Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Australia’s 4 Summer Natural Disasters Cost Insurers More Than US$3.44 Billion
May 28 2020 // The cost of insurance claims from four natural catastrophes during Australia’s 2019-2020 summer has passed A$5.19 billion (US$3.44 billion), said the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA). Thousands of new claims and...
Coronavirus Cluster Found in Crew of Freight Cargo Ship in Australia
May 27 2020 // A coronavirus cluster was detected Tuesday on a freight ship berthed in the Australian west coast port of Fremantle, raising questions about why local authorities weren’t alerted to the danger. Six of 48 crew members...
Severe Storm Batters Coast of West Australia
May 27 2020 // Tens of thousands of homes and businesses lost power, buildings were battered and trees were uprooted as a vast stretch of the west Australian coast was whipped by a severe storm on Monday for the second straight day. No...
Canopius Appoints AXA XL’s Elliott as APAC Casualty Underwriter
May 26 2020 // Canopius announced the appointment of Craig Elliott as casualty underwriter for the region, effective May 4, 2020. He reports to Claudio Saita, head of Australia & Pacific, and is based in the company’s Sydney...
Australia Clamps Down on Litigation Funders Following Surge in Class Action Lawsuits
May 22 2020 // The Australian government is tightening regulatory scrutiny of wealthy litigation funders, clamping down on the industry following a surge in costly class action lawsuits. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Friday that...
Explosion at Anglo American Coal Mine in Australia Injures 5, Halts Production
May 6 2020 // An explosion halted production on Wednesday at a coal mine run by Anglo American in Australia’s northeastern state of Queensland, injuring five people just months after a review of the industry called for better...
PERILS Releases Industry Exposure Database 2020, Now Including Australia Motor
Apr 28 2020 // PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has released its Industry Exposure Database 2020. The database contains up-to-date information about property sums...
Insurance Australia Group, AMMB Seek to Sell Their Malaysian Auto Insurer: Sources
Apr 15 2020 // The owners of AmGeneral Insurance Bhd., Malaysia’s second-biggest auto insurer, have restarted a sale process and are seeking as much as $1 billion for the company, people with knowledge of the matter said. Kuala...
Australia’s Westpac Expects $578M Fine for Money Laundering Linked to Child Abuse
Apr 14 2020 // Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp said it expects a A$900 million ($578 million) fine over accusations it enabled millions of illegal payments including between known child sex offenders, the first time it has put a...
Australia Insurer IAG Announces CEO Harmer to Retire; Hawkins Named Deputy CEO
Apr 8 2020 // Australian insurer IAG announced that Peter Harmer, managing director and chief executive officer, plans to retire by the end of 2020. A flexible nine-month period of transition has been agreed with Harmer to ensure a...
Australia Regulator Urges Insurers, Banks to Defer Dividends Amid Coronavirus Crisis
Apr 7 2020 // Australia’s prudential regulator on Tuesday asked banks and insurers to consider deferring dividend payouts or use buffers like dividend reinvestment plans until the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is better...
BHSI Launches Professional Technology Liability Cover in Australia, New Zealand
Apr 6 2020 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced that it has launched Professional First Technology Liability Insurance policies in Australia and New Zealand. Both policies offer broad, customizable professional...
Insurance Claims for February’s Australian ‘East Coast Low’ Estimated at A$794M
Mar 31 2020 // Initial insured property claims estimate for the Australian east coast low event, which hit the Australian east coast states of New South Wales and Queensland between Feb. 5-13, 2020, is estimated at A$794 million...
Allianz Australia Taps Laybutt from Deloitte as Chief Risk Officer, Succeeding Callahan
Mar 30 2020 // Allianz Australia announced the appointment of Tara Laybutt as Allianz Australia’s chief risk officer, effective May 11, 2020. Laybutt has extensive experience in guiding the risk functions of large, financial...
Australia Firms Begin to Use Legal Clause to Terminate M&A Deals Amid Virus
Mar 26 2020 // Several Australian companies are reviewing or even terminating takeover deals by using a legal escape route because of the devastating impact of the coronavirus, a template that some lawyers expect to be replicated in...
Report: Climate Change Requires a ‘Rethink’ of How Catastrophic Events are Funded
Mar 19 2020 // Severe weather events and demographic challenges will continue to strain government finances, a trend that will require “a rethink of how catastrophic events are funded” and push the need for greater use of...
After Australia’s 2019 Floods, Insurers Begin to Bail, Banks Keep Lending
Mar 16 2020 // Only a year after losing their homes to floods in parts of Australia’s north eastern coast of Queensland, people are moving into new houses built on or near the same plots. But while banks have been only too willing...
PERILS to Include Australian Motor in Industry Catastrophe Exposure Update
Mar 16 2020 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based company that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, announced it will extend its line of business reporting to include Australian motor for personal and commercial...
Australia Faces Worsening Bushfires Without Climate Change Action: Report
Mar 11 2020 // Australia risks worse wildfires than this season’s record-breaking blazes unless it reduces emissions and phases out fossil-fuel exports, climate scientists warned. In a report titled “Summer of Crisis,”...
One U.S. State May Look at Insurers’ Fossil Fuel Investments and Underwriting to Combat Climate Change
Mar 5 2020 // A Connecticut lawmaker has plans for a bill that not only calls for the state to look at which insurers have fossil fuel investments – a growing trend among government entities as of late – but also which ones are...
