Daily
Suncorp offers home and motor discounts, frontline driver aid
23 April 2020
Suncorp and its brands GIO, AAMI and Apia are offering flexible premium options, including discounts of up to 20% or three-month premium waivers, to home and car insurance customers experiencing financial difficulty caused by the COVID-19 crisis...
Bessell named Austbrokers Chief Broking Officer
22 April 2020
AUB Group has appointed former IAG executive Ben Bessell as Austbrokers Chief Broking Officer...
Claimant wins dispute despite breaching disclosure duty
22 April 2020
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has ruled in favour of a complainant, whose claim for vehicle damage was declined by his insurer because he failed to disclose his prior claims history...
Clients want savings, not premium deferral: MGA
22 April 2020
Small business clients of brokers struggling with the impact of COVID-19 are more interested in “short-term relief” than deferring an annual payment by six months, MGA Insurance Brokers says...
QBE car insurance customers to receive vouchers
22 April 2020
QBE car insurance policyholders will soon be able to access one-off vouchers to help ease the pressure on household budgets during the COVID-19 crisis...
IAG recruits 400 in Australia as overseas restrictions bite
21 April 2020
IAG has employed an extra 400 customer-facing staff within Australia to counter COVID-19 disruption to its overseas call centres...
Pressure on CTP schemes as push for premium relief grows
21 April 2020
Compulsory third party schemes are the latest target of consumer advocates, as they stepped up their push for more premium reduction measures to ease the financial impact on households suffering from the virus-triggered economic slump...
Laid low: insurers face ‘slow recovery’ from virus
21 April 2020
Australia’s insurance industry faces a slow recovery period with low growth after taking a hit from slumping motor vehicle sales and a ban on property auctions due to the coronavirus pandemic, London-based analytics company GlobalData says...
Drone swarms could be key to fighting future bushfires
21 April 2020
Ten years from now swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles supported by ground-based drones could be used to suppress bushfires and limit their spread, new research from Risk Frontiers says...
Casino group makes claim as BI pressures rise
17 April 2020
Casino operator Star Entertainment Group has become the highest-profile company to say it is pushing ahead with a business interruption claim due to the coronavirus pandemic, as insurers globally come under pressure over cover for impacts from forced closures...
Federal Court defends AFCA’s ‘non-binding’ dispute rulings
17 April 2020
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s powers to settle disputes “are not judicial in nature” and therefore, are not binding, according to the Federal Court of Australia...
Major insurers won’t follow Youi’s motor premium refunds lead
17 April 2020
Australian personal lines insurance giants IAG and Suncorp are not offering wide-ranging motor premium discounts, despite action by challenger brand Youi and large-scale refunds by US motor insurers...
Claim for impotent bull bears no fruit
17 April 2020
A breeder who attempted to make an insurance claim for loss of use after her Angus bull was declared infertile has lost her case...
ASIC takes court action against Youi
16 April 2020
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has launched Federal Court action against insurer Youi over the handling of a building and contents claim that was examined by the Hayne royal commission...
Upbeat PSC issues unchanged earnings guidance
16 April 2020
PSC Insurance Group says it remains committed to its full-year guidance after a positive trading performance, despite “uncertain times”...
AFCA gives industry more time to deal with complaints
16 April 2020
Insurers and financial services providers are to be given an additional nine days to resolve disputes with customers, easing the pressure brought on by the coronavirus crisis, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority announced today...
Horror summer wasn’t a one-off: inquiry chairman
16 April 2020
Australia’s extreme hot and dry summer, which saw about 1.6% of the continent burn in deadly and unprecedented bushfires, was not unique and should be expected to reoccur, the first hearing of an inquiry into the handling of the crisis was told...
Court allows AR network to terminate member’s licences
15 April 2020
The NSW Supreme Court has ruled that Community Broker Network may terminate a member’s authorised representative licences after a planned sale of the AR’s book led to inquiries into its business conduct...
D&O cover: virus makes a tough market tougher
15 April 2020
Directors’ and officers’ insurance in Australia faces yet another challenge as the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus outbreak takes its toll, says broker BMS Group...
AFCA dismasts insurer’s boat claim decision
15 April 2020
A yachtsman who changed direction while sailing, heard a crash and saw his mast break and fall over the side of his boat and the sails partially submerge has won his fight to claim repair costs and mooring fees under a Lloyd’s Australia yacht insurance policy...