Victoria delays FSL legislation until August
25 June 2012
The Victorian Government will not introduce the legislation to abolish the state’s fire services levy until the next sitting of the state’s parliament in mid-August…
Local
Wilkins attacks ‘politically expedient’ payout demands
25 June 2012
Calls for insurers to pay flood claims on policies that don’t offer flood cover are “reckless and politically expedient”, IAG CEO Mike Wilkins said today…
FOS: Disputes on the rise
25 June 2012
New statistics from the Financial Ombudsman Service show total disputes across the financial services sector referred to the ombudsman were up 29% for the first quarter of 2012, compared with…
Victorian earthquake mostly harmless
25 June 2012
Last week’s Victorian earthquake has not caused major losses, with some residents reporting cracks in the walls of buildings and shelves falling over…
Centro class action formally settled
25 June 2012
The Federal Court has formally approved the settlement in the $200 million Centro shareholder class action, meaning the issue of who has a priority charge on directors’ and officers’ cover now…
EQC, insurers work on earthquake loss model
25 June 2012
New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission and insurers are working on a modelling system that will enable them to apportion costs between the Canterbury earthquakes and speed up claims resolution…
Rosy outlook for Australia’s brokers
25 June 2012
The Australian broking industry is set to enter a stronger and more profitable five-year period, according to industry research firm Ibisworld…
Councils call for nationwide focus on coastal risks
25 June 2012
Delegates at the Australian Local Government Association’s National General Assembly in Canberra last week have called for a national approach to development risks in coastal areas…
NZ householders unhappy with earthquake insurers
25 June 2012
More than a year after the Christchurch earthquake, most affected householders are “greatly dissatisfied” with the performance of their insurers, according to a survey in the region by …
Flood definition becomes law
18 June 2012
The standard definition of flood is now law, after the Federal Government this morning enacted the regulations to give effect to the definition…
Home premiums down, commercial and rural up if NSW drops FSL
18 June 2012
Premiums would be cheaper for the average residential property in NSW if a property-based levy replaced the fire services levy, according to modelling by Deloitte and the Insurance Council…
Reinsurance covered almost half of insurers’ 2011 losses
18 June 2012
The latest insurance company statistics from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority show just how much reinsurers took a beating from last year’s disasters…
Premium funders fear losses from Victorian FSL switch
18 June 2012
Premium funders stand to lose $2-$3 million because there will not be a phasing-out period for the Victorian fire services levy…
Consumer groups reject Productivity Commission on flood insurance
18 June 2012
The Consumer Action Law Centre has rejected Productivity Commission claims that government subsidies on flood insurance will reduce consumers’ incentives to mitigate flood risk and…
Insurers working on WA storm claims
18 June 2012
Storms in WA last week have generated 15,500 claims to date, although the Insurance Council of Australia is not yet able to put a financial figure on the cost to insurers…
ICA building products rating tool gets green light
18 June 2012
A building materials resilience rating tool being developed by the Insurance Council of Australia is on track to go live to the public around this time next year after its rating methodology…
Software may help NZ insurers’ risk predictions
18 June 2012
New Zealand scientists are working on software to help insurers better predict property damage, business interruption and casualty losses in the event of future earthquakes…
Car theft rate still climbing
18 June 2012
Vehicle thefts in Australia continued to rise in the first quarter of this year, with the numbers up 8% on the December 2011 quarter, according to the latest statistics from the National Motor Vehicle…
In Insurance News (the magazine) this month
18 June 2012
IAG CEO Mike Wilkins opens up about opportunities and expansion in an exclusive interview in this month’s edition of Insurance News (the magazine), which is being mailed out this week…
NSW moves to dump fire services levy
12 June 2012
NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has announced a review of the state’s fire and emergency services funding that is expected to result in the abolition of the contentious fire services levy…