The general insurance industry had total assets of $81.8 billion at the end of September, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. Its latest quarterly report on the industry shows an underwriting result for the year to September of $3.3 billion, a decrease of 1% on the previous year. This corresponds to a net underwriting combined ratio of 84%.

While net assets were up on last year’s figure, industry and analyst predictions that the industry had reached its peak in terms of profitability proved correct.

The total assets recorded up until September 30 increased $1.1 billion or 1.4% on the previous year.

Industry net assets increased by $1.4 billion to $24.6 billion during the period, up 6% on the previous year and have increased by 22.2% for the two-year period from September 2003.

Net loss ratios for the year were 59% with the loss ratio for the September quarter at 57%, down from 67% for the same quarter in 2004.

The total net profit for the industry stands at $5.5 billion, which corresponds to a return on equity of 22.9%, down slightly from 23.2% from the previous year.

Direct insurer returns of 23.5% have outperformed the reinsurance industry, which generated a 19.2% return. Direct insurers returned 7% on assets during the past year while reinsurers returned 5.4%.