Brokers are placing more business offshore, according to Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) figures.

Intermediaries invoiced $520 million in premiums to unauthorised foreign insurers (UFIs) in the six months to June, up 6.8% on the corresponding period last year.

Half of this business was placed in Singapore and 20% in the UK.

Business placed with Lloyd’s underwriters was at $688 million, up 11.7%, while $6.7 billion was placed with APRA-authorised general insurers, up 5.4%.

Intermediaries invoiced $7.9 billion in premium in the half-year, APRA says.

UFIs are not regulated by APRA or required to comply with its general insurance prudential requirements.

Some 63% of total UFI business was in the fire and industrial special risks class, where the average new or renewed premium was $1.3 million in June.

The average premium increased 66% from June last year, which APRA attributes to a small number of new policies with significantly higher premiums.

Despite these increases, the number of new or renewed policies placed with UFIs was 4280, down 3.6%.

The number of intermediaries placing business with UFIs increased 11.7% to 67.

By comparison, 203 placed business with Lloyd's underwriters, up 8.6%, accounting for 24% of the 850 intermediaries that placed business directly with underwriters.

Some 817 placed business with APRA-authorised general insurers, down 4.3%, making up 96% of said intermediaries, while 67 (8%) placed business with UFIs.

At June 30, 1549 intermediaries were licensed to conduct general insurance business, but 677 (44%) did not place any in the half-year.

Lloyd’s General Representative for Australia Adrian Humphreys says Lloyd’s “helps provide brokers with direct access to underwriters, not business development managers or online placement solutions”.

“We’ve made a big push to expand our work in this area and the increase in business that we’re doing reflects this,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Mr Humphreys says cover after last year’s floods has become more difficult to source locally and reinsurance rates have increased.

“Given Lloyd’s position as a specialist catastrophe reinsurance market, and our expertise in this area, we are seeing more of this type of business come our way.”