The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) today released its Quarterly General Insurance Performance Statistics and Quarterly General Insurance Institution Level Statistics publications for the September 2019 quarter.
The Quarterly General Insurance Performance Statistics publication provides industry aggregate summaries of financial performance, financial position, capital adequacy and key ratios. The publication also includes detailed statistics at a class-of-business level, a breakdown of operating income and expenses, and more granular solvency information.
Key performance statistics for the general insurance industry in the year ended 30 September 2019:
| Sep 2018 | Sep 2019 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net earned premium | $33.4 billion | $35.7 billion | +6.8% |
| Net claims expense | $20.9 billion | $24.9 billion | +19.3% |
| Underwriting result | $4.2 billion | $1.9 billion | -53.4% |
| Investment income | $2.5 billion | $3.9 billion | +54.4% |
| Net profit after tax | $3.9 billion | $3.4 billion | -13.2% |
Key ratios for the general insurance industry in the year ended 30 September 2019:
| Sep 2018 | Sep 2019 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net loss ratio | 63% | 70% | +7pp |
| Return on net assets | 14.2% | 12.1% | -2.1pp |
| Prescribed capital amount coverage ratio | 1.78x | 1.74x | -0.04x |
Industry underwriting profit for the year to 30 September 2019 was $1.9 billion (2018: $4.2 billion). This result was negatively impacted by claims costs from the Sydney hailstorm and Townsville flood events, and a strengthening of claims reserves in long-tail classes of business mainly due to falling bond yields. The falling bond yields also resulted in a significant increase in investment income primarily due to unrealised gains on interest-bearing investments, which largely offset the lower underwriting profit.
The Quarterly General Insurance Institution-level Statistics publication contains individual insurer information about financial performance, financial position, capital adequacy and key ratios. The quarterly performance statistics of insurers may be impacted by factors outside of their control, such as natural catastrophe events, as well as those driven by their internal processes, such as the timing of actuarial valuations. Users should take these factors into account when interpreting the statistics.
Copies of the 30 September 2019 quarterly publications are available on APRA's website at: Quarterly general insurance statistics.
