Australia’s general insurance industry has bounced back from the disasters earlier in the year, although a $217 million loss for the sector was recorded in the September quarter.

According to the latest Australian Prudential Regulation Authority figures, net earned premium rose in this year’s September quarter when compared to the corresponding period last year.

In the September quarter this year insurers earned $6.7 billion in premiums compared to $6.3 billion in 2010.

Gross written premiums for the September quarter were $9.3 billion, compared to $8.5 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.

Countering this was a rise in net incurred claims – $5.1 billion compared to $4 billion in the September quarter last year.

This led to general insurers making a $778 million net profit for the September quarter, compared to $1.1 billion in the same quarter last year. 

Income from investments helped turn around the underwriting losses, despite the volatility of global markets,

During the 2011 September quarter, insurers managed to increase their investment totals from $63.7 billion in September 2010 to $66.5 billion this year.

The strong performance during the year was attributed to interest-bearing investments that rose from $41.2 billion in 2010 to $44.3 billion in 2011.

As with most investors, the small amounts of equity holdings fell from $2.4 billion to $1.6 billion during the year, reflecting volatile global markets.

The net loss ratio for insurers improved in the 12 months ending September, rising from 64% last year to 76% this year.