Genworth maintains the momentum in the September quarter

Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia's business continued in the September quarter as it had in the June half, with lower loan arrears and lower claims.

Genworth received 350 claims in the September quarter, compared with 510 in the September quarter last year. Its loss ratio of 21.4 per cent was six percentage points lower than the previous corresponding period.

With the increase in house prices this year, the average claim size fell from A$79,000 in the September quarter last year to $58,600 in the latest quarter.

The value of claims paid fell from $40.7 million to $20.5 million over the same period.

Gross written premium of $157.5 million was up 5.3 per cent on the previous corresponding period.

Genworth reported a net profit of $64 million for the quarter and an underlying profit (after excluding the after-tax impact of unrealised gains or losses on investments) of $72 million.