NZ looks at consolidating financial literacy
15 November 2010
New Zealand is considering putting its financial literacy program under the control of a single authority…
Regulatory & Government
Kids to learn natural disaster safety
15 November 2010
An education program for children focusing on natural hazards has been launched by the State Emergency Service agencies…
NZ insurers weather tax changes
15 November 2010
Major changes to NZ’s GST regime haven’t yet impacted premium renewals for both general and life insurance…
ASIC keeps an eye on credit insurance
08 November 2010
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is reviewing consumer credit insurance direct marketing operations following complaints about Citigroup products sold through telephone sales…
APRA sees room for insurers to improve
08 November 2010
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is looking closely at how general and life insurers are stress-testing their operations and the impact it will have on their capital reserves…
HIH’s Brad Cooper gets out of jail
08 November 2010
The last of the jailed HIH trio of executives, Brad Cooper, has been released from jail after serving five years for dishonestly obtaining $6.7 million from the insurer just before its collapse…
Doctors want red tape cut
01 November 2010
Doctors refusing to treat injured workers say an urgent review of Victoria’s WorkCover scheme is “desperately needed” to cut government bureaucracy…
ASIC pursues phone PDS comments
01 November 2010
General insurers are being urged to comment on a discussion paper examining the issuing of product disclosure statements during telephone sales…
Queensland gets $26 million resilience boost
01 November 2010
The Federal Government has announced a $26 million boost to Queensland’s ability to cope with natural disasters…
NZ super regulator chief named
25 October 2010
After a global search, the NZ Government has recruited an expert from Australia – who is a Kiwi – to head its new Financial Markets Authority…
Insurance business numbers hold firm
25 October 2010
Insurance and financial services have bucked a business downturn to grow their numbers until the end of the 2009 financial year…
Business leaders ‘appalled’ by NSW backflip
25 October 2010
Business leaders have united to condemn plans by the NSW Government not to honour the national agreement to harmonise occupational health and safety laws…
Treasury relooks at life insurance commission ban
18 October 2010
Federal Treasury will consult with the life insurance industry before issuing a proposal on commissions next year…
Principal first funder to gain credit code exemption
18 October 2010
Premium funder Principal Finance says it has gained an exclusion from the new National Credit Code…
Vehicle write-off plan wins approval
18 October 2010
A national theft reduction body says a NSW ban on re-registering written-off vehicles is “a step forward” in efforts to stop car re-birthing across the state…
Plans for dealing with disasters welcomed
11 October 2010
The Federal Government has agreed to spend $12.5 million on disaster resilience initiatives in Queensland, SA and WA…
ACT lawyers attack CTP, workcover proposals
11 October 2010
An ACT Government plan to cap compulsory third party and workers’ compensation pay-outs in a bid to open up the market will “unfairly disadvantage” accident victims…
Insured Group cops listing fine, loses CFO
11 October 2010
Insured Group has been hit with a $NZ7500 ($5,728) fine for failing to have two NZ directors on its board earlier this year…
Advisers want fair deal on commissions
11 October 2010
Outgoing Association of Financial Advisers President Jim Taggart has called on the Federal Government to act fairly on commissions…
ICA keeps on eye on government climate change moves
04 October 2010
The Insurance Council of Australia will “monitor” the Federal Government’s proposed business roundtable on climate change…