The 2011 net income of a group of 19 US property/casualty reinsurers surveyed by the Reinsurance Association of America fell 26.6% to $US6.89 billion ($6.58 billion) compared with 2010.

The reinsurers booked $US26.39 billion ($25.19 billion) in net premiums, up 13.2% over 2010, the association says.

Policyholder surplus remained virtually flat, increasing less than 1% to $US108.41 billion ($103.48 billion).

The group’s combined ratio fell nearly 12 points, to 107.2% from 95.4% in 2010. The 2011 combined ratio reflected a 77% loss ratio, up from 64.2% in 2010.

A 30.2% expense ratio was a slight improvement over 31.3% in 2010.