IAG has clawed back lost ground in the NSW compulsory third party insurance market even as chief rival Suncorp continues to close in on its lead.

NRMA, IAG’s flagship brand in NSW, added 3.1% on the previous quarter to claim 36.8% of all “green slips” issued in NSW – its highest share since June last year.

It’s the largest quarterly gain by an insurer since Zurich added 2.9% in the December 2005 quarter, only to fall back 2.8% for the following three months.

Ending a steady decline that began in March 2006, NRMA’s gains came largely at the expense of Allianz and Zurich. Rival Suncorp continued its run by pushing its combined market share to nearly 25%.

Figures from the Motor Accidents Authority show AAMI increased its share of green slips to 15.8%, up 1.2% from the December quarter. Stablemate GIO added 0.6% to account for 8.7%.

Allianz – which has led AAMI in all but one quarter since June 2005 – beat AAMI by just a tenth of a percent and is only 0.3% clear over the past year.