The prudential regulator's latest annual report on policies and claims for public and product liability and professional indemnity insurance has revealed a continued fall in premiums.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has released information from the National Claims and Policies Database as at December 31 2008.

It reveals national average written premium for professional indemnity risks fell more than 10% to $3360, contributing to a 31% fall over the past five years.

The average written premium for public and product liability decreased 1.1% to $750 in 2008. Over the past five years premiums have fallen 27%.

Gross written premium for both risks amounted to $2.7 billion, while a total of 82,000 insurance claims for both lines during the period came to $1.2 billion.

The number of professional indemnity policies increased more than 7% to nearly 330,000 during the year, while public and product liability remained stable at 2.1 million policies.