The UFDS recently carried out this year's general assembly, where chairman Lars Henneberg, who himself was re-elected, could report on a good year for the association. The development has thus been positive in a number of areas, both financially and in terms of injuries.
Tuesday 23 April 2024 marked the day for this year's general assembly in the Danish Shipowners’ Accident Insurance Association, true to form, with Danish Shipping's meeting rooms on Amaliegade as the physical setting, where a full board of directors and director Jacob Munch were joined by a number of online participants.
The meeting started with a presentation of the new delegates, Regional Head of Legal Helle Collet from Svitzer, Legal Counsel Jette Hulgaard from Esvagt, CEO of JD Crafts Rasmus Normann Andersen and Legal Counsel Charlotte Gjerrild from BW Group.
Chairman Lars Henneberg then took the floor to present his report, which he began by concluding that 2023 was a good year for UFDS on several fronts.
»First and foremost, we have delivered a good result, which has allowed for more room for the strategic development of the organization. Likewise, developments on injury statistics is also positive,« the chairman noted.
The number of claims is thus back to a normal level after the uncommonly low figures of the corona pandemic. This should be seen in relation to the fact that the number of recruitment days is steadily increasing, effectively demonstrating that the number of injuries in relation to the tally of working hours is decreasing.
»This testifies to a continued improvement in safety and the working environment at sea, again reinforcing the development we also saw last year. It is positive for all parties, and a win-win, especially for the seafarers and of course also the shipping companies,« Lars Henneberg said.
Positive performance development
Lars Henneberg then presented the result for the financial year 2023, which saw a profit of DKK 42.1 million, a fine improvement from last year's plus of DKK 8.9 million. The capital requirement of DKK 123.6 million is virtually unchanged compared to 2022.
The return on investment for 2023 is DKK 40.1 million, a clear improvement on last year's loss of almost DKK 107 million. However, the return/price adjustment of provisions of DKK -30.4 million must be deducted from this.
UFDS' equity amounts to DKK 202.1 million, plus additional capital of DKK 48 million and a profit margin of DKK 11 million. The solvency coverage is 211 percent, satisfactory compared to the 200 percent target.
The final premium for 2023 is set at DKK 21 per day of employment with a release call of 15 percent. For 2024, the premium is provisionally set at DKK 22, the small increase intended to cover an expected rise in the capital requirement.
»The earnings development is positive, our base premium level covers claims, operations and profit margin, and the pressure on the capital base has eased, even though provisions remain high. We therefore expect a positive result for 2024, although the size depends a lot on the development of claims and the financial markets,« Lars Henneberg commented.
As last year, we still experience that the slow processing of cases in Labour Market Insurance (AES) is fueling an increase in the provision for claims, but with the adopted amendments to the Workers' Compensation Act in mind, we see a positive trend emerging.
In conclusion, the annual report was approved without objection, after which followed elections to the Board of Directors. As per the statutes, all non-executive members are up for election every year, with everyone receiving re-election. So did Chairman Lars Henneberg, just as KPMG was re-elected as external auditor.
