The eagerly awaited annual returns of several leading insurers will be revealed this week with earnings expected to have fallen as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks and such other influences as plummeting equity returns.

Although IAG, which reports on Friday, has denied taking advantage of the “financial reinsurance” contracts that FAI and HIH used before they unravelled, there’s likely to be intense interest in the small print by punters eager to spot fake deals. They’re unlikely to find any. QBE, which reports later in the year, has also denied dabbling in dubious deals with reinsurers.

Analysts are predicting a 40% drop in net annual profit for AMP when it makes its announcement tomorrow.

While IAG investors nervously await the results, they will also be interested in what newly appointed CEO Michael Hawker has to say in his first public address. The group is expected to record an interim profit of $39 million showing an increase of $3 million over the corresponding period last year. The expected profit will include reinsurance costs from September 11 and the recent NSW bushfires and floods.