Billion-dollar six-month profit for life insurers
Australian life insurers notched up a $1.058 billion after-tax net profit in the six months to September 30 2008, according to a new report by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
On a quarterly basis, APRA says, this was “fairly evenly spread” between the September quarter profit of $453 million and the June quarter profit of $605 million.
Total assets for Australia’s life insurers slid 2.3% to $231.9 billion from the June to September quarters last year.
APRA says the drop in value was mainly due to the recent turmoil in financial markets, with equity holdings falling by $7.1 billion or 5.9% over the quarter.
But the insurance industry was well capitalised as at September 30 2008, the regulator says. The solvency reserve coverage for investment-linked statutory funds was 2.24 times, while for non-investment-linked funds it was 1.85 times.
Net premiums for the September 2008 quarter were $6.1 billion for investment-linked business and $4.5 billion for non-investment-linked business. The corresponding net policy payments were $6.5 billion for investment-linked and $3.4 billion for non-investment-linked.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, life insurance sales rose 9% in the December 2008 quarter, according to the Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI).
Over the full year total premiums were up 9.4% to $NZ1.54 billion ($1.22 billion). ISI CEO Vance Arkinstall said in difficult times “people historically look for safety, security and the peace of mind that life insurance provides”.
On a quarterly basis, APRA says, this was “fairly evenly spread” between the September quarter profit of $453 million and the June quarter profit of $605 million.
Total assets for Australia’s life insurers slid 2.3% to $231.9 billion from the June to September quarters last year.
APRA says the drop in value was mainly due to the recent turmoil in financial markets, with equity holdings falling by $7.1 billion or 5.9% over the quarter.
But the insurance industry was well capitalised as at September 30 2008, the regulator says. The solvency reserve coverage for investment-linked statutory funds was 2.24 times, while for non-investment-linked funds it was 1.85 times.
Net premiums for the September 2008 quarter were $6.1 billion for investment-linked business and $4.5 billion for non-investment-linked business. The corresponding net policy payments were $6.5 billion for investment-linked and $3.4 billion for non-investment-linked.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, life insurance sales rose 9% in the December 2008 quarter, according to the Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI).
Over the full year total premiums were up 9.4% to $NZ1.54 billion ($1.22 billion). ISI CEO Vance Arkinstall said in difficult times “people historically look for safety, security and the peace of mind that life insurance provides”.