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APRA releases general insurance statistics for December 2018

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released its Quarterly General Insurance Performance Statistics and Quarterly General Insurance Institution Level Statistics publications for the December 2018 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 31 December 2018:

 December 2017December 2018Change
Net earned premium$32.2 billion$34.0 billion+5.3%
Net incurred claims expense$20.9 billion$22.2 billion+5.9%
Underwriting result$3.3 billion$3.5 billion+6.2%
Investment income$2.6 billion$2.2 billion-15.8%
Net profit after tax$3.4 billion$3.3 billion-1.0%

Key ratios for the general insurance industry in the year ended 31 December 2018:

 December 2017December 2018Change
Net loss ratio65%65%unchanged
Return on net assets12.1%12.2%+0.1pp
Prescribed capital amount coverage ratio1.78x1.74x-0.04x

The Quarterly General Insurance Institution-level Statistics publications contain 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 31 December 2018 quarterly publications are available on APRA’s website at: www.apra.gov.au/publications/quarterly-general-insurance-performance-statistics.

Statistics

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is the prudential regulator of the financial services industry. It oversees banks, mutuals, general insurance and reinsurance companies, life insurance, private health insurers, friendly societies, and most members of the superannuation industry. APRA currently supervises institutions holding around $9 trillion in assets for Australian depositors, policyholders and superannuation fund members.