Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Severe Australia Floods to Worsen, Raising Costs to Farmers
Dec 3 2021 // Severe flooding episodes across vast swathes of eastern Australia this week show no signs of relenting as costs to farmers continue to mount, with another bout of heavy rain on course to hit the already sodden growing...
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Buys Australia’s Sound Insurance Services
Dec 2 2021 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Caulfield, Victoria-based Sound Insurance Services in Australia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Gallagher Completes $3.25B Purchase of Willis’...
Australia’s Westpac Bank to Pay $80.6M in Penalties, Admits Charging Dead People
Nov 30 2021 // Westpac Banking Corp. agreed to pay A$113 million ($80.6 million) in penalties after the Australian regulator alleged the lender had widespread compliance failures that included charging dead people. The case includes a...
Australia’s Weather Bureau Declares La Niña for 2nd Consecutive Year
Nov 23 2021 // Australia’s weather bureau said on Tuesday a La Niña weather phenomenon had developed in the Pacific Ocean for the second year in a row that could bring above average rainfall across the country’s center,...
Australia’s Corporate Regulator Sues MLC Life for Causing Financial Harm of $13M
Nov 19 2021 // Australia’s corporate regulator said on Friday it was suing MLC Life Insurance for causing financial harm of A$17.5 million ($12.73 million) to over a quarter million customers by not paying benefits and charging...
Severe South Australia Storms Declared a Catastrophe by Insurance Council
Oct 29 2021 // The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared an insurance catastrophe for parts of South Australia, which were hit by significant hail, rain, and strong winds over the past 24 hours. Insurers have received more...
Australian Publisher Urges Government to Compel Facebook to Negotiate Content Deal
Oct 26 2021 // SYDNEY – A small Australian publisher is calling for the government to enforce a new law to compel Facebook Inc to negotiate a content deal, prompting the architect of the rule to say he was “concerned” about...
Australia’s Regulator Sues Unit of IAG for Failing to Honor Promised Discounts
Oct 15 2021 // Australia’s corporate regulator commenced civil proceedings against a unit of Insurance Australia Group on Friday, for failing to pass on discounts worth A$60 million ($44.51 million) to nearly 600,000 customers. The...
Climate Class Action Suit to Proceed Against Australia Government
Oct 11 2021 // A class action lawsuit that claims Australia is misleading investors by failing to disclose the impact of climate risk in its bonds will proceed after government lawyers failed to get the case dismissed. The lawsuit may...
Australia’s Top Law Officer Wants Defamation Rules Redrafted for Internet Age
Oct 7 2021 // Australia’s top law officer has written to her state counterparts urging them to redraft the country’s defamation law after a High Court ruling that publishers of social media posts are liable for reader...
Catastrophe Data Firm PERILS Launches Real-Time Hailstorm Loss Platform for Australia
Oct 1 2021 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has announced the launch of a new platform providing real-time industry loss estimates for hailstorm events in...
Australia Insurtech Startup Cover Genius Raises Funds, Boosting Valuation to A$1 Billion
Sep 28 2021 // Australian insurance startup Cover Genius Pty Ltd. boosted its valuation to A$1 billion ($729 million), after raising A$100 million [$72.8 million] from investors including G Squared and Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings...
Zurich Insurance Weighs Selling Some Australian Non-Core Assets
Sep 17 2021 // Zurich Insurance Group AG is considering a sale of some of its general insurance assets in Australia as the Swiss firm seeks to streamline its portfolio, according to people familiar with the matter. The insurer is working...
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank Apologizes for Misleading Insurance Sales
Sep 16 2021 // Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country’s top lender, said on Thursday it would plead guilty to 30 charges brought against it in the federal court for mis-selling consumer credit insurance (CCI) to its...
People Moves: BMS Australia Hires Gallagher’s Van Dugteren, Aon’s McKenzie; elseco’s Warren to Oneglobal; Miller Appoints WTW’s Goreham to Lead Construction
Sep 14 2021 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at three brokers: BMS, Oneglobal Broking and Miller. A summary of these new hires follows. BMS Australia Names Gallagher’s Van Dugteren, Aon’s...
Australia’s High Court Rules Publishers Liable for Facebook Comments
Sep 9 2021 // MELBOURNE — Australia’s biggest news publishers including Rupert Murdoch’s the Australian are responsible for comments that readers post on their corporate Facebook pages, the High Court ruled on...
People Moves: Former Willis Re CTO Joins Placement Platform Supercede; Sedgwick Hires Cordingley for Event Response in Australia, Cooper for Asia Biz Development
Aug 20 2021 // Reinsurance Placement Platform Supercede Hires Former Willis Re CTO Supercede, the London-based global reinsurance placement platform, announced the appointment of Aydin Betez, formerly chief technology officer of Willis...
People Moves: ArgoGlobal’s Birtwistle to Howden’s New Reinsurance Casualty Team; Riddell Promoted to CEO of Berkley Re Australia, Succeeding Piper
Jul 26 2021 // This edition of International People Moves covers appointments at London-based broker Howden Reinsurance and Berkley Re Australia. A summary of these new hires follows here. Howden Reinsurance, part of international...
People Moves: Newland Joins Miller as Head of Renewable Energy; Aon’s McKenzie to BMS in Australia; Dasgupta to Lockton Re
Jul 7 2021 // This group of International People Moves covers appointments at three brokers: Miller, BMS and Lockton Re. A summary of these new hires follows here. Miller, the London-based independent specialist re/insurance broker,...
People Moves: Howden Australia Hires 3 from Marsh; Strategic Risk Solutions Appoints Schons in Luxembourg; Quinn Promoted at Liberty Specialty
Jun 22 2021 // These international People Moves include recent appointments at Howden Australia, which hired three people from Marsh; a new hire at Strategic Risk Solutions in Luxembourg and a promotion at Liberty Specialty Markets in...
