OAMPS sticks to the acquisition trail
01 May 2007
OAMPS Insurance Brokers has acquired Wideland Insurance Brokers, a wholly owned subsidiary of Agforce, based in the Queensland regional centre of Toowoomba…
Corporate
Axa completes Winterthur purchase
01 May 2007
Axa has completed its $311 million purchase of Winterthur’s Hong Kong division, adding premiums of about $417 million to its expanding Asia book…
Gaps, greying and rules fire up Axa
24 April 2007
Gaps in insurance cover, the greying population and changes to the regulatory environment will fire future growth, Axa Asia Pacific says…
Zurich moves back to NZ market
17 April 2007
Zurich Financial Services Australia has launched general insurance operations in New Zealand, six years after it walked away from the market…
CommInsure cuts rates
17 April 2007
The Commonwealth Bank insurance arm will slash premiums for life policies by 15%, and general insurance rates may fall later this year…
Robert Harrison retires from Aon
17 April 2007
Aon Australia Pacific non-executive Chairman Robert Harrison has announced his immediate retirement…
Whitlam must pay NRMA for defamation costs
17 April 2007
Former NRMA President Nick Whitlam must pay his former company’s legal costs – possibly reaching $500,000 – over a defamation action he took against the Nine television network…
QBE eyes bolt-ons – and exchange rate
11 April 2007
QBE CEO Frank O’Halloran says the group is on track to achieve 20% profit growth in 2007, but currency fluctuations could affect earnings…
Wesfarmers’ NZ shopping spree continues
11 April 2007
With the ink barely dry on its Crombie Lockwood acquisition, Wesfarmers is adding more businesses to its broking interests in New Zealand…
Robinson goes to IOOF
11 April 2007
Former OAMPS CEO Tony Robinson has been appointed the new CEO of funds manager IOOF Holdings…
Vero buys landlord insurance specialist
03 April 2007
New Suncorp subsidiary Vero Insurance has acquired South Australia-based specialist landlord insurance broker Terri Scheer Insurance Brokers…
Suncorp completes its A+ merger
27 March 2007
It probably won’t generate positive returns for a while, but Suncorp’s merger with Promina is a good bet over the long term…
Axa raises bar on Asian operations
27 March 2007
Axa Asia Pacific has increased its Asian growth targets for 2008, and the diversified group is looking to build its Hong Kong assets to more than $47.9 billion by the end of next year…
CBA stalls on motor underwriting
27 March 2007
Commonwealth Bank’s insurance branch will announce by September whether it will underwrite motor vehicle insurance…
More acquisitions on the cards
20 March 2007
The Promina Insurance Group is technically no more…
Ansvar drops EIG in re-brand
20 March 2007
Australian-based EIG-Ansvar has dropped its precursor initials under a re-branding that is in line with the direction its UK parent company is taking…
Indian group opens Melbourne office
20 March 2007
Fire safety and security system specialist Firepro has opened a Melbourne office as the first step in a planned Asia-Pacific expansion…
Suncorp and Promina still competitors – for one more week
13 March 2007
The shareholder votes are in, and last night the Federal Court gave its approval to the proposed Suncorp and Promina merger…
QBE cracks top 10
13 March 2007
Insurance giant QBE has reached the upper echelons of local business after breaking into the top 10 Australian companies by market capitalisation…
Clarification
13 March 2007
Our tongue-in-cheek comment last week that Macquarie Bank has a “new-found interest in insurance brokers” has been disputed by the bank…