENT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. The statement is an integral part of the Report of the Board of Directors.

Protector has liability insurance on behalf of the members of the Board of Directors and the CEO. The insurance additionally covers any person acting in a managerial capacity and includes the company’s branches. The insurance policy is issued by a reputable, specialised insurer with appropriate rating.

The company has prepared a sustainability statement pursuant to section 2 of the Norwegian Accounting Act. See the SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT.

Reporting duties pursuant to Norway’s Gender Equality and Discrimination Act and Transparency Act are available on Protector’s website.

The numbers of employees increased during the year and amounted to 594 ( 526 ) at year-end. This included 253 women, representing 43% of the workforce, and 341 men, representing 57%. The average number of employees during the year was 565 ( 488 ). Absence due to illness in 2024 was 2.5% (2.4%). No occupational accidents or occupational injuries has occurred in 2024. 

Principles for remuneration of employees as well as a report on remuneration of executive personnel are published on the company’s website www.protectorforsikring.no. A specification of total remuneration of executive personnel is enclosed in note 6.3 Remunerations to Senior Executives and the Board.

In accordance with the authorisation from the Annual General Meeting, the Board has on 13 February 2025 paid an additional dividend of NOK 330 million (equivalent to NOK 4.00 per share) on the basis of the 2023 accounts. The paid dividend is included in other equity as of 31.12.2024.

In February 2025, Protector successfully placed a subordinated loan of NOK 800 million. The terms of the loan comply with existing and expected future requirements for subordinated debt eligible as restricted Tier 2 capital.

The underlying profitability is good, and with continued price increases to counter claims inflation, the insurance service result is expected to remain at a good level.

Entering 2025, the company has experienced a continuing high renewal rate. In January the company experienced 19% growth in local currencies supported by price increases countering for claims inflation. France accounted for 8%-points of the growth.

The claims development, and the inherent volatility of capital markets, continue to be the most important risk factors that could affect the company’s profit in 2025. The rapid development of technology represents both a risk and an opportunity, requiring investments beyond previous efforts There is normally uncertainty related to future conditions, but the Board is of the opinion that the company is well equipped to meet the competition going forward.