ING Canada’s 2006 net income “strong,” but decreased

ING Canada Inc. (TSX: IIC) reported net income of CD$205.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2006 – down CD$17.7 million, or 7.9%, from the record results achieved during 2005 Q2.

Revenues for 2006 Q2 amounted to CD$1.097 billion, compared to CD$1.112 billion last year.

“ING Canada had another quarter of strong performance,” ING Canada president and CEO Claude Dussault commented in a press release. “While we did not achieve the record level of the second quarter of last year, we continued to deliver solid earnings as a result of the sustained strength of our underwriting operations and the robust performance of our investment activities.

“Both our personal and commercial insurance businesses performed very well during the quarter resulting in a healthy overall combined ratio of 82.7%.”

ING Canada projected that, over the next 12 months, ” top line growth for the property and casualty insurance industry will remain below historical levels,” as experienced in 2006 Q2. “However, the underwriting results of the industry are expected to exceed historical averages.”

The company noted automobile insurance reforms adopted by various provinces have “continued to be effective at containing and stabilizing claims costs.” Furthermore, “automobile claims frequency remains low and we believe frequency will either increase or continued low frequency will lead to premium reductions.”