NZ’s public insurance scheme under threat from climate risk
09 March 2020
The viability of New Zealand’s public insurer, the Earthquake Commission, is at risk from climate change, new research shows…
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Feeling the burn: insurers' earnings take a big hit
02 March 2020
The general insurance industry suffered a 34.9% decline in underwriting profit to $2.3 billion last year, squeezed by claims losses from the bushfires and Townsville flood catastrophes...
Travel policies 'face watershed moment' amid virus
02 March 2020
Travel insurance products could attract criticism that they are little more than “junk insurance” if vague exclusions are used to decline claims from events such as the coronavirus outbreak, barristers at Edmund Barton Chambers say...
Victorian brokerage loses negligence dispute
02 March 2020
A Victorian brokerage has been ordered to pay a client $250,000 for the losses it suffered after the brokerage failed to advise about a copyright infringement risk...
More Uber driver claim appeals denied for non-disclosure
02 March 2020
Two more Uber drivers have had complaints over denied claims knocked back because they failed to disclose to their insurer that they were using their vehicles for commercial ridesharing services...
Westpac, ANZ face class action over 'junk' insurance sales
02 March 2020
Plaintiff law firm Slater and Gordon has filed separate class actions against ANZ and Westpac, accusing the two banks of ripping off vulnerable consumers who were sold “junk” consumer credit insurance products...
Warm autumn tipped as climate drivers reset
02 March 2020
Autumn temperatures are likely to be above average for most of the country following a summer which ranked among the three hottest on record, the Bureau of Meteorology says...
Seasonal catastrophe losses top $3 billion
02 March 2020
Updates last week to claims totals from the summer bushfires and hailstorms shows insured losses have now passed $3 billion...
The biggest: bushfires set a sorry global record
02 March 2020
The season’s bushfires have burned more than 20% of Australia’s forests – an unprecedented percentage to burn on any continent in a single season, an academic study has found...
Woman sues Allianz over yoga course injury
02 March 2020
Allianz is facing court action after a woman fractured her spine during a “trust task” at a yoga teacher training course...
NZ regulator lists insurers' cyber claim losses
02 March 2020
Cyber incidents are likely to knock $NZ38 million a year from insurance sector profits, or 3% of annual profit for the industry, modelling from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand shows...
NZ hailstorm pushes weather losses to $113 million
02 March 2020
Insured losses from New Zealand’s severe weather events totalled more than $NZ118 million last year...
Bushfire royal commission targets mitigation
24 February 2020
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has launched a royal commission into this summer’s bushfire catastrophe, which is estimated to involve insured losses of at least $1.91 billion...
10 million policies pinpoint 15 ways to cut catastrophe risk
24 February 2020
The Insurance Council of Australia is preparing to publish 15 proposals quantifying for the first time just how much insurance premiums could decline under recommended measures to counter risks from cyclone, flood and bushfire...
‘Tick-box’ risk management won’t fly post-Hayne: WTW
24 February 2020
Widespread misconduct in financial services uncovered by the Hayne royal commission means a broader range of stakeholders than ever before will carefully examine organisations and judge whether risk frameworks are adequate...
Cyclone Esther crosses NT coastline
24 February 2020
Tropical Cyclone Esther is set to bring heavy rain to remote NT and Queensland communities after crossing the coastline in the Gulf of Carpentaria earlier today...
Exclusions will limit coronavirus BI impacts
24 February 2020
Exclusions and policy trigger rules are expected to curb potential insurance losses from business interruption claims related to the coronavirus epidemic...
Property owner not covered for Melbourne inferno
24 February 2020
Swiss Re International has won a court case over establishing insurance cover was not in place when a large industrial fire broke out in western Melbourne in 2018...
Tower wins indemnity dispute
24 February 2020
A New Zealand court has confirmed a claimant can only make one claim for the maximum sum insured in a policy, rejecting a bid to have Tower Insurance pay for property damage caused by three separate quakes...
AFCA member forums to kick off in April
24 February 2020
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority will host eight member forums across five capital cities this year, giving the financial services sector an opportunity to hear from its decision makers...