S&P affirms Asia-Pacific insurer ratings
01 July 2013
Standard & Poor’s has issued revised ratings using new criteria for 25 non-life insurance companies in the Asia-Pacific region…
Local
Medical indemnity claims continue to increase
01 July 2013
The number of private and public sector medical indemnity claims is rising, but there is “no need for alarm bells yet”, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says…
Insurance groups back UN principles
01 July 2013
A year after its launch, the Principles for Sustainable Insurance initiative has become the largest collaboration between the United Nations and the global insurance industry…
PL business declines, as PI continues to grow
01 July 2013
The number of public liability (PL) risks written in Australia fell last year to 2.3 million from 2.4 million in 2011 – but the drop was countered by a rise in professional indemnity (PI) policies to 508,168 from 487,748…
Insurers have more room to cross-sell, survey shows
01 July 2013
The average insurer covers less than 50% of its business customers’ needs, a new survey shows…
Find an Insurer fields 280,000 queries in first year
01 July 2013
The Find an Insurer online referral service has received more than 280,000 enquiries in its first year, according to the Insurance Council of Australia…
Most consumers will pay less, insurers tell FSL Monitor
24 June 2013
The Victorian market is too competitive to allow premium rises that exploit the fire services levy’s removal, insurers told a public hearing last week…
Government intervention does not cut risk
24 June 2013
Insurance provided by the public sector does not reduce risk, a report on market-based mechanisms for climate change adaptation says…
Natural disasters to cost $23 billion by 2050, leaders say
24 June 2013
The annual cost of natural catastrophes in Australia will soar from $6.3 billion to $23 billion by 2050 because of population growth and increasingly extreme weather, a new report claims…
Self-insurers may face higher workers’ comp contribution
24 June 2013
A review of workers’ compensation in Victoria has recommended an increase in self-insurers’ contributions…
Lehman liquidator halts settlement
24 June 2013
Lehman Brothers’ US liquidator has blocked a scheme to settle claims against Lehman Brothers Australia in which a group of US professional indemnity insurers and QBE would have paid creditors…
NSW insurance revenues forecast to increase
24 June 2013
Insurance stamp duty revenues in NSW are expected to rise 4.47% next financial year to $888 million, according to state budget papers…
Heavy storms hit New Zealand
24 June 2013
Insurance claims in the tens of millions of dollars are expected after ferocious storms hit Wellington and parts of the South Island…
Insurer/reinsurer profit tops $4 billion
17 June 2013
Insurers and reinsurers made a combined profit of $4.21 billion last calendar year, according to company-level statistics from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority…
Councils can help insurers understand risk: report
17 June 2013
Local councils should help insurers pinpoint risks within their borders so premiums are priced accurately, a new report says…
Lessons learned drive down flood complaints
17 June 2013
Work to improve the availability and understanding of flood cover appears to be paying off, with the Financial Ombudsman Service receiving few complaints after January’s floods in Queensland…
Insurers to front FSL hearing
17 June 2013
All insurers invited to a public meeting to explain their removal of the Victorian fire services levy have now confirmed they will attend…
Business group to reveal disaster resilience plan
17 June 2013
The Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities will this week release a white paper on natural disaster management…
Property manager sentenced over Herbert Insurance fraud
17 June 2013
A former property manager for Bunnings New Zealand has been sentenced to five months’ home detention after receiving kickbacks from failed broker Herbert Insurance…
Car thefts rise
17 June 2013
The number of motor vehicle thefts increased 6% last year compared with 2011, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics…