Debbie claims rising as ICA extends cat zone
03 April 2017
Insured losses from Cyclone Debbie have reached $224 million from 19,600 claims, according to the Insurance Council of Australia…
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Reinsurance mitigates ratings risks from cyclone
03 April 2017
Robust reinsurance will protect Australian insurers from ratings impacts following Cyclone Debbie last week, according to S&P Global…
Property rate rises tipped to continue
03 April 2017
Premium rate increases in Australian property lines are expected to continue this year, according to the latest market review from broker Arthur J Gallagher…
Taylor Fry flags rising premiums and profits
03 April 2017
Modest premium increases in key personal lines and a long-awaited turn to growth in commercial classes should propel the insurance industry into a year of improved profitability, according to consultant Taylor Fry…
Disputes and rejected claims rise
03 April 2017
The number of disputes about general insurance products and services grew 31% to 30,171 in the last financial year, according to the industry’s Code Governance Committee…
Partnership the key to encouraging insurtechs
03 April 2017
Insurtechs are better off partnering with established insurers than trying to jump through regulatory hoops or sourcing the capital they need to compete against incumbents, according to a KPMG industry expert…
Most Kaikoura settlements due this year
03 April 2017
New Zealand insurers expect most Kaikoura earthquake cash-settlement offers will be made by the end of this year for commercial and residential claims…
ICA pushes back code submission deadline
03 April 2017
The Insurance Council of Australia has extended the deadline for submissions on its review of the General Insurance Code of Practice, as it seeks more diverse community feedback…
Queensland braces for ‘destructive’ Debbie
27 March 2017
Tropical Cyclone Debbie is on course to make landfall in Queensland tomorrow, as the state braces for what could be its biggest storm since Yasi in 2011…
Appeal court extends Pratten’s sentence
27 March 2017
Former Sydney insurance broker Charles Pratten has been given an extended prison sentence for tax evasion and breaching a restraining order, and will now be eligible for parole from October 2019…
Fels links home policy prices to market failure
27 March 2017
NSW Emergency Services Levy Insurance Monitor Allan Fels has attracted industry criticism after saying wide price differences for home cover suggest competition is deficient and providers are making it difficult for consumers to compare policies…
Email attacks dominate SME cyber breaches
27 March 2017
Phishing or email scams account for more than half of cyber attacks suffered by Australian SMEs, according to a survey by cyber-security group Symantec…
Large Kaikoura aftershock still possible
27 March 2017
A major aftershock following last year’s Kaikoura earthquake remains “well within the probabilities”, according to modelling by New Zealand’s GeoNet…
Road safety strategy is failing: campaigners
27 March 2017
More funding is needed to combat road trauma, with an average of 25 deaths and 700 serious injuries occurring in Australia each week, the Australasian College of Road Safety says…
ABS reveals freight load figures
27 March 2017
Articulated trucks carry most of Australia’s road freight despite accounting for only 5% of all registered freight vehicles, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures…
Clarification:
27 March 2017
An article in last week’s bulletin said CGU is offering a 25% home insurance discount via a partnership with online mortgage marketplace HashChing. The rebate is provided by HashChing…
Insurers’ courtship of fintechs continues
20 March 2017
Insurers are increasingly partnering with fintechs to add value for customers and buy time to invest in their own innovations, according to an Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance expert…
Employees pose main cyber threat, companies warned
20 March 2017
Australian companies facing tougher privacy laws have been warned employee actions account for two-thirds of cyber breaches worldwide…
SES warns of flood risk in Sydney renewal plan
20 March 2017
Thousands of proposed new homes under consideration in Sydney’s Bayside West Precincts urban renewal project are vulnerable to flooding, according to the NSW State Emergency Service…
NSW fire conditions ‘worst on record’
20 March 2017
The summer’s NSW bushfire conditions were the worst on record, as temperature records also tumbled…