The US storm clouds linger
31 May 2010
As if a record $19 billion first-quarter catastrophe bill wasn’t enough, global insurers will now be sweating over forecasts of a particularly active Atlantic hurricane season that begins tomorrow…
Analysis
Caution needed on commission ban inquiry
24 May 2010
The Federal Government’s announcement that it is considering extending its ban on commissions to include the risk insurance industry has reignited debate on the likely effects…
Could the class action threat spread to insurance?
17 May 2010
Australians love a good stoush, and the launch of a class action against Australian banks for illegally pocketing fees has all the hallmarks of public sport…
Direct online insurance could be set to soar
10 May 2010
At around 5-10% of all personal lines sales, the Australian online insurance market is a tiddler compared to those in the US (20%) and the UK (40%)…
Flood v storm debate continues
03 May 2010
In the wake of recent flooding in southern Queensland, the definition of flood versus storm damage and what exactly is covered is once again receiving media attention…
Airlines in a flap over business interruption
27 April 2010
Call it an act of god, act of nature or simply bad luck, but the airline industry just can’t seem to take a trick…
Up, down or flat? The rates circus gets complicated
19 April 2010
An Aon risk management benchmarking survey has confirmed what many Australasian clients have already discovered at renewal: premiums are rising…
Hutchinson appointment breaks new ground
12 April 2010
Few would suggest insurers are piercing the patriarchal heart of corporate Australia, but the times are nevertheless changing…
Storms dampen insurer profits
29 March 2010
What a difference a month can make. As IAG, QBE and Suncorp lined up to deliver a succession of healthy results at the end of February, the storm clouds were already gathering…
Call to arms on Insurance Contracts Act
22 March 2010
As the old saying goes, it never rains but it pours. For those with a stake in changes to the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 it’s really bucketing down…
Brumby’s claims don’t wash
15 March 2010
Insurers, never the most popular companies, are used to being natural catastrophe whipping boys…
Simplicity the key to life insurance growth
08 March 2010
Make it relevant. That’s the message to life insurers in the wake of the Investment and Financial Services Association inaugural Life Insurance Conference held in Sydney last week…
Change in the weather for IAG
01 March 2010
Beatle George Harrison wrote a song called Here Comes the Sun in which he talked about smiles returning to faces…
Dismantling broker rules doesn’t diminish Spitzer legacy
22 February 2010
And so the shackles have been cast away…
Where to for builders’ warranty insurance?
15 February 2010
If the withdrawal of Lumley Insurance and CGU rattled the market for privatised builders’ warranty insurance, then the departure of Vero threatens to shake it to its foundations…
Getting a nation’s cover right
08 February 2010
Regardless of how it can be achieved, an adequate level of home and contents risk cover at affordable prices is a must-have for Australians…
The regulation bogeyman cometh
01 February 2010
International regulation is back centre stage…
Strong Australian market breeds hot competition
14 December 2009
While the rest of the world concerns itself with new regulatory challenges, in Australia the buzzword is competition…
Downturn spurs surge in management liability claims
07 December 2009
Management liability lines are feeling the strain after the global downturn precipitated a surge in new claims…
System shift will test mettle at Suncorp
30 November 2009
Apart from anything else, Suncorp CEO Patrick Snowball’s market announcement last week should see the retreat of some tanks from his lawn regarding the speculated sale of the…