Broker and advisers to pay for FOFA
14 May 2012
The Federal Government will be increasing broker and adviser licensing fees to cover the cost of the Future of Financial Advice reforms…
Regulatory & Government
Government extends ASIC funding
14 May 2012
The Federal Government has cut operational funding for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in the coming year, but has provided extra funding for the regulator to monitor the…
Report rules out last resort compensation scheme
14 May 2012
Lawyer Richard St John’s report into compensation for consumers has rejected a last resort scheme as “inappropriate and possibly counter-productive”…
Terrorism insurance scheme set to continue
14 May 2012
A review by the Federal Treasury office and targeted stakeholders into Australia’s terrorism insurance scheme has recommended that it should continue…
ASIC warns brokers on ‘independence’
07 May 2012
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has warned insurance brokers and financial planners about their use of the term “independent” after it found 21 cases of its misleading use…
ASIC suspends NSW broker’s licence
07 May 2012
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has suspended the financial services licence of Southpoint Insurance Brokers, of Menai, NSW…
Victorian insurance tax take rises
07 May 2012
Victoria’s insurance taxes will increase by 10% this financial year, raising $1.61 billion, and decline marginally to a budgeted $1.6 billion in 2012/13…
Vic WorkCover premiums fall while dividend rises
07 May 2012
The Victorian Government has cut workers’ compensation premiums in the 2012/13 financial year, but will take funds from the Victorian WorkCover Authority by way of a dividend this financial year…
This year’s flood victims to be exempted from levy
07 May 2012
People who suffered damage in the floods affecting western Queensland and northern NSW earlier this year will be exempted from the national flood levy…
NSW WorkCover paper calls for urgent reform
30 April 2012
NSW workers’ compensation premiums will have to rise by up to 28% if the WorkCover scheme is not reformed, according to a State Government issues paper…
Reforms outlined for builders’ warranty scheme
30 April 2012
Victoria’s compulsory builders’ warranty insurance scheme could be scrapped and made voluntary under a plan the State Government says will better protect consumers…
Key facts sheet submissions reveal industry concerns
30 April 2012
Federal Treasury has released the last submissions on key facts sheets for people buying home building and/or contents insurance…
ICA hangs out for exemption
30 April 2012
The Insurance Council of Australia is pressing for an exemption for lenders’ mortgage insurers from the National Consumer Credit Protection Act’s record-keeping obligations…
Agreement reached on reinsurance treatment in contracts
30 April 2012
The amount of reinsurance an insurer can recover should be spread over the remaining period of a contract for accounting purposes…
Motor Accident Commission names CEO
30 April 2012
The SA Motor Accident Commission has appointed Jerome Maguire as CEO. He will start on June 25…
NZ general insurers caught up in life regulations
23 April 2012
New Zealand general insurers are pressing their regulator, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, to amend regulations on consumer credit insurance so it is not classed as life insurance…
Regulator bans broker permanently
23 April 2012
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has had a busy week, banning a general insurance broker and suspending the financial services licence of an adviser practice…
Tasman narrows for Australia-NZ financial advisers
23 April 2012
Financial advisers’ ability to operate across Australia and New Zealand without needing further approvals is a step closer, according to the Trans-Tasman Outcomes Implementation Group biannual…
WorkCover WA sets 2012/13 premiums
23 April 2012
WorkCover WA has set an average recommended premium of 1.691% of total wages for 2012/13, compared with 1.569% in 2011/12…
NZ Reserve Bank releases solvency standard
23 April 2012
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has released a solvency standard for non-life insurers in run-off…