QBE Insurance Group Ltd

The group has literally outgrown its Australian origins and writes its business very much on a global basis. But, while QBE Australia now accounts for only 18.6% of the group’s gross premium income, it remains one of the most profitable divisions

The Australian based QBE Insurance Group increased its net profits by 30.0% from A$1.5bn in 2006 to A$1.9bn in 2007. Although the rate of profitability was somewhat slower than in 2006, when QBE increased its bottom line result by 36.0%, the latest result was achieved within the context of a softening market and a generally tougher trading environment. But probably more impressive, QBE can claim to be one of the few global insurers to have consistently increased its net profits by over 20.0% a year over the last five years. The group managed to achieve this even during the catastrophe prone periods of 2004 and 2005, when the balance sheets of most of its European, Bermudian and US counterparts were particularly stretched.