09 August 2021
After an adverse legal decision on business interruption cover and the pandemic in the first test case, insurers may gain some confidence from a Federal Court judgment handed down on a different matter in their favour...
02 August 2021
With just weeks now to wait for the report from an independent review of its operations by Treasury, the tone of Australian Financial Complaints Authority ombudsmen at a two-day member forum last week was conciliatory and amenable...
26 July 2021
IAG jumped out the gates early to deliver preliminary full-year financial results last week and in doing so has offered a window into some of the issues that the industry is dealing with as insurance affordability and availability concerns show few signs of easing...
19 July 2021
The coronavirus is proving to be a formidable foe to crush. More than a year into the public health crisis, the world is still struggling to hold the virus at bay as more infectious variants emerge, seeding new waves of transmissions...
12 July 2021
Before the collapse of 158-year old banker Lehman Brothers in 2008 and the subprime loans fiasco, diversity and inclusion wasn’t top of the agenda in financial services...
05 July 2021
In an exercise that took longer than usual to complete because of the COVID disruption, Australia’s insurers finally have a new code of practice in place – one that has been comprehensively updated and rewritten to provide for much-improved consumer protections in the post-Hayne royal commission landscape...
28 June 2021
Friday’s hearing of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics – a body which has previously demonstrated a sketchy understanding of how the insurance industry works – started with an announcement from committee Chair Tim Wilson that he and Insurance Council CEO Andrew Hall are "personal friends"...
21 June 2021
The US Department of Justice doesn’t mince words in its lawsuit aimed at blocking Aon’s $30 billion purchase of rival international broker Willis Towers Watson...
07 June 2021
After a decade of governments spinning their wheels on the idea of a cyclone reinsurance pool, Treasury now has to speed ahead with its foot to the floor in turning the concept into reality within an expected one-year timeframe...
31 May 2021
The Daily news service provided by insuranceNEWS.com.au often summarises dispute rulings laid down by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority...
24 May 2021
Many options have been floated and no recommendations yet finalised as the ICA-commissioned review on affordability and availability continues, but a discussion paper released last week makes some things clear...
17 May 2021
Up until now, the Adani Group has preferred to keep a near-total silence in response to a barrage of protests from climate activists waging a relentless campaign against its Carmichael coal mine...
10 May 2021
After years of insurers fighting against a reinsurance pool for cyclone-prone northern Australia and various inquiries showing little enthusiasm Prime Minister Scott Morrison has embraced the idea in an outcome reflecting the impacts of recent catastrophes and the power of politics...
03 May 2021
From October 5, duty of disclosure obligations will no longer apply to consumer insurance contracts, thanks to Hayne-inspired reform aimed at redressing the balance of power between insurers and their customers...
26 April 2021
As some insurers take the “nuclear” option and stop writing Directors’ & Officers’ business entirely, a new survey finds cyber attacks have jumped to be the top concern for executives both locally and offshore for the first time...
19 April 2021
Like the prolonged soft insurance market cycle, the macro-economic cycle was an extended one and it took the largest recession since the Great Depression, triggered by a global pandemic, to bring the economy down...
12 April 2021
An increasing number of business interruption legal issues are before the courts as insurers and policyholders continue to wrangle over exclusion wordings and whether cover has been provided for the COVID-19 pandemic...
29 March 2021
The logjam in the Suez Canal is threatening to escalate into a complex and large-scale claims event for the insurance industry globally, as fears over the extreme risk posed by a new generation of mega ships are realised...
22 March 2021
Vero’s annual SME Insurance Index, which delves into the minds of 1500 SME owners and their insurance-buying habits, has just published its 10th edition...
15 March 2021
Rumours are swirling that there might be a significant announcement on insurance in northern Australia in the upcoming Federal Budget, and some are predicting it’ll involve a reinsurance pool...