The Australian insurance industry underwriting result for the 12 months to December 31 last year was $3.6 billion, an increase of 25.1% on the previous year, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) Quarterly General Insurance Performance report.

Net industry premium revenue for the period was $21.5 billion, up 1.3% on the 12 months to December 2005.

Net incurred claims for the industry for the year reached $12.1 billion, down 5.1% on the previous year. The net loss ratio for the industry was 56%, down from 60%.

Total industry net profit after tax for the year to December 31 2006 was $5 billion, compared with $5.3 billion previously. The industry underwriting expense ratio for the period increased slightly to 27%, from 26%.

APRA says total industry underwriting expenses increased to $5.7 billion, a rise of 3.6% on the previous year’s $5.5 billion.

Total industry investment income was $3.8 billion, a fall of 17.4% from $4.6 billion previously.