StrataRatings ranks top underwriters
03 February 2020
CHU, Strata Community Insurance and Strata Unit Underwriters have again come out best in an annual ranking of commercial and residential products by independent analyst StrataRatings...
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A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
16 December 2019
This is the final Monday edition of insuranceNEWS.com.au for 2019, with our Daily update service continuing through to Friday. We will be back in action from Monday February 3...
Above-normal fire threat remains, new report says
16 December 2019
The eastern region stretching from north Queensland through to NSW and Victoria faces above-normal fire risk this summer, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre says in a report released today...
Calls for national reinsurance scheme fall on deaf ears
16 December 2019
The Building Ministers’ Forum concluded on Friday with an agreement to follow up on the professional indemnity insurance crisis but did not take up the Victorian Government’s call for a national reinsurance scheme...
Hardening rates will keep industry growth intact: S&P
16 December 2019
Overall return on equity for insurers will exceed 10% over the medium term, S&P Global Ratings has predicted in a moderately upbeat report on the industry’s outlook...
Premiums to keep rising, claims costs increasing: KPMG
16 December 2019
Premium rates are set to continue rising as insurers also battle rising claims costs, KPMG says in its annual review of the industry...
White Island tragedy raises questions over responsibility
16 December 2019
A Miami-based law firm says cover provided by New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation won’t prevent US legal action against cruise company Royal Caribbean over injuries and loss of life caused by the White Island eruption...
Cyber breach transparency critical after hacks
16 December 2019
Companies hacked by cyber criminals should inform their customers even if they’re not legally obliged to do so, a webinar for insurance brokers has been told...
WFI highlights risks of burglary on farms
16 December 2019
Farmers are urged to keep their properties and valuables safe after nearly 700 farms across Australia lodged insurance claims for theft in the last year, according to claims data at IAG subsidiary WFI Insurance...
Vehicle theft rises 7% as Queensland battles rising trend
16 December 2019
Motor vehicle theft rose 7% nationally in the year to September, with Brisbane and the Gold Coast the top two locations targeted by criminals stealing passenger and light commercial cars...
NSW braces for heatwave as fires rage on
09 December 2019
Several parts of NSW face very high fire danger today and tomorrow, the NSW Rural Fire Service has warned, as crews try to contain dozens of blazes in the state...
Summer threatens ‘terrible trifecta’
09 December 2019
This summer of 2019-20 is shaping up as a “terrible trifecta” of heatwaves, drought and bushfires exacerbated by inaction on climate change, the Climate Council says...
High Court decision ‘disappointing’, class action funders say
09 December 2019
The Association of Litigation Funders of Australia says a High Court ruling that may prevent some class actions going ahead is disappointing...
Diminishing returns: claimant loses dispute over new TV
09 December 2019
A Suncorp customer has failed in his bid to have his damaged TV replaced with a similar top-of-the-range model or be compensated $2300, the amount that he paid 11 years ago for the item...
In Insurance News magazine this month
09 December 2019
The NSW and Queensland spring bushfires caught everyone by surprise, and now the states – and insurers – are bracing for a summer like no other Australia has ever experienced. In the December/January edition of Insurance News magazine our editorial team talks to victims, firefighters and scientists to understand the causes and the consequences as we prepare for a fiery summer...
‘World first’ mobile phone detection cameras welcomed by insurers
09 December 2019
The deployment of high definition cameras in NSW to catch drivers illegally using mobile phones has the backing of the insurance industry...
EQC funds 16 projects to reduce disaster risk
09 December 2019
New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission will provide funding of $NZ1 million for 16 research projects that could help reduce the impact of natural disasters...
NZ insurers rally to repair Timaru hail damage
09 December 2019
Drive through assessment stations have been set up and specialists brought in from Australia to help with repairs after thousands of vehicles and other property in the South Island city of Timaru were pummelled by oversized hailstones on November 20...
Summer catastrophes sink industry earnings
02 December 2019
The industry’s underwriting profit fell by more than half to $1.9 billion in the year to September as costs from the Sydney hailstorm and Townsville flood last summer severely dented earnings...
Wivenhoe class action: dam operators found negligent
02 December 2019
Flood engineers hired by the operators of the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams failed to follow guidelines, which ultimately contributed to the severity of the 2011 Brisbane floods, the NSW Supreme Court ruled last Friday...