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Analysis

The fine line between help and advice

09 March 2015

The Insurance Council of Australia’s annual Regulatory Update seminar is unmissable for anyone wanting a pointer to the industry’s emerging issues, and this year’s event suggests insurers face pressure to give consumers more personalised advice and take greater responsibility for who buys their products…

‘Same old same old’ on north Queensland. Or is it?

02 March 2015

The yawning gulf between the industry and Federal Government over the north Queensland insurance affordability issue was the elephant in the room at the Insurance Council of Australia’s annual Regulatory Update conference in Sydney on Friday…

Insurance CEOs have much to prove

23 February 2015

The CEOs of the world’s biggest companies are facing challenging times amid a volatile and often unpredictable global economy – and the rapidly transforming insurance marketplace is throwing up more than its fair share of challenges to insurance and reinsurance leaders…

Seeking clarity on a murky issue

16 February 2015

Nearly 50 brokers and lawyers attended a seminar in Brisbane on unauthorised foreign insurers last week. There’s a huge amount of interest in UFIs among brokers, and the Brisbane seminar revealed an amount of nervousness about whether the Federal Government’s initiative will address the north Queensland insurance affordability problem…

The industry’s barometer points to gloomy days ahead

02 February 2015

On a grey, rainy day in Sydney last week, insurance analysts gathered in a plush investment bank boardroom and tried to smile as they delivered their first media briefing for the year – but the news was as resoundingly glum as the weather…

North Queensland: a competition with no prizes

15 December 2014

The Australian Government Actuary’s third report on north Queensland insurance pricing contains some basic pointers to how insurance works. Unfortunately, it’s cold comfort to residents who have seen premiums soar and politicians who don't understand insurance…

Lawyers’ PI: is one slice enough?

08 December 2014

The lawyers’ professional indemnity market suffers from too much regulation and too little competition, according to the Productivity Commission…

Why personal injury should be a private matter

01 December 2014

Suncorp has stepped up a campaign to have state and territory-owned personal injury schemes privatised, with external research showing billions of dollars in national economic benefits are there for the taking…

A leak in the premium pool

24 November 2014

A data “arms race” and the decline of physical assets are preying on the minds of insurer chief executives…

UFIs: a simple solution with explosive consequences

17 November 2014

A flurry of interest ran around the industry last week when the Australian Financial Review quoted a briefing note from “one of the country’s largest insurers” warning of the dangers of insuring households through unauthorised foreign insurers…

Building advice: between a rock and a hard place

03 November 2014

Consumers tend to pick up the phone to ask about home building insurance to “talk to a human because they want to consult, clarify or verify,” research for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission says…

Smoke and mirrors versus unpleasant reality

27 October 2014

Political decisions regarding Queensland sometimes verge on the bizarre, and that’s probably the best way to describe the bomb Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann dropped…

Insurers bulk up for the big fight

29 September 2014

Australian insurers have established a stronger position in the past financial year, but they may now be heading for a storm cloud of competitive challenges…