Feb 25 (Reuters) - Australia's QBE Insurance Group Ltd QBE.AX posted a better than expected annual cash profit on Monday, underpinned by higher premiums and a drop in claims.
Profit after tax on a cash basis came in at $715 million for the year ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $262 million a year ago and was better than analyst expectations of $707.02 million, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
The country's third biggest insurer by market value wrote $13.66 billion worth of gross premiums in fiscal 2018, compared with $13.33 billion a year ago.