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Suncorp profit set to tumble

Suncorp has warned its annual profit is set to tumble as much as 39% due to rising claims and volatile financial markets.

The Queensland insurer last week released preliminary annual results ¬– the official announcement will be on August 25 – indicating an annual net profit of $340-360 million. Suncorp last year earned $556 million.

Acting CEO Chris Skilton says the bottom line has been squeezed by “volatile investment and credit markets, subdued domestic growth and major insurance claims across Australia and NZ”.

Suncorp has forecast gross written premium growth of between 4-6% and a full-year insurance trading result of between 7.5-8% of net earned premium.

“The insurance trading result has been impacted by a series of major weather and natural hazard events that were significantly ahead of normal allowances, as well as increased reinsurance costs,” the company said in a statement.