Overall insurance industry mergers in the U.S. showed a significant decline in reported value last year, despite growth in value of property-casualty transactions.

The overall value of insurance industry of transactions was at about $31 billion, the third lowest value since 1995, said Stephan Christiansen, director of research at Conning Research & Consulting.

He said the property-casualty sector mergers and acquisitions grew in value by about 20% last year, to $16.3 billion.

“After a strong start in the first quarter, life and managed care company values and transactions were down significantly,” Christiansen said in a statement.

Outside the U.S., a similar decrease was evident, with non-U.S. property-casualty at $14 billion, less than half of what was reported in 2007. Non-U.S. life mergers and acquisitions were at $5.1 billion last year, while health M&A activity was at $580 million, both a fraction of the prior year transaction values, Conning reported.

Christiansen expected the trend to continue. “In both U.S. and non-U.S. regions we have seen some activity emerging in 2009, but transactions are expected to continue at low levels until economic conditions stabilize,” he said.