APRA releases general insurance statistics for September 2022
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 2022 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.
For the year ended 30 September 2022, the industry reported a net profit after tax of $960 million and a return on net assets of 3.1 per cent. This was a small decrease relative to the prior year because the industry’s stronger underwriting results were offset by large investment losses. The improvement in industry underwriting results was driven by an increase in gross earned premiums across all classes of business. Gross claims expenses also increased and can be attributed to higher claims costs arising from catastrophe events throughout the year, most notably, the NSW and SEQ Flooding event in the March quarter. For the year ended 30 September 2022, the industry recorded total investment losses amounting to $3.0 billion. This was driven by unrealised losses on interest bearing investments due to bond yield increases in the past 12 months.
The industry PCA coverage ratio increased in the year ended 30 September 2022 to 1.74x, up from the ratio of 1.72x reported for the same period last year.
Key performance statistics for the general insurance industry in the year ended 30 September:
| September 2021 | September 2022 | Change (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|
Gross earned premium | $55.6bn | $61.9bn | 11.3% |
Gross claims expense | $42.8bn | $46.3bn | 8.1% |
Underwriting result | $1.9bn | $6.1bn | 215.3% |
Investment income | $1.2bn | $-3.0bn | - |
Net profit after tax | $1.0bn | $1.0bn | -0.8% |
Key ratios for the general insurance industry:
| September 2021 | September 2022 | Change (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|
Net loss ratio | 71% | 62% | -9 percentage points |
Return on net assets | 3.2% | 3.1% | -0.1 percentage points |
Prescribed capital amount coverage ratio | 1.72x | 1.74x | 0.02x |
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 2022 quarterly publications are available on APRA’s website at: Quarterly general insurance statistics.
Media enquiries
Contact APRA Media Unit, on +61 2 9210 3636
All other enquiries
For more information contact APRA on 1300 558 849.
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.