APRA publishes quarterly general insurance statistics

APRA publishes quarterly general insurance statistics | Insurance Business Australia

Insurance News

APRA publishes quarterly general insurance statistics

Release includes key performance metrics

Insurance News

By
Mika Pangilinan

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has published its quarterly general insurance performance statistics for the March 2023 quarter.

According to APRA’s latest figures, the industry reported a net profit after tax of $3.7 billion for the March 2023 quarter, accompanied by a 12% return on net assets.

This mostly reflected increases in underwriting results and investment income. Higher premiums across various classes of business were the primary driver of the improved underwriting results, while the rise in bond yields over the past year contributed to the overall increase in investment income.

Additionally, gross incurred claims remained relatively stable during the period. While long tail claims expenses experienced an increase, this was counterbalanced by a reduction in short tail claims expenses.

As for the prescribed capital amount (PCA) coverage ratio, APRA reported an increase from 1.69x in March 2022 to 1.75x in March 2023.

The key performance statistics for the general insurance industry in the year ending March 31 are detailed below:

March 2022

($bn)

March 2023

($bn)

Change (annual)

Gross earned premium

$58.9

$64.4

9.4%

Gross claims expense

$44.6

$45.0

1.0%

Underwriting result

$4.7

$5.3

12.4%

Investment income

-$0.9

$2.0

–

Net profit after tax

$1.3

$3.7

195.0%

The key ratios for the general insurance industry are as follows:

March 2022

March 2023

Change

(annual)

Net loss ratio

65%

66%

1 percentage point

Return on net assets

4.3%

12.0%

7.7 percentage points

Prescribed capital amount coverage ratio

1.69x

1.75x

0.06x

APRA publishes its quarterly general insurance performance statistics to provide industry aggregate summaries of financial performance, financial position, capital adequacy, and key ratios. It also features detailed statistics at a class-of-business level, a breakdown of operating income and expenses, as well as granular solvency information.