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ə DIRECT LINE INSURANCE GROUP PLC TRADING UPDATE FOR Q3 2021¹ CONTINUED PROGRESS ON TRANSFORMATION PENNY JAMES , CEO OF DIRECT LINE GROUP , COMMENTED " We are pleased with our Q3 2021 trading performance . During the quarter , our direct own brand policy count grew overall while stabilising in Motor . " We have made strong progress in executing our strategy and have begun to see improved pricing competitiveness in Motor as a result of the capability delivered by our new platform . We have also successfully launched an electric vehicle proposition for our Direct Line brand , which helps make the switch to electric easier for our customers and builds on our expertise in this growing market . Trading summary " We are also on track to implement the FCA's new pricing practices regulations at the start of next year . Whilst market pricing in the first few months of 2022 is likely to be volatile as the market resets , our brands , customer focus and diversified business model mean we remain confident . Direct Line Group " Our transformation progress , delivery of new propositions and improved competitiveness , combined with our focus on disciplined underwriting , mean we are well placed as we look ahead and we reiterate our combined operating ratio target of 93 % to 95 % over the medium term . " Gross written premium Motor direct own brands² Motor partnerships Motor Home direct own brands²2 Home partnerships Home Green Flag Rescue Other Rescue and other personal lines Rescue and other personal lines Commercial direct own brands² NIG and other Commercial Total Group Of which : direct own brands² In force policies ( thousands ) Of which : direct own brands ( thousands ) ² Q3 2021 £ m 426.2 14.7 440.9 112.8 42.1 154.9 28.6 79.3 107.9 49.6 103.8 153.4 857.1 617.2 30 Sep 2021 14,410 7,513 Q3 2020 £ m 434.2 13.0 447.2 112.8 43.8 156.6 26.2 85.0 111.2 44.4 92.1 136.5 851.5 617.6 30 Jun 2021 14,471 7,465 1 Change 9 November 2021 ( 1.8 % ) 13.1 % ( 1.4 % ) 0.0 % ( 3.9 % ) ( 1.1 % ) 9.2 % ( 6.7 % ) ( 3.0 % ) 11.7 % 12.7 % 12.4 % 0.7 % ( 0.1 ) % Change ( 0.4 % ) 0.6 % 9 months 2021 £ m 1,159.5 37.0 1,196.5 311.4 121.8 433.2 69.5 224.9 294.4 140.5 349.0 489.5 2,413.6 1,680.9 9 months 2020 £ m 1,213.1 39.4 1,252.5 306.4 126.3 432.7 65.4 255.9 321.3 123.0 302.8 425.8 2,432.3 1,707.9 31 Dec 2020 14,615 7,454 Change ( 4.4 % ) ( 6.1 % ) ( 4.5 % ) 1.6 % ( 3.6 % ) 0.1 % 6.3 % ( 12.1 % ) ( 8.4 % ) 14.2 % 15.3 % 15.0 % ( 0.8 % ) ( 1.6 ) % Change ( 1.4 % ) 0.8 % Financial highlights Direct own brands in - force polices grew in Q3 , increasing by 0.6 % across the quarter . Motor policies stabilised and all other own brand products saw growth . Total policies reduced by 0.4 % . Total gross written premium increased by 0.7 % compared with Q3 2020 as strong growth in Commercial and Green Flag Rescue of 12.4 % and 9.2 % respectively was offset by lower premiums in Motor and Travel . In Motor , we continued to focus on maintaining the quality of our book and continued to price for claims severity inflation . Market pricing , however , was not reflective of observed claims inflation in the quarter . Despite this , our direct own brand policy count stabilised during the quarter as we improved our competitiveness following the launch of our new motor platform . Motor claims frequency continued to trend towards the level assumed in our pricing whilst claims severity inflation was slightly above our 3 to 5 % medium - term expectations . This was largely due to inflation in second - hand vehicles , which impacted total loss settlements but our in - house vehicle accident repair network allowed us to partially mitigate this . We continue to expect our Motor current - year attritional loss ratio in H2 to return closer to underlying 2020 levels of around 79 % .