Claims in the Australian general insurance industry leapt to $35.9 billion for the year to June 30, up from $23.6 billion in the previous year, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) quarterly general insurance performance statistics have revealed.

But claims costs in the quarter to June were less than half that of the March quarter for the 115 general insurers and 12 reinsurers.

Gross claims incurred in the June quarter were $6.8 billion, down from $16.6 billion in the previous quarter. The March quarter featured large catastrophe claims and the APRA statistics also reveal claims in long-tail classes of business fell in the June quarter.

As a whole, the industry posted net profit after tax of $1.1 billion for the three months to June 30, up from $500 million in the March quarter. For the year ended June 30, the industry’s net profit after tax was $3.9 billion.

The underwriting result for the June quarter was $900 million, compared to a loss of $1.3 billion in the previous quarter.

Investment income fell in the June quarter to $1.1 billion, down from $1.7 billion in the previous quarter. “This was primarily due to a drop in dividend income and reduced unrealised gains for insurers,” APRA says.

Industry net earned premium was $6.6 billion, up from $6.2 billion in the March quarter, while outwards reinsurance expenses reduced to $2.1 billion in the June quarter from $2.3 billion in the March quarter.