Portage la Prairie's oldest insurance company looks to be returning to profitability.

Portage Mutual Insurance Company announced net income of $15.8-million for the 2016 fiscal year at its Annual General Meeting at Canad Inns Thursday. The profit margin was more than double the $7.2-million gain posted in 2015, a positive sign after the company had reported losses from 2010-14.

“It's very rewarding from the aspect of the efforts put in by all the staff,” says Portage Mutual president and CEO John Mitchell. “We worked very hard to get to this point and had a good year from an underwriting perspective and a very good year from investment criteria.”

Mitchell credits a focus on risk, pricing and underwriting criteria as reasons for the company's return to profitability in the past two years.

The company's 2016 annual report points to strong underwriting performances in Ontario and Manitoba, as well as Saskatchewan, P.E.I., and British Columbia, for helping achieve positive financial results.

The report also says Portage Mutual was fortunate to avoid major losses on disasters and severe weather events occurring nationally, including the largest insurance loss event in Canadian history, the Fort McMurray Wildfires.

“We also avoided some storms in Saskatchewan which traditionally we get hit with, and there was weather related issues in Alberta that (didn't) hurt us,” Mitchell explains. “All those things contributed to the overall success.”

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
-Overall net income increased to $15.8-million from $7.2-million in 2015
-Underwriting revenues decreased slightly to $185-million from $192-million in 2015
-Underwriting net income grew to $3-million from $763,000 in 2015
-Investment income increase of $10-million over 2015
-Yield on investment portfolio increased to 5.42% compared to 2.47% in 2015
-One Catastrophe Claim loss (CAT) in 2016: a $3.2-million payment to policy holders relating to a significant water and windstorm event October 2016 in Sydney, N.S.
-Premiums decreased by four per cent, with slight reduction forecast for 2017 before returning to growth in 2018
-Cyber security continues to remain a priority