Hastings posts steep drop in first-half profit

(Reuters) - Hastings <HSTG.L> on Thursday posted first-half profit that more than halved, as the British insurer set aside more money for claims after a government-ordered change in the discount rate used to calculate compensation for personal injuries.

The company, with over 2.7 million live customer policies, reported a 47% fall in pretax profit to 46.1 million pounds for the six months ended June 30. That came in below the 50.7 million pounds estimated by analysts as per company-compiled consensus.

(Reporting by Muvija M and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)