Hong Kong's insurance business has been improving steadily, with the overall underwriting profit in the first three quarters amounting to $1.23 billion, double that of the same period last year.

The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance said gross and net premiums of the general insurance business rose by 4.1% and 4.5% respectively, to $18.6 billion and $12.6 billion.

Property damage business continued to be the most profitable area of the industry, accounting for an underwriting profit of $600 million.

Pecuniary loss business returned to underwriting profit, earning $70 million, compared with a loss of $55 million in the first three quarters of last year. The recovery was attributable to a significant improvement in claims experience.

The underwriting loss for the motor vehicle business was reduced to $45 million from $151 million, due to an improvement in the net-claims-incurred ratio and a reduction in the commission ratio.

General liability business sees stunning turnaroud

General liability business posted a profit of $220 million, compared with a loss of $147 million in the first three quarters of last year. The employees' compensation business recorded a profit of $39 million, against a loss of $315 million, owing to an increase in premium rates during the period.

As for long-term in-force business, the total revenue premiums amounted to $55.2 billion in the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 11.7% over the same period last year.

New office premiums (excluding retirement scheme business) amounted to $16.8 billion, representing an increase of 19.1% over the same period last year.

For more details of the provisional statistics, click here.