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…
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…
08 December 2014
The lawyers’ professional indemnity market suffers from too much regulation and too little competition, according to the Productivity Commission…
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…
24 November 2014
A data “arms race” and the decline of physical assets are preying on the minds of insurer chief executives…
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…
10 November 2014
The Australian Law Reform Commission’s long-awaited final report on privacy invasion includes a detailed plan for a new course of action…
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…
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…
20 October 2014
The insurance industry will be a very different place in 2025 due to innovations such as telematics and the potential intrusion of e-commerce giants such as Google and Amazon, according to…
13 October 2014
Reinsurance rates in Australia and New Zealand may fall further, Aon Benfield Australia and New Zealand CEO Robert De Souza says…
06 October 2014
New business driven by emerging risks such as cyber security could either bypass brokers and leave them sidelined or lead them into greater advisory roles – if they can grasp the opportunities…
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…
22 September 2014
Advances in social media are presenting new and challenging risks for insurers – plus some interesting opportunities that should not be underestimated…
15 September 2014
The winds of change are blowing through the reinsurance industry as it gathers for its annual Monte Carlo rendezvous…
08 September 2014
Last year was Australia’s warmest on record, and we could be about to pay the price for it…
01 September 2014
There were some common themes in the profit announcements from Steadfast and Austbrokers last week…
25 August 2014
The growth of the so-called challenger brands is set to accelerate further, according to actuarial consultancy Finity…
18 August 2014
Toxic infant formula and deadly rockmelons are among the high-profile contamination threats sounding alarm bells for companies involved in the increasingly complex…
11 August 2014
The peak profitability game appeared to be up for Australian general insurers last year – before falling reinsurance rates sent it into extra time…