Reports of hardening premiums are being tempered by Zurich Australia’s new general insurance chief Shane Doyle, who says the market remains “very competitive”.

Speaking after broker Aon released a report finding a 6.4% rise in premiums, he told insuranceNEWS.com.au it remains to be seen if the market is moving up.

Wide variations across different lines of insurance business were noted in the survey – from 1.1% in public and product liability lines to 16.9% for professional indemnity.

Mr Doyle, a New Zealander, moved to Australia this year from the UK to take up the position of GM General Insurance at Zurich. He says competition between insurers locally “remains aggressive”.

“It was competitive nine years ago and it’s competitive today,” he said. “Back in London you can slice and dice a little bit more, but here it’s a bit tougher.

“It’s a fairly tight market, but ultimately a lot of what happens here is determined by events overseas.”

Mr Doyle took over from Andrew Barrowman in February and has made increasing the company’s suite of financial offerings a priority.