Australian insurers are recording strong premium growth after years of catastrophe losses, according to Aon Benfield.

Gross written premium (GWP) across liability, property and motor lines rose strongly in the past year, while volatility in gross loss ratios was more than competitive against international counterparts, the reinsurance broker’s annual Insurance Risk Study says.

Australia was the 10th largest insurance market in the world, at $US31.2 billion ($29.5 billion) in annual GWP, despite underperforming loss ratios in motor and property and low growth in liability lines.

The volatility of loss ratios in Australian motor and property lines is in the top five globally, according to the report.

After rising by an average of 10.1% every year for the past five years, GWP in property lines soared 25.2% last year – the third-fastest rate in the Asia-Pacific region and well above the 6.7% global average.

Motor GWP in Australia grew 18.3% last year, beating the five-year average of 12% and last year’s global average of 5.6%.

Growth in liability GWP last year was more than double the five-year average at 12.8%, four percentage points higher than the rest of the world.

Indonesia recorded the world’s fastest rate of GWP growth in motor last year, at 41.1%, while Hungary’s GWP receded 16.2%.

Ukraine (38.9%) and Venezuela (59.7%) were the fastest-growing regions for property and liability GWP respectively last year.