(Reuters) - British insurer esure Group Plc (L:ESUR) on Thursday said claims related to a spell of extreme winter weather resulted in higher-than-expected costs in its home insurance business in the first-quarter.
Gross written premiums, however, rose 18 percent to 221.2 million pounds ($300.72 million) for the three months ended March 31, helped by a 21.1 percent jump in motor gross written premiums.
The insurer said the disruption caused by 'The Beast from the East' and 'Storm Emma' over the period resulted in 8 million pounds ($10.88 million) of claims costs in its home insurance business, which is 6 million pounds ahead of company's expectations.
($1 = 0.7356 pounds)