Baloise said first-half profit fell more than 10 percent after the insurer bolstered reserves for its German non-life business.

Baloise, the Basel-based insurer, posted a profit of 223.6 million Swiss francs in the first six months of the year, down from 248.7 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement today.

The increase of reserves at the German non-life business by 54.8 million reduced the profit for the group by 37.9 million.

Without the effect of adding to the reserves, Baloise's profit would have stood at 261.5 million francs.

Competitive Environment

Baloise's business volume remained unchanged at 5.62 billion francs, despite the «competitive environment,» as the insurer put it. After the addition to its reserves, Baloise's net combined ratio was 92.5 percent, which compares with 92.3 percent a year ago.

The net return on insurance assets improved to 1.8 percent from 1.6 percent.

«Our financial stability and operational business have improved. We have strengthened the reserves for our non-life business in Germany,» said Gert de Winter, Baloise CEO.

«A substantial amount was also added to the technical reserve for our life business and we generated a healthy investment return.»

New Strategic Phase

Baloise said the result proved that the company was able to deliver an excellent operating performance in a challenging environment. Financial stability had furthermore been boosted.

The insurer will present key aspects and objectives of the new strategic phase on October 26.