Direct Line bankers meet with investors ahead of stock market flotation The part-nationalised lender aims to sell a minority stake in the insurance group, which includes brands such as Churchill and Privilege, through an initial public offering in the second half of 2012. Elsewhere, the group's combined ratio hit 100pc. This figure is used by insurance companies to measure the percentage of premiums an insurer has to pay out in claims and expenses, with figures below 100pc reflecting a profit. To be ready for the public markets, the group will have to push this number down further closer to 95pc where many of its listed rivals trade. Paul Geddes, chief executive, said the insurer had done much of its "heavy lifting" over the past 12 months. "We have turned around our financial performance and successfully completed the first phase of our transformation plan," he said. We have ambitious trading plans for this year ... no one wants to be in a long-term declining business. Despite the growth in profits, gross written premiums fell from £4.3bn to £3.9bn, while investment income fell from £277m to £265m. Mr Geddes said much of this was down to the group's "de-risking strategy." Market competition and low pricing has meant that insurers were handling too many high risk clients. Direct Line has been busy turning some of these away as it searches for higher quality customers.